北京律协近日发布了《北京律师社会责任报告》，这是北京律协首次编制此类报告，也是全国迄今为止第一份关于律师社会责任的报告。该报告称，有97.09%律师愿意履行社会责任，76.87%律师已经以各种形式履行了社会责任。

长年开展法制宣传工作的北京市易行律师事务所主任刘凝律师认为，当前，律师行业面临快速发展后的困惑和瓶颈，外有公众的怀疑和误解，内有对行业发展前途的焦虑和担忧，在这种情况下，广大律师只有自觉承担社会责任，时刻把社会公平正义作为自己行为的标杆，扶危助弱，积极化解社会矛盾冲突，努力做和谐社会的建设者，才能赢得社会的尊重和理解，获得更大的发展空间。从而在提升自身地位的同时，促进整个国家的法治进程。

北京律协副会长姜俊禄表示：“律师事务所和律师与企业和企业家有所区别，其与国家、权力、法律、公众权利等社会基本范畴联系甚紧，其社会责任意识也更加明显。还没有一个群体像律师群体更关心宪法、权力监督、人权保障、基层选举等社会事务。律师可能是社会群体中参政议政最积极、政策法律水平最高、社会触角最全面、社会意识最发达的。”

为了改变社会公众与媒体对律师行业了解不够充分、占有信息不全面的状况，引导全体律师勇于承担社会责任, 北京市律师协会委托法制日报社《法制与新闻》杂志社和中国政法大学法学院部分师生共同成立调研课题组，调研北京律师在过去三十年履行社会责任的状况和特点，研究律师履行社会责任的路径和方法，进而起草并向社会发布了《北京律师社会责任报告》。

北京律协负责人表示，希望以此引领北京律师投身公益事业，并向社会展示和弘扬首都律师强烈的社会责任意识。

"97% of the polled lawyers are willing to fulfil their social responsibility", "77% of polled lawyers have already taken a variety of social responsibility initiatives" - these are some of the key findings from a recent report issued by the Beijing Bar Association. Aiming to contribute to a greater understanding of lawyers' responsibilities and roles in pursuing social justice and aiding disadvantaged communities, the report provides a comprehensive overview and in-depth examination of the existing developments and programs in this area in Beijing and highlights a large number of good examples across a wide range of sectors.

"Lawyers have very diverse roles that can have far-reaching influence on almost every aspect of our society. Compared to other professions and businesses, they have a more important responsibility for promoting and upholding social justice and equality," said Jiang Junlu, vice president of the Beijing Bar Association, who headed the research project.

"The past three decades have seen most firms focusing on building up their businesses, expanding into new practice areas and growing the size of their teams. However, as the public and many companies become more concerned about corporate social responsibility, the legal industry has started to pay increasing attention to the social responsibility of lawyers in recent years," Jiang said.

The 100-page Beijing Lawyers' Social Responsibility Report is based on a survey of more than 1,440 lawyers conducted between May and October 2010 and is the first such report published by a bar association. Previously, a few firms, including Grandall Legal Group, have published their own social responsibility reports. Jiang notes that it will become an annual report by the Beijing Bar Association and he expects more bar associations in other regions to follow suit.

"Examing the achievements and setbacks in terms of social responsibility of Beijing lawyers in the past will help all lawyers and firms to address social responsibility more effectively. Promoting and improving Beijing legal industry's contribution to the social justice and local communities will be a priority of the association in the coming years. We are determined to set the benchmark for the national's legal profession," Jiang said.

In addition, the association is planning to launch an annual awards series to recognise and reward outstanding individuals and law firms in this area. ALB