What types of pro bono work meet the pro bono legal assistance guidelines listed under Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct (RPC) 6.1? 

RPC 6.1 identifies the following ways to carry out our pro bono responsibilities:

• Providing professional legal services at no fee or a reduced fee to persons of limited means or to public service or charitable groups or organizations
• Providing service in activities for improving the law, the legal system, or the legal profession
• Providing financial support for organizations that provide legal services to persons of limited means

The Comment to RPC 6.1 provides that service under this rule includes work provided without fee or at substantially reduced fee in several areas, which include:

• Poverty law – work for a client who does not have the financial resources to compensate counsel;
• Civil rights law – representation of the right of an individual that society has a special interest in protecting;
• Public rights law – legal representation involving an important right belonging to a significant segment of the public;
• Charitable organization representation – meaning representation of a charitable, religious, civic, governmental and educational institution on a matter in furtherance of the organization’s purpose where payment of customary legal fees would significantly deplete an organization’s economic resources or otherwise be inappropriate;

The Final Report of the Commission on Indiana’s Legal Future (July 1, 2025) makes numerous recommendations regarding solutions to address the lawyer shortage in our state: supporting and growing the legal profession, creating and supporting undergraduate to law school pipelines, and establishing mentorships around the practice of law and the legal profession.

• Administration of justice – activity designed to increase the availability of legal representation or improve the administration of justice;