Te Ara Ture director Sabrina Muck discusses the factors that drove the strong findings
Participating law firms in the Framework for Collaborative Pro Bono in Aotearoa have surpassed the framework’s aspirational target of 25 hours of pro bono work per full-time equivalent, with lawyers at these firms logging an average of 27.58 hours.
DLA Piper, Gilbert Walker, Holland Beckett, Luke Cunningham Clere, Russell McVeagh and Simpson Grierson are the six founding firms working together with national pro bono clearinghouse Te Ara Ture on the framework. According to the framework’s inaugural report, 67% of lawyers at these firms took on at least one hour of pro bono legal work over 2025; the average number of pro bono hours reported by these was approximately 41 hours per lawyer.
Eighty-six point seven percent of the work was conducted for not-for-profit organisations, while 13.3% was done for individuals. In total, the framework logged 17,589.15 hours of pro bono work last year; iwi, hapū and Māori entity matters made up 443 of these hours.
Te Ara Ture director Sabrina Muck described the results as “heartening”.
“At all these [participating] firms, pro bono is supported at the most senior levels,” she told NZ Lawyer. “It's a firm-wide culture, and the firms have established pro bono practices so they’re not new to this space.”
Muck added that there was “a genuine culture of commitment among the participating firms”. She highlighted the benefit of pro bono work that goes beyond helping the community, noting that lawyers who had done pro bono work often described it as “some of the most rewarding work that they've done”.
“It exposes them to the full breadth of issues. Junior lawyers are able to get involved at an earlier stage in their careers. With more senior lawyers, it gives you an opportunity to be involved with or advocate on those matters that you feel strongly about that you might not have a chance to do in your day-to-day work”, she told NZ Lawyer.
Muck said that through the framework, firms with established pro bono practices would also be able to provide support to those just starting their own dedicated practice.
“For the purposes of this framework, collaboration is more about expanding that pro bono participation rather than competing between firms”, she told NZ Lawyer. “It's about sharing ideas, discussing challenges, and contributing to this landscape”.
And even though firms exceeded expectations in the framework’s first year, Muck said the aspirational target would remain at 25 hours.
“We're rather more interested in having other firms or practices come on board rather than shifting the goalposts”, she told NZ Lawyer. “This is only the first year, so this serves as a litmus test for where we are and where we might go in the future”.
Muck confirmed that the report would be an annual release with the intent of building a “more comprehensive picture of the pro bono landscape in New Zealand”. While expanding the survey questions was on the table, it was not in short-term plans.
“I think the survey already shows us where the time and resources are going. From that information, the framework participants can then consider what they would like to focus on more or what they'd like to explore”, she told NZ Lawyer.
The Framework for Collaborative Pro Bono in Aotearoa is the first alliance of its kind in New Zealand, according to Te Ara Ture. The pro bono clearinghouse spearheads the framework.
