Do lawyers take cases for free? Can they? Yes. When a lawyer represents a litigant free of charge the term for it is “pro bono publico,” often abbreviated to just "pro bono," which means “for the public good.” Do lawyers often take on cases for free? Usually not. Pro bono cases are few and far between for most lawyers. Pro bono work can take many forms and does not mean exclusively that a lawyer provides representation free of charge. Pro bono services can be in the form of helping provide legal information or research free of charge, helping litigants who are representing themselves to understand and correctly fill out paperwork, or contributing money to other pro bono service providers. I personally do not like representing a litigant on a pro bono basis, frankly. I find most pro bono cases and the parties associated with them to be unpleasant and unnecessarily difficult, so I try to provide my pro bono service in other ways.
