NASHVILLE (AP) — A new study shows Tennessee attorneys volunteer more than 800,000 hours a year.

The report released by the Tennessee Supreme Court's Access to Justice Commission shows that in 2011 the number of hours that Tennessee attorneys volunteered their services nearly tripled from 2009.

In 2011, 9,736 attorneys practicing in Tennessee provided 804,961 hours of pro bono work, an average of nearly 83 hours per attorney.

There were a total of 21,111 attorneys licensed in Tennessee in 2011, which means 46 percent reported participating in pro bono activity. Only 18 percent reported pro bono work in 2009.

According to the study, this demonstrates a 173 percent increase in pro bono hours reported from 2009 to 2011.