Practice Profile/Characteristics

The following tables present data regarding the characteristics and profile of legal practice in Oregon. Data is provided for total hours worked per month, hours worked per month by type of employment, and hours spent in pro-bono and community service activities.

Hours Worked : Monthly hours worked for full-time and part-time lawyers by choice are presented in the following table. Average and median hours worked by full-time lawyers were fairly consistent throughout the seven regions. Average and median hours worked by part-time lawyers were less consistent among the regions. The overall average and median hours worked per month for full-time lawyers are identical to the numbers in the 1994 survey.

Type of Employment : Average and median hours worked per month by type of employment for full-time lawyers are presented in the following table. Corporate in-house counsel reported the highest overall average and median hours worked of 198 and 200 hours per month. The other types of employment reported similar number of hours worked. The data does not differ significantly from the 1994 data.

Pro-Bono/Community Service Hours : Pro-bono legal services was defined as legal services provided to individuals whom the attorney did not bill. This category does not include attorneys working for legal aid organizations or non-profit groups which provide legal services on a free or reduced fee basis. Fifty-five percent of attorneys reported spending an average of 9.2 hours per month providing pro-bono legal services compared to 56% spending 9.3 hours in 1994. Community service was defined as volunteer service to charitable organizations, churches, or other community services. Sixty-nine percent reported spending an average of 11.1 hours per month providing volunteer community services compared to 67% spending 10.8 hours in 1994.