Pro Bono Week 2024
Pro Bono Week Ireland will take place from the 10h to 14th June 2024.
Pro Bono Week Ireland is a part of a wider project, i.e. European Pro Bono Week, a multi-city, week-long event to celebrate and highlight the role played by the European lawyers in supporting civil society and human rights organizations and promoting access to justice for those in need. It is organized by the European Pro Bono Initiative, PILnet, Trustlaw, law firms and European pro bono clearinghouses and organizations.
A central objective of Pro Bono Week is to bring together various stakeholders in the pro bono ecosystem – lawyers, law students, non-profits, human rights activists, academics and business – for an engaging conversation about important issues relating to legal needs within Europe and the role for pro bono in tackling these issues. As such, this year in Ireland Pro Bono Week is organised by The Pro Bono Week Committee, law firm members of the Pro Bono Pledge Ireland, the Voluntary Assistance Scheme of the Bar Council, and the Law Society of Ireland.
The Pro Bono Week Committee, consisting of PILA (The Public Interest Law Alliance), a project of FLAC, A&L Goodbody, Arthur Cox, DLA Piper Ireland, Matheson, McCann FitzGerald, Mason Hayes & Curran, Philip Lee, and members of the Law Library, are pleased to invite you to participate in Pro Bono Week Ireland which celebrates the role played by volunteer lawyers supporting civil society and those in need. Events will take place, throughout the week, to highlight and promote pro bono culture.
Follow us on Twitter at @PILAIreland. The official hashtags this year are #ProBonoWeekIreland2024, #EPBW, #EPBW2024.
EU wide Launch of Pro Bono Week - Harmonisation of Pro Bono across Europe
This year, the overarching theme for the European Pro Bono Week is ‘Harmonization of Pro Bono across Europe’.
Tune in to hear from:
Özgür Kahale, Pro Bono Director for Europe · DLA Piper
Özgür Kahale is the Pro Bono Director for Europe managing a high-volume pro bono program in 20 countries serving more than 2000 attorneys. The Firm's European Pro Bono Practice provides free legal assistance to key European NGOs, United Nations agencies, social entrepreneurs, academic institutions and disadvantaged individuals. Özgür creates, launches and manages programs in complex legal environments to serve the unmet legal needs of the community. She leads several big projects and focuses on migrant rights, child rights and rule of law. Özgür contributes to the development of pro bono in Europe by organizing pro bono roundtables, events, meetings and leads the discussions on pro bono and its development in Europe. She is also in charge of the Pro Bono team's technology and access to justice work stream and she organises DLA Piper's "Access to Justice and Technology Summit" every year.
Dr. Daria Sartori, Executive Director NYU EU Public Interest Law Clinic, Founding Partner and Supervisor, Rule 39 Pro Bono Initiative, Co-founder · NYU, Rule 39 Pro Bono Initiative, Pro Publico
Dr. Daria Sartori is a practicing human rights lawyer registered with the Italian and French Bars. After working as a case-processing lawyer in the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, she established her own legal practice and is now extensively involved in pro bono work at the European level. Notably, Daria is the Executive Director of the EU Public Interest Law Clinic at New York University (Paris Campus), designed to engage students as public interest practitioners in the field of European law and policy. She is also a co-founder of the newly established Pro Publico, and founding partner and supervisor of the award-winning Rule 39 Pro Bono Initiative, which focuses on human rights litigation for the protection of vulnerable foreigners and asylum seekers.
Dr. Filip Czernicki, Centrum PRO BONO
Dr Filip Czernicki, Attorney-at-Law, graduated from the Warsaw University Law School. Besides his academic and business career he works on the development and promotion of lawyers pro bono activity as well as improvement of legal education and establishment of legal clinics in Poland and Eastern Europe. Since 2018 Coordinator of the Warsaw Bar Association of Attorneys-at-Law pro bono programs. Filip also runs the first in Poland and the only so far clearinghouse program managed by the Bar Association.
Date: Monday, 10 June 2024, 2pm - 3pm
Location: Online
Register to attend here.
Gender, Justice and the Law
Join PILnet, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), St Andrews Refugee Service (StARs), and members of the legal community as we share knowledge and good practices on the theme of “Gender, Justice and the Law; Legal and Practical Challenges for Refugees.”
In advance of the UNHCR Global Consultations with NGOs happening in Geneva, 11-13 June 2024, and the 2024 Global Strategic Litigation Roundtable on the 10 June, members of the GRF Legal Community Pledge Core Group and the Global Strategic Litigation Council will hold an informal side-event. Around the world gender inequality and sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in various forms expose women, girls and LGBTQI+ people to a heightened risk or harm, ultimately forcing many to flee and seek protection. Upon displacement, these individuals often face further heightened risks of harm, including exploitation and trafficking, and can experience significant challenges in accessing asylum and protection systems. This hybrid event aims to bring together members of the legal and displaced communities to share knowledge and good practices in addressing these challenges and advancing access to rights, justice and solutions for women, girls and LGBTQI+ refugees.
Date: Monday, 10 June 2024, 9am to 11am
Location & Format: Hybrid, In-person at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG) and Online on Zoom
Register to attend online or in-person here.
Strengthening Reflections from a Pro Bono Partnership - Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) is an international nongovernment organisation devoted to protecting unaccompanied and separated children on the move. KIND partners with the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI), the Irish Refugee Council (IRC), and the pro bono legal community to ensure sustainable solutions for unaccompanied migrant children in Ireland. Since 2019, the project has assisted 252 clients from 29 countries of origin. 196 lawyers from 7 partnering law firms and 1 company have worked on cases so far. The event takes the form of a panel discussion moderated by Sara Phelan SC, Chair of the Bar Council of Ireland, with contributions from Katie Mannion, Managing Solicitor of the Irish Refugee Council, Catherine Cosgrave, Managing Solicitor Immigrant Council of Ireland, Marieanne McKeown, Director of the Partnerships & Pro Bono Program, Arthur Cox, as well as beneficiaries of the project.
Date: Wednesday, 12 June 2024, 4:30pm - 7pm
Location: Arthur Cox Offices, Ten, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 T380, Ireland
Please register to attend here.
The Irish Pro Bono Ecosystem: Celebrating Impact and Horizon Scanning for New Opportunities
This event brings the wider legal and NGO communities together to celebrate the growth of pro bono work in Ireland. Justice Liam Kennedy will moderate a panel of speakers including John Lunney from the Law Society's Street Law Programme, Michelle Drury from Irish Rule of Law International, Gemma McLoughlin Burke from the Voluntary Assistance Programme, and Eilis Barry Cheif Executive of FLAC. The panel will showcase the impact and benefit of lawyers volunteering their time and skill, highlighting examples of pro bono work. A PILA representative will explain the Irish pro bono infrastructural landscape and pathways for lawyers to get involved in pro bono work. The second half of the event will consist of the first in-person PILA NGO Pitch, during which three social justice organisations will pitch to receive pro bono legal services from the attending legal practitioners. Finally, the event will facilitate networking opportunities between NGO representatives and the legal community.
Date: Thursday, 13 June 2024, 4:30pm to 7pm
Location: Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, D07 VY24
To attend, please register here.
You can read the 2023 Pro Bono Impact Report here.