According to Tamas Barabas, PILI legal officer, Croatian NGOs are starting to cooperate via Pro Bono Legal Program with multinational law firms and legal departments of multinational companies by engaging their lawyers in volunteer work.  These entities have huge resources to assist NGOs and later, as it is PILI’s strategical plan, to engage them in sponsoring NGOs worldwide.

“Chamber of Lawyers in Croatia wanted to exclude civil society organizations from Law on Free Legal Help and about pro bono case particularly, Croatian NGOs could’ve only dreamt of. So it is of great significance that certain countries have recognized the importance of PILI cooperation. Those NGOs are making effort already to use the knowledge and skills of great law firms which are pretty aware of the amount of money they make and they wish to, at least partially, help those who don’t have the means, but naturally, deserve the approach to justice,“ says Sanja Sarnavka, president of B.a.B.e., women rights association in Zagreb, Croatia.

PILI is a leading advocate for institutionalizing pro bono practice (volunteer legal assistance) in Europe and beyond. By promoting and providing technical assistance for organized pro bono, PILI helps ensure that more disadvantaged and vulnerable groups have access to the legal resources they need. PILI helps bridge the gap between lawyers who seek to take on pro bono matters and NGOs that often the lack the resources to find and secure professional legal representation.

“Pro bono” essentially refers to legal services that are offered for free or at a reduced cost by lawyers and law firms to nonprofit or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

At a time of limited resources, PILI aims to support the work of NGOs by matching their legal needs with law firms beyond the borders of their country that seek to help NGOs by offering pro bono, or free, legal services.

Pro bono assistance is offered in field of:

  • Comparative Law Research
  • Legal Research – General
  • Legal Drafting and Commentary/Critique
  • European Court if Human Rights Litigation (legal research, legal drafting: applications, legal briefs, Amicus curiae briefs)
  • Technical legal assistance in variety of ways: 
       –  Transnational contractual issues: e.g. matters involving donors, foreign consultants (contracts, liability), partner organizations, EU, etc. 
       –  International tax issues, financial/tax liability. 

As part of PILI efforts, strong relationships with more than 40 international law firms have been developed and they are assisting many NGOs through PILI’s growing network.

PILI doesn’t offer pro bono assistance itself, but only brokers the relationship to make pro bono assistance possible. 

So far following cooperation was made: Women’s Center Trebinje (BiH) & Dewey & LeBoeuf, The Environmental Law Services (ELS) (Czech Republic) & DLA Piper, The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) (Hungary) & Weil Gotshal & Manges, Resource Centre for People with Mental Disability “Zelda” (Latvia) & Skadden Arps.

“We would like that as many organizations as possible seek and use the help from big law firms and offices in this program, and that in that way, help those in their countries, whose rights are violated or are discriminated in any way”, adds Ms. Sarnavka. 

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