Does this mean I can’t be paid at all for doing pro bono work?

Not necessarily. There are two ways an attorney can be paid for doing “pro bono” work. First, if an attorney charges less than one-half of their current market rates to an individual reasonably believed to be of limited means, then the representation is still considered “pro bono” for reporting purposes.

Second, if an attorney accepts a case with no expectation of payment, but a court later orders another party to pay some or all of the pro bono attorney’s fees, the attorney is allowed to accept those fees for their services and still consider their services “pro bono.” Of course, Rule 6.1 encourages attorneys to donate an “appropriate” portion of those fees to an organization or project that serves low-income persons.