Pro bono in Africa

City firm Herbert Smith is to provide free legal assistance to the government of Sierra Leone, in a ground-breaking project facilitated by the Africa Governance Initiative, a non-government organisation.

Herbert Smith will, for one year, provide support from a range of the firm’s partners and lawyers on a remote basis. Daniel Hoyle, a senior associate, will be seconded to the attorney general’s office in Freetown, Sierra Leone, for five months to set up the remote network and develop training programmes. The firm has also donated PCs to the attorney general’s office.

Tony Blair, the AGI’s founder and patron, says: “The advice that a top law firm like Herbert Smith can provide will be incredibly beneficial to the government of Sierra Leone in helping them to deliver the kind of sustainable, broad-based economic growth that will lift people out of poverty.”