<![CDATA[This article critically examines the implementation of pro bono legal aid in Indonesia amid the continuing crisis of access to justice for poor communities and the growing commercialization of the legal profession. The study employs a normative juridical method with a library research approach by analyzing legal aid regulations, advocate codes of ethics, and contemporary academic literature related to legal aid and access to justice. This article argues that pro bono legal aid should not merely be viewed as an individual ethical obligation of advocates, but also as part of the constitutional responsibility of a rule-of-law state in guaranteeing equality before the law for poor and vulnerable groups. The findings reveal that the implementation of legal aid still faces structural challenges, including unequal distribution of legal services, weak supervision of advocates’ pro bono obligations, low public legal literacy, and the increasing market orientation within the legal profession that often places free legal aid services as a non-priority activity. These conditions reflect a gap between the idealism of the advocate profession as an officium nobile and the reality of increasingly commercial legal practice. Therefore, strengthening legal aid requires policy reform, revitalization of officium nobile values, stronger professional supervision, and collaboration between the state, advocate organizations, and legal aid institutions.]]>
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