Pro bono across borders

• Global charity Advocates for International Development matches international legal expertise with local need for pro bono assistance in more than 100 jurisdictions.

Pro bono legal work is not confined to the shores of the UK. Around the world, solicitors, barristers and judges from England and Wales are offering their time and technical expertise without charge to safeguard human rights, uphold the rule of law and ensure equality for all. Advocates for International Development (A4ID) aims to inspire and enable lawyers to join the global fight against poverty, and to ensure that legal support is available for those engaged in that fight.

Yasmin Batliwala MBE, A4ID’s chief executive, says: ‘The UK has every reason to be proud of its pro bono heritage. Over the past ten years, most law firms, regardless of their size, have undertaken pro bono work.’

A4ID’s pro bono brokerage service matches international legal expertise with local need in more than 100 jurisdictions. Through its legal partners, it draws from a committed network of more than 53,000 lawyers covering over 120 jurisdictions.

The pro bono legal advice covers a broad spectrum, including contract and commercial, finance, competition, environmental, intellectual property, human rights, litigation, public, regulatory, and trade law.

Recent examples include establishing the world’s first free-of-cost international school for refugee children in Kenya; and facilitating the ratification of a pan-African medical regulatory body.

Sharing legal expertise

The benefits of international pro bono are not limited to the projects, people or countries helped, but also play an important role in enhancing the UK’s global influence and strategic relationships.

‘Investing in the rule of law not only furthers the UK’s longstanding commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but also offers unparalleled opportunities to showcase the UK’s world-beating legal and judicial sectors,’ says Batliwala.

She adds that ‘such an investment promotes the economic recovery of the very markets with which the UK is looking to build new and exciting commercial relationships’.

A4ID’s Rule of Law Programme (ROLE UK Programme), supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, focuses on building long-term partnerships between the UK legal sector and legal actors in the global south to strengthen the rule of law and facilitate progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme focuses on the eradication of poverty; gender equality; reduced inequalities; peace, justice and strong institutions; and partnerships for development.

The work of the ROLE UK Programme has resulted in the abolition of the death penalty in Malawi with all 22 prisoners on death row being given clemency, which has received the attention of lawmakers in African and Asian countries

International pro bono & the SDGs

With less than a decade left to realise the achievement of the UN’s SDGs, A4ID has been continuing its innovative work towards meeting these targets by harnessing the power of the global legal community. A4ID’s SDG Legal Initiative has been developed because it is now more important than ever that the global legal community comes together to use their skills to advance positive global change. It is a call to action to the global legal profession to work towards the achievement of the SDG agenda.

Batliwala states: ‘By sharing knowledge and providing opportunities to take practical action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity, A4ID will continue its work with the legal sector to enhance this impact’.

The SDG Legal Initiative aims to create communities of practice, and to amplify the role of the legal sector in achieving the SDGs.

As part of its SDG Legal Initiative, A4ID is producing the world’s first Legal Guide to the SDGs. Developed in collaboration with lawyers, academics, and development practitioners, the guide is made up of 17 distinct chapters, each focused on one of the 17 goals.

It offers key insights into the legal challenges and opportunities that lawyers can encounter, presenting clear examples of how lawyers can negotiate them. So far, it has published the first seven chapters, which cover goals 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, and 16.

Over the next year, the initiative will run a programme of activities to support its aims, including an industry-wide survey on the understanding of the SDGs, events to launch different chapters of the legal guide, and will launch a platform to convene the global legal profession on SDGs.

Advocates for International Development (www.a4id.org).