Good for Lawyers, Good for the Community: Lawyers in Europe Increasingly Inclined to Volunteer

PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 28, 2009 – Out of nearly 150 European lawyers from 14 different countries who responded to a recent survey conducted by the Public Interest Law Institute (PILI), nearly 90 percent responded that they had taken on some kind of pro bono work—legal assistance offered for free or reduced cost—in the past two years. The numbers are encouraging, indicating a growing trend toward more volunteerism among the legal community in Europe. This in turn translates into increased access to justice for more disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, as well as the organizations that assist them – good for lawyers, good for the community.

This momentum is being harnessed by PILI, an international NGO that seeks to expand and institutionalize pro bono practice in Europe and beyond. Whereas in the US pro bono practice has a longer, more established tradition, in Europe it has been slower to develop. Some of the reasons for this were also identified in the survey: for example, a lack of prioritization and respect for volunteer legal assistance within the European context as well as a lack of bar association support and proper regulation. Lawyers who responded positively to wanting to take on more pro bono work identified these as significant impediments to doing more.

“Overcoming the obstacles to pro bono is among the most important objectives of our European Pro Bono Forum,” emphasized PILI Executive Director Edwin Rekosh. “And we’re seeing significant signs of progress in countries as diverse as France, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Poland and Russia.”

Now in its third year, the Forum is the only platform entirely dedicated to a comparative perspective on pro bono in Europe. This year’s Forum, to be held on 5-6 November in Budapest, will bring together more than 150 participants from 30 countries who are committed to working collaboratively to increase pro bono work, thereby raising its profile and respect among the legal community. Prominent speakers will include Lord Phillips of Sudbury, Sándor Fülöp, the Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations, and Hendrik Bourgeois, European General Counsel for General Electric.

Forum panels will also demonstrate how pro bono assistance is increasingly being used to advance human rights causes through innovative partnerships. Through Droits d’Urgence, a Paris-based humanitarian non-profit organization, and the Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme (Lawyers’ Alliance for Human Rights), a new initiative organized in cooperation with the Paris Bar, French lawyers will volunteer their expertise on human rights abuses cases. Representatives of both Droits d’Urgence and the Alliance will speak at the Forum. In addition, Wolfgang Kaleck, the Secretary General of the European Center for Constitutional Rights (ECCHR, Berlin), will address the potential for pro bono in the human rights sphere.

As the survey showed, the organized bar plays a critical role in forming the expectations of legal professionals. The Forum’s closing plenary, featuring speakers representing the Paris, French, German and Polish bars, will explore the ways bars and law societies in Europe can promote an ethic of volunteerism among lawyers—a topic  that will also be addressed by Anne Birgitte Gammeljord, the current president of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).

The European Pro Bono Forum is one of several initiatives by PILI to increase pro bono practice in Europe. PILI runs several “clearinghouses” that match the legal needs of NGOs and non-profit organizations with lawyers willing to volunteer their expertise and services. Its Global Clearinghouse pairs lawyers and NGOs in cross-jurisdictional matters; PILI’s Chinese, Hungarian and Russian Pro Bono Clearinghouses cultivate partnerships in those countries. PILI also lends expertise to clearinghouses and other pro bono partnership models developing throughout Europe.

The Public Interest Law Institute (PILI) (www.pili.org) is an international NGO that advances human rights around the world by stimulating public interest advocacy and developing the institutions necessary to sustain it. PILI conducts its work from hubs in Belgrade, Budapest, Beijing, Moscow, and New York.

To learn more about the 2009 European Pro Bono Forum and to register, visit www.probonolawyer.eu or contact Atanas Politov at apolitov@pili.org.