It's a concerted attempt by the legal profession to improve access to justice and tackle the problem of self-represented litigants, who are clogging the court system.

Pro Bono Law Ontario, a non-profit organization that runs the program, will open a self-help clinic to be staffed by lawyers from local firms. It's designed to build on the success of the small claims court program, which has served more than 1,000 people since June and provided more than $500,000 in free legal services.

Law firms Blake Cassels & Graydon, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin, Gowling Lafleur & Henderson and McCarthy Tetrault have been sending lawyers to act as duty counsel and advise low-income, unrepresented litigants in small claims court.

"The phenomenon of unrepresented litigants in our courts is growing almost daily," says Roy McMurtry, former Chief Justice of Ontario. "It's been an enormous concern for the legal community of lawyers and of course the judiciary. It's an access to justice issue."

Mr. McMurtry has helped spearhead the creation of PBLO and boost participation in pro bono work, a Latin term that means for the public good.

"As a result of his leadership ... (pro bono) has now become part of the culture of all the major law firms," says Glenn Hainey, a lawyer with Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP's Toronto office, which Mr. McMurtry joined four months ago.

Following the creation of PBLO in 2002, major law firms in Ontario began to formalize their pro bono contributions. Many have established committees, created a system to track pro bono hours and developed policies to recognize pro bono work the same way they do billable hours.

"Law firms have very significant overheads and they have to be concerned about the bottom line, but the key development was when the major law firms recognized pro bono time spent on the same basis as they gave credit for billable hours," explains Mr. McMurtry. "For this to work it had to be part of the mainstream culture of the firm."

A similar move is taking place in B.C. and Alberta, which have also recently introduced formal programs to facilitate pro bono law services. Both organizations provide representation for disadvantaged clients pursuing litigation, from small claims matters to the courts of appeal.

Like Ontario, law firms out West are making concerted efforts to officially incorporate pro bono work into their business model. Lawson Lundell LLP, for example, formalized its pro bono program in 2004. "Formalizing our policy was done in recognition of the fact that a lot of lawyers wanted to provide pro bono law services, but wanted to know what parameters applied to it," says Kenneth E. Burns, a Vancouver partner, who chairs the pro bono committee.

"There were concerns about professional liability insurance coverage and questions about the perception of the firm towards taking away time from other aspects of a lawyer's practice. The policy we instituted answered these questions in a positive way by demonstrating the firm's encouragement for pro bono activities, while setting out certain rules and procedures."

Mr. Burns says the opportunity to do such work also attracts top, young talent to the firm. "We have to compete for students and new hires, and they want to know the firm they're going to is community oriented."

Actually finding individuals who need legal assistance most is not as easy as it may seem.

That's why the programs in B.C., Alberta and Ontario are important. "It helps law firms find pro bono projects, which is curiously, a big problem in Ontario," acknowledges David Scott of Borden Ladner Gervais' Ottawa office.

Besides overseeing pro bono work, Mr. Scott sits as chair of the PBLO. He says besides the obvious cases, such as landlord and tenant disputes or claims for social assistance, "there are all kinds of other activities in society where people might require a lawyer, but the match hasn't been made yet. People out there are overwhelmed by their needs and they don't come forward; you have to find them."

Besides working closely with PBLO, Borden Ladner is also launching a project with about 15 other law firms in Montreal to develop an inventory of hours that lawyers are willing to commit in the courts.

Most large law firms in Canada have dozens of pro bono cases ongoing at any time and provide all kinds of free legal advice to charities and community organizations.

In Halifax, Stewart McKelvey managing partner John Rogers says there's no shortage of work. "It a critical part of what Stewart McKelvey is all about," says Mr. Rogers, citing the firm's contribution to its community that earned it a corporate philanthropy award this year.

In Calgary, where the oilpatch has ignited the economy, pro bono is flourishing. "Our firm has a very deep-seeded feeling that we've all done very well and benefited professionally from the Calgary economy so we feel very strongly in rolling up our sleeves and providing legal services to organizations like this as a way of giving back to the community," says Craig Hill of Burnet Duckworth & Palmer.

The firm has been providing a range of legal services to the Calgary Homeless Foundation and a handful of other organizations along with a regular complement of pro bono cases for individuals.

Pro bono work doesn't stop at Canada's border. Blakes Cassels & Graydon has taken on matters for Mayan farmers in Belize and for citizens in Liberia.

Paul Schabas, head of the firm's pro bono work, says "we have a lot of people in the firm who sit on boards and are active in the community and they get approached by people."

Mr Schabas adds the firm's policy to equate pro bono matters with billable cases "is a way of putting your money where your mouth is.

"Most people who go to law school have at least in part gone there with some interest in doing good, dealing with injustice. So you seek out opportunities that can give your work that meaning."

Carman Overholt of Fraser Milner Cas-grain's Vancouver office was bestowed the Canadian Bar Association's prestigious Harry Rankin Pro Bono Q.C. Award this year for his work with pro bono in B.C. He was the founding chair of Pro Bono Law of B.C. and is now co-chair.

He remembers his experience participating in legal clinic work at Queen's University law school. "It instilled in me how important it is to always strive to assist those who may have difficulty in accessing the legal profession because of their financial means.

"In terms of access to justice it's always a challenge. but lawyers have responded by very generously providing services to those individuals and organizations to ensure people have access to justice."