pro bono
adjective
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In Latin, pro bono publico means "for the public good;" in English we generally shorten the phrase to pro bono. Donating free legal help to those who need it has long been a practice of American law firms; the American Bar Association actually recommends that all lawyers donate 50 hours a year. Pro bono work is sometimes donated by nonlegal firms as well. For example, an advertising firm might produce a 60-second video for an environmental or educational organization, or a strategic-planning firm might prepare a start-up plan for a charity that funds shelters for battered women.
Examples of pro bono in a Sentence
Zachary Basu, Axios, 21 Mar. 2025
Gottfried, a pro bono specialist at a law firm, defeated Republican candidate Paul Wikstrom, an engineer manager and instructor pilot, for Minnesota House seat 40B, which includes portions of Shoreview and Roseville.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 12 Mar. 2025
The president late last month signed a memo suspending security clearances at the law firm Covington & Burling, which provided pro bono legal services to former special counsel Jack Smith in his personal capacity.
—Brett Samuels, The Hill, 6 Mar. 2025
While some experts choose to do pro bono work for strategic reasons—such as speaking at a high-visibility industry event—this should be the exception, not the expectation.
—Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pro bono
Cite this Entry
“Pro bono.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pro%20bono. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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