As an attorney practicing in New Hampshire, you are inevitably going to be asked to volunteer to do something. For example, you might be asked to join a Bar Association committee, to make a presentation before a civic organization or even just to represent a client on a pro bono basis. If your natural response to such requests is to recoil in fear because of the constraints of time and the stress associated with additional responsibilities, you are not alone. These drawbacks occur often enough to prevent any attorney from agreeing to volunteer for anything.

There is no question that your time must be protected. Most attorneys are forced to reckon with intense demands to produce billable hours. Often, that demand is so overwhelming that it even interferes with precious personal time with family and friends. This scenario does not leave much room for the luxury of volunteering (i.e., working for free).

On the other hand, if you never volunteer for anything, you will never truly know whether the drawbacks of volunteering are outweighed by the benefits. For myself, I have found that every time I have volunteered, the use of that time and any stress associated with it were completely negated by the value I gained from the experience. And it is not just the warm, fuzzy feeling of having done a good deed. Volunteering as an attorney results in real, practical and tangible personal and professional benefits, and the correlation is a direct one.

In my practice, the key professional benefit of volunteering has been the resulting client referrals. Of course, as a decent human being, you should volunteer purely for the sake of helping others, period. People who come to know me, depend on me and think of me when they or someone they know needs an attorney.  The more I volunteer, the more client referrals I end up getting. It’s that simple.

So, not only do I get to feel good about doing something nice, but I also know that there is a great likelihood that it will help me professionally. Bar Association committees, Rule 170 mediation, fund drives, the DOVE Program and the Lawyer Referral Service are just a few examples of volunteer opportunities that have resulted in concrete professional benefits for my practice. Frankly, I am surprised more attorneys are not out there standing in line to volunteer.

Building credibility is another incidental benefit to volunteering in various settings. The more an attorney demonstrates a true concern for others, and a willingness to spend time and energy trying to help, the more people come to recognize that person as having integrity and community spirit. Of course, this kind of credibility is only created when you volunteer with genuine concern and regard for the cause you are supporting. If you are doing it for purely selfish reasons, you might as well not do it at all, because that selfishness will become obvious to everyone around you.

In essence, there really is no downside for attorneys who agree to do some work for free. The billable hours and even the time with family and friends that you may miss will be more than made up for by new clients, a richer character/personality and a deeper appreciation for the great good fortune that comes with the privilege of being an attorney in New Hampshire. So the next time you are asked to volunteer, remember that you are actually being offered credibility, friends, money and the opportunity to do something worthwhile—and do the right thing. The right thing to do is also the smart thing to do.

Rob (Robert) Hunt is an attorney with Burke & Eisner in Gilford, NH.  He has been a member of the NH Bar since 1994.

Home | About the Bar | For Members | For the Public | Legal Links | Publications | Online Store
Lawyer Referral Service | Law-Related Education | NHBA•CLE | NHBA Insurance Agency | NHMCLE
Search | Calendar

New Hampshire Bar Association
2 Pillsbury Street, Suite 300, Concord NH 03301
phone: (603) 224-6942 fax: (603) 224-2910
email: NHBAinfo@nhbar.org
© NH Bar Association Disclaimer