Wrapping up European Pro Bono Week 2024

Introduction

Last week, we celebrated the 6th edition of European Pro Bono Week. As in previous years, the event was collaboratively organised by different clearing houses, law firms and non-profit organisations. This year’s Steering Committee was led as always by PILnet , and included us Thomson Reuters Foundation , DLA Piper , Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP , Dentons , Pro Publico and Pro Bono Italia ETS .

This year, the thematic focus was on the harmonisation of pro bono across Europe. Acknowledging the diverse ways in which pro bono work is conducted and the unique challenges faced by the pro bono community in the region, the goal was to share knowledge and best practices to find common ground and work collaboratively to enhance pro bono efforts in Europe.

Many thanks Laura Leila Sz?cs , Anna Kalinichenko Francesco Zatelli , Joanna Khatib , Giovanni Carotenuto and @Byron Springs! Such a pleasure working with you.

Launching Event: Harmonisation of Pro Bono across Europe

European Pro Bono Week kicked off on Monday, June 10th with a launch event. We hosted a webinar that featured a panel discussion with various stakeholders from the European pro bono ecosystem, including representatives from law firms, clearinghouses, legal clinics, and the European Bars Federation. The discussion covered the regulatory, technical, and practical aspects of harmonisation.

Lance Bartholomeusz , General Counsel at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency , delivered the keynote speech, highlighting the significant potential for growth in pro bono work. He emphasised the importance of collaboration within the pro bono community to achieve collective goals, such as the 1 million hours pledge.

His remarks sparked an enriching discussion among panelists Daria Sartori from the 美国纽约大学 EU Legal Clinic, Dr. ?zgür Can Kahale from DLA Piper , Filip Czernicki from Okr?gowa Izba Radców Prawnych w Warszawie (OIRP) , and Izabela Konopacka president of FBE · Fédération des Barreaux d’Europe . They explored the pillars of pro bono work in the region and the need to eliminate unnecessary barriers to participation, especially for both young and experienced lawyers. You can watch the full discussion here:

Many thanks to all the panel members and especial thanks to our moderator @Byron Springs from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP !

Brussels Pro Bono Roundtable

On Thursday 13th, Thomson Reuters Foundation team participated in the 4th edition of the Brussels Pro Bono Roundtable . This time our host was Dentons . This event focused on highlighting key initiatives and projects happening in Belgium.

We heard from Marion de Nanteuil , who discussed the work being done at Victims of Violence; Hassan Ahmed , who shared updates from the Refugee Helpdesk at the Barreau de Bruxelles ; Ella Harnett from ProPulse; Carlotta Besozzi from Civil Society Europe (CSE) ; Xhomaqi, Brikena from Lifelong Learning Platform - European Civil Society for Education; Daria Sartori , who shared insights on the Rule 39 Initiative; and finally Charlie Holt who detailed the efforts by CASE to combat SLAPPs across Europe, an initiative that at the Thomson Reuters Foundation we are actively supporting.

I also had the chance to share some insights with a few members about our recently launched Pro Bono Impact Measurement Guide. This was an important space to share some insights and help our legal members to start tracking their impact. If you haven't checked the guide go and have look here:

The event concluded with the official launch of Pro Publico , a new organisation led by amazing pro bono stars like Francesco Zatelli and Daria Sartori , focused on fostering the pro bono culture across the region. Congrats to both!

Many thanks to all participants and especially to Atanas Politov , Aurore Ancion and Laurens Engelen for hosting us and organising such a great event!

Amsterdam Roundtable

We had the privilege of participating at Pro Bono Connect ’s annual roundtable, which brought together pro-bono leaders and high-impact NGOs in the Netherlands, to highlight how pro-bono was evolving in the country, and to discuss ways in which law firms and lawyers could play a more effective role to support the crucial social and environmental work of local civil society organisations. For #TrustLaw, this was a brilliant opportunity to cooperate with our friends at Pro Bono Connect , and to reconnect with our Dutch legal members.

We took part in a panel discussion with representatives from Loyens & Loeff Stibbe and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek that discussed emerging trends in ESG and pro-bono. We highlighted the diversity of approaches taken by different law firms in navigating these two concepts, and outlined the risks and opportunities of differing approaches. Many thanks Marie-Louise Voors Loes van Dijk and Jeroen de Boer !

Many thanks Pro Bono Connect and Veronika P. for the invitation and amazing event!

Conclusion

Pro Bono is growing and evolving, and it’s more important than ever for the legal community to connect, collaborate, and learn from each other to strengthen its role in combating emerging social and environmental challenges. The 6th European Pro Bono Week provided an essential opportunity for pro-bono leaders from across the continent to do this, and we were delighted to foster conversations that highlighted the diversity of approaches and emerging trends in pro-bono in the region. As a global service, Thomson Reuters Foundation TrustLaw is keen to create and promote spaces that remove obstacles to cross-border cooperation, and foster the cross-pollination of innovative ideas that enhance the impact of pro bono.