IBA Pro Bono E-Bulletin

Message from Pamela Kovacs, Communications Officer, IBA Pro Bono Committee - 

Welcome to the fall e-bulletin, which features ongoing insights related to pro bono practice from colleagues spanning continents and operating in very different practice environments. Through these practical insights, our Committee hopes to help encourage legal professionals around the globe to deliver pro bono legal services more effectively, efficiently, and within the ethos of doing public good.

Featured Articles:

Africa and pro bono - is Africa behind, or different? 

Implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Capabilities) in Poland

The pro bono class action that dislodged the issuance of irregular marriage certificates in Nigeria

How do we know if it is working? Practical approaches to evaluating pro bono work

Meet the Officer: David Flechner, Allen & Overy, NY

Annual Pro Bono Award Winner: Balazs Sahin-Toth

 

From the files Friday 

A regular feature highlighting a roundup of topical pro bono content from the Pro Bono Committee’s archives.

Previous posts can be found in Resources. 

For the month of May, IBA Law Student Representative Emily Wright reviews pro bono efforts to help address end of life and its legal implications:

• Featured recently on @IBAProBono, students at the Pro Bono Centre of Singapore Management University participate in an Eldercare Project, which aims to empower the elderly by assisting in the drafting of wills and Lasting Power of Attorney documents. See article.
• India’s sacred town of Vrindavan has become known as “the city of widows” due to the overwhelming number of women who move to the town after losing their husbands. While Indian law protects equal inheritance rights, these women are often exploited and fail to gain access to justice. Pro-bono lawyers for the women hope to change that. See article.
• In the United States, those facing sudden bereavement can be left in a precarious position, having not considered the financial implications of probate and funeral costs. In a journal article, Professor Luz Herrera explores “low bono” options and notes “The legal services delivery system in the United States must account not only for the poor but also for those individuals who are a pay check, an emergency-room stay, or a divorce away from being part of the bottom economic quintile in this country”. See article. 

 

Latest Articles:

Refugee crisis accounts for huge spike in pro bono legal activity

The emergence of a highly active pro bono sector is among the most notable – and edifying – developments in legal practice over the last two decades. Increasing numbers of commercial lawyers, it appears, are seeking ways to apply their skills to the provision of life-changing support for those most in need. Within the last year, the international refugee crisis has provided significant additional impetus for pro bono work.

Click here for the full article

IBA Pro Bono Committee Chair featured in Who's Who Legal's Article, 'Pro Bono - The Inside Story'.

On 2 December 2013, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced that out-of-state lawyers employed as in-house counsel in New York would be able to provide pro bono legal services. This follows similar moves in Illinois, Virginia and Colorado. According to Lippman, only 20 per cent of the civil legal needs of New York's low-income residents were met in 2012 and the state hopes this development will help fill the gap.

Corporate pro bono is on the rise throughout the world and the timing could not be better - the difficult economic climate and legal aid cuts have led to a dramatically increased demand for free legal services from underprivileged sections of society. Recent developments throughout the world have helped to break down some of the barriers formerly hindering in-house counsel's involvement and have unleashed a section of the legal profession which was previously dormant. In this special feature, Who's Who Legal delves into the corporate world to find out the inside story of pro bono.

Click here for the full article.

 

Please see the IBA Pro Bono Declaration.

Please see the IBA website.

Please see the IBA pro bono project for Group Member firms and member bar associations.

Please see the International Rule of Law Directory website.