Differences between legal aid and Pro-Bono services. Comparison and deliberation on how pro-bono lawyering can promoted in Nepal.

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Legal Aid is free legal service provided to the person with certain criteria enlisted by law through  government. Legal aid is the concept came from European countries in 19th century which advocated  for right to counsel and right to fair trial movement and right to justice. The conceptual clarity in  legal aid can be perceived from the concept of welfare state. It is embedded upon the simple  concept that providing justice is the fundamental function of state too since the financial hurdle is  the underlying reason that make people disable to reach to the court and speak against injustice  they faced. Whereas, pro-bono services are provided by individual for public good. It is a donation  works for the poor people without charge or less charge. The underlying concept of pro-bono is to  develop the sense of public good in legal profession, good networking among public, helping poor  people. To support poor by paying their bills for getting legal help also comes under the pro bono.  Even though legal aid and pro bono ends with one similar reason to provide legal help poor, they  have many differences which are as follows:

S.N 

Legal Aid 

Pro-Bono

1. 

Legal aid refers to free legal service designed by  state for poor people as addressed by law.

Pro-bono refers to providing any help to  for public good by any individuals,  students, professor, or legal practitioners  etc 

2. 

Legal Aid is compulsory duty of state. 

Pro bono is voluntary service. 

2. 

Legal aid is supported by international laws  such as European Convention on Human Rights  where the convention recognised legal aid is  the human rights and state are obliged to  provide this. 

Pro bono is supported by Universities,  community help centers, individuals,  professors, legal practitioners. There is  no legally made obligation for pro bono  though there are mandatory pro bon  concepts in some countries. 

3. 

Legal aid is only for those who is legally  qualified, for example: yearly income of the  person. 

Pro Bono is for public good for poor,  though it has no strict criteria.

4. 

Legal aid includes counselling, correspondence  pleading, and preparation of legal document,  overall proceeding in the court and on behalf of  indigent people. It is strict and certain.

Pro Bono doesn’t include strict works,  people can pay the bills for poor people  is also counted as pro bono. So it is  flexible. 

5. 

Legal aid is responsibility of state. 

Pro Bono is not concerned with state. 

6. 

It is connected with welfare, rule of law, right to  fair trial, right to counsel etc. 

It is connected with public good, sense of  helping needy one. 

7. 

For legal aid state has employed public  prosecutor who has the authority of providing  legal aid. Not everyone can provide legal aid.

For pro-bono, state doesn’t have any  concerned, rather any interested  individual can do it. 



Therefore, legal aid and pro bono are different concepts and they have different proceeding and  focus area. But pro bono can help legal aid since they have same purpose of helping poor people. 

In context of Nepal, pro bono lawyering has to be promoted through following ideas:  

a. In context of Nepal, pro bono is not fully came into existence, since there is no effective laws  for it. Pro bono allows one to be helpful to needy one and thus it is need of today’s scenario.  Dozens of cases are piled up in court and not every party is financially strong to hire a  lawyer, apart from this, some are not even mindful about legal aid, such situation is  inevitable in Nepal. So, pro bono is to be institutionalized for providing answer to their  inquiries.  

b. Pro bono can be effective since unlike legal aid, any knowledgeable person can provide this  service easily, without complicated proceedings. This is interesting concept that can help to  promote pro bono lawyering in Nepal.  

c. Lawyering is highly dignified profession, which is also denying to provide service for free, this  attitude of lawyer is highly increasing in Nepal, and it lacks the sense of doing public good, to  give what the community needs from us, to help poor needy people, so pro bono has to be  made mandatory so it can regain the concept of helping community in the profession.  

d. Pro bono is effective method of making good connections with client while providing selfless  services, so it helps to develop the networking between the client and pro bono lawyer. 

e. Pro bono lawyers can be any individual who can help needy ones, so they can effectively work for awareness program among the needy people, such as university can conduct such  program and students, professors, legal practitioners, lawyer can work together widely. 

f. Pro bono is voluntarily service but in context of Nepal, pro bono is not operated into action  effectively the culture of providing voluntary service need to start up by making point  system in personal development through university.  

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