Pro Bono Activities of Lawyers in Japan, the US and the UK-its Principle and Practice

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This research project explored how pro bono activities of lawyers in Japan should be by comparing with the US and the UK lawyers. Through interviews, it became clear that, even today, the traditional model of pro bono-earning fees from the rich and transferring it to the poor-was still the major way of pro bono activities in Japan. On the other hand, it was found that in the US large law firms there was an advocate called pro bono officer and he or she conducts pro bono activities for all constituted lawyers. As a tentative conclusion, Japanese lawyers also intrinsically contain "public interest" similar to lawyers in the US and the UK, and thus pro bono activities are connected to their fundamental part of duties. However, in Japan, the systematic scheme to practice pro bono is not sufficiently prepared for current trend of lawyer practice. We need to develop diversified styles of pro bono activities which are not necessarily based on bar associations but supported by private lawyers and consumers.