Family law and immigration were among the most popular areas for pro bono work in 2011, according to the 229 Probono.net members who took a recent survey on “Your Year in Pro Bono.” The survey, conducted during December 2011, looked at which areas of legal need were of interest, and why.

Family law emerged as a top priority, with more than 27% of those responding having handled a family law matter as their last pro bono case. Following was immigration, at 15%. Other areas of interest included asylum, housing and military and veteran’s affairs.

The survey showed a strong commitment to pro bono, with 52% of respondents having taken on their last case in the last three months, and 69% within the last six months. Awareness of the growing justice gap seems to be driving this activity. More than half the respondents cited “awareness of need in this area” as their primary reason for taking on their last pro bono case. One third of the respondents cited “interest in working with a specific population” such as veterans, children or immigrants.

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