Organisations that have been approved as NGO partners can receive help on any legal need for which they do not have resources or in-house expertise. Our one exception is that we do not assist with internal organisational conflicts.
PILA makes it easy for lawyers and law firms to take on pro bono matters: staff carry out comprehensive due diligence on all partner NGOs, invest significant time in working with NGOs to understand and prioritise their needs, identify the specific legal question to be answered and the area of expertise that is required, all before circulating requests to lawyers. PILA also manages administrative tasks associated with the work and conducts follow up with the pro bono client. This enables legal partners to focus purely on giving legal assistance.
When we assess a request from an NGO we either engage directly with a partner law firm or in-house team, or circulate to our mailing list of individuals. This allows lawyers put themselves forward to take on a piece of work as they see fit.
All legal assistance provided through PILA must be given the same priority as paid work and must be completed to the same high standards. Legal partners agree to complete the work to an agreed deadline and to the NGO’s satisfaction. PILA asks all partner law firms to sign and implement a Pro Bono Protocol to help with the internal management of pro bono matters.