[BikerNYC]

In 25 years practice, I never encountered a pro bono situation that the attorney did not choose.

For solo practitioners, that is clear cut. For a larger firm it isn't. If a firm takes on a pro bono client, and one of the lawyers working directly on the case calls up his partner, who may have particular expertise on an issue, are you saying that partner does not have an ethical obligation to the firm's client and a fiduciary obligation to his partner to assist in the matter?

Does the partner whose help is being requested have the right to ask what kind of client this is - pro bono or fee paying - and base his willingness to help on the answer to that question?

[ModelBreaker]

For solo practitioners, that is clear cut. For a larger firm it isn't. If a firm takes on a pro bono client, and one of the lawyers working directly on the case calls up his partner, who may have particular expertise on an issue, are you saying that partner does not have an ethical obligation to the firm's client and a fiduciary obligation to his partner to assist in the matter? Does the partner whose help is being requested have the right to ask what kind of client this is - pro bono or fee paying - and base his willingness to help on the answer to that question?

I worked in a big firm, a medium firm, and solo. It works the same everywhere. The attorney chooses what pro bono to do. In the medium firm, I was asked to participate in pro bono work another attorney was doing to force the boy scouts to accept homosexual members. I politely declined and told them why. It was never raised again. At that time, I was a lowly associate.