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Many of the Vault firms tout the pro bono opportunities to associates. Some even say that pro bono billable hours are treated the same as others.

Can any practicing attorneys (or law students post SA) speak to the validity of this? Is this something that only the tippy top of the Vault rankings offer? Even if it is true that the hours are treated the same, are there any unspoken rules that associates (especially juniors) should not ask/are not able to work on pro bono cases?

Just curious about this.

Thanks.

I SA'd at a firm just inside the V100, and will be splitting my summer with another firm not in the V100, and they allow for a very generous amount of pro bono hours to directly count toward your billables. Associates I spoke to said they were encouraged to take on assignments, either through existing pro bono matters or by going out and getting their own work.

Litigation associates in particular said it's a really good way to smooth out the peaks and valleys of work when things get a little slow.