Recently, Zubas Flett Liberatore Law Lawyer, Ted Flett, provided insight for a Canadian Lawyer article featuring the Best Pro Bono Law Firms in Canada. Ted’s insights can be read here and below. The full article can be read here.
Industry Expert Section Q&A
Ted Flett has built and run a pro bono program at his own firm and regularly advises on access to justice issues. We asked him what separates pro bono programs that hold under pressure from those that collapse when workloads spike.
What does “high-impact” pro bono service actually look like on the ground?
High-impact pro bono is defined by follow-through and outcome tracking, not file volume. For most pro bono clients, just having a lawyer who shows up to the hearing and sees the matter through to a conclusion is the entire value of the service.
Pro bono lawyers who follow up after files close to ensure the conditions of a settlement were met or to confirm the satisfaction of the outcome with the client once the dust has settled, understand what their volunteerism actually achieved, and get better at selecting the right matters because of it.
How are top firms structuring their pro bono programs to make them work in practice?
The programs that actually work share three features: someone is accountable, there is a real target, and participation carries professional consequences.
In practice, that means a coordinator or partner champion who leads the program, associates paired with experienced counsel when practicing outside their area of law, and pro bono hours that count toward compensation and advancement within the firm. Effective pro bono programs also match files that resonate with the appropriate lawyer or lawyers. Pro bono work that aligns with a lawyer’s personal values or ambitions can provide meaning to their work and support the firm’s retention goals.
What are the most significant opportunities and risks for pro bono practice in Canada between 2026 and 2029?
The opportunity is structural. Despite then-Chief Justice of Ontario George Strathy’s impassioned remarks in 2019 in opposition to the provincial government’s cuts to Legal Aid Ontario, we see funding shrinking across most provinces. Justice Canada data show that direct provincial and territorial funding for legal aid plans fell by 8 percent in real terms in 2023–24, to $719 million nationally. In Alberta, the province cut Legal Aid Alberta’s 2025 allocation from $110 million to $88 million. Firms with functional pro bono programs woven into their business model, talent development, and governance are filling that gap, if even partially. There is also a human dimension – lawyers entering the profession today place a higher value on meaningful work, and a credible pro bono program is a genuine recruitment and retention asset.
The risks are equally concrete. Programs built around soundbites and business development rather than client outcomes will likely ring hollow. Taking on files without the appropriate supervision or expertise creates professional responsibility exposure. And AI is creating a two-tier risk: paying clients tend to receive supervised advice, while pro bono clients may receive an unsupervised automated output. The profession must be alive to that danger.
If you have any questions or inquiries , contact Zubas Flett Liberatore Law LLP at 416-593-5844 or questions@employment-lawyers.ca.