Lawyers provide 1.3 million hours of pro bono work.

Florida lawyers provided approximately 1.35 million hours of pro bono work in 2002-03 and contributed $2.53 million to legal aid organizations, according to new figures gleaned from the Bar's latest dues statements.

"These numbers again demonstrate that Florida's lawyers routinely step up and give generously of their time and talents to help those less able to help themselves," said Bar President Miles McGrane. "Assuring all our citizens have access to the legal system is one of our profession's core values. Providing free legal services to those who otherwise could not afford them sets us apart as a profession and is critical to the preservation of a free society."

The new statistics represent a slight increase in pro bono services over the previous year, when Florida attorneys provided 1.31 million hours of free service and $2.45 million in direct legal aid contributions.

McGrane said the 1.35 million hours of pro bono work amount to more than $67 million in free services, when calculated according to an estimate of $50 per hour in fees (based on doubling the $25-consultation fee charged by lawyers involved in the Bar's Lawyer Referral Service).

Nearly 30,000 of Florida's 54,000 in-state actively practicing lawyers provided the free legal services to the poor from July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003, and 7,543 lawyers...