????沒有人統計過全美法律援助服務的時間總量，但華盛頓公益法律事務研究所（Pro Bono Institute）近日的一項調查發現，在編律師人數至少為50人的大律師事務所提供的律師人均法律援助時間去年較2009年減少了8.6%。 當然，2009年是近20年法律援助歷史上最活躍的一年。

????調查結果印證了去年夏天《美國律師》雜志（The American Lawyer）發布的一項研究。當時的研究顯示，美國最大的200家律師事務所中律師人均法律援助時間減少了8%。

????律師事務所壓縮法律援助時間是因為“心里有擔憂，而且他們也沒有迅速招募新員工來滿足經濟開始復蘇時客戶需求的增長，” 公益法律事務研究所首席執行官埃斯特?拉登特表示?！昂芏喾稍ぷ鞫际怯赡贻p律師完成的，一旦年輕律師本人手不夠，自然優先滿足收費服務。”

????如今，各個律師事務所都在不遺余力地試圖留住或贏得付費客戶。規模居前的大型律師事務所更是在手忙腳亂地調整，努力適應“一些公司客戶再也不愿自動支付高昂的小時收費服務”這一新現實，而小時收費正是大多數律師事務所的財務基石。

????不過，法律援助服務確實能讓在編律師能有機會處理一些棘手案件、獲得案件審理經驗以及做善事的成就感，同時仍然享有豐厚的薪資收入。

????接受Pro Bono Institute調查的一些大律師事務所承諾，每年將相當于收費小時3-5%的時間用于提供法律援助服務，相當于在編律師每年平均60-100個小時。

????但《美國律師》雜志的調查發現，一些瑞生律師事務所（Latham & Watkins）這樣的主要律師事務所貢獻的小時數在顯著減少?？偛课挥诼迳即壍娜鹕蓭熓聞账鶊蟾?，它貢獻的小時數減少了47,000小時，降幅高達30%——雖然該律師事務所的律師總人數增加了10%。

????其他諸如紐約Cravath, Swaine & Moore這樣的知名律師事務所貢獻的法律援助時間在顯著增加，另一些律師事務所則保持了穩定。但非營利性機構美國法律服務公司（Legal Services Corp.）的負責人吉姆?桑德曼表示，由于法律援助時間的減少正趕上法院系統超負荷運轉，那些需要幫助的人們至少有一半得不到法律援助。Legal Services Corp.分布在全美各地的幾百個辦事處接受志愿者以及私人執業律師的協助，提供免費或折價法律服務。

????No one tracks the overall volunteer attorney hours nationwide, but a recent study by the Pro Bono Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, found that the average number of pro bono hours per attorney at big firms, each of which has at least 50 lawyers, sank by 8.6% last year compared to 2009. To be sure, 2009 was the most active year recorded in the program's nearly two-decade history.

????The findings mirror a study released last summer by The American Lawyer, which reported an 8% decline in the average pro bono hours for attorneys at the top 200 U.S. law firms.

????Law firms are lagging in donating legal help because "they are anxious, and they don't staff up quickly to meet the increase in client demand when the economy begins to improve," says Esther Lardent, chief executive of the Pro Bono Institute. "Much of the pro bono work is done by younger lawyers, but when they are in short supply, paid work is the priority."

????Currently, law firms are racing to retain, or win, paying clients, and the largest firms especially are scrambling to adjust to a new world where restive corporate clients are no longer as willing to automatically pay the sky-high hourly rates that are the bedrock of most law firms' finances.

????Still, pro bono work gives staff attorneys a chance to handle challenging cases, gain trial experience, and pat themselves on the back for doing good while still earning handsome wages.

????The large firms -- which self-report -- surveyed by the Pro Bono Institute pledged to contribute between 3% and 5% of their billable hours annually to pro bono work. That amounts to between 60 hours and 100 hours per staff attorney.

????But The American Lawyer survey found that some major law firms like Latham & Watkins registered notable declines in donated hours. The Los Angeles-based firm reported 47,000 fewer hours, a 30% drop in donated hours -- even as the overall number of firm lawyers increased by 10%.

????Other legal powerhouses like Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York added substantially to their pro bono annual totals, while other firms stayed steady. But as fewer donated hours stack up against an overloaded court system, at least half of those in legal need will not receive services, says Jim Sandman, head of the non-profit Legal Services Corp., whose hundreds of offices across the country are assisted by volunteer or discounted services provided by private lawyers.