The week was officially launched by an impressive panel consisting of Mr. Justice Frank Clarke, who served as Chief Justice of Ireland from July 2017 to October 2021; President of The Law Society of Ireland Ms. Michelle Ní Longáin; Council of The Bar of Ireland Chair Ms. Maura McNally SC, Chair of FLAC Mr. David Fennelly BL, PILA Legal Officer Ms. Danielle Curtis BL, and Irish-American lawyer, academic, and author Mr. Larry Donnelly.
The event was recorded and is available to watch HERE.
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The second event of Pro Bono Week 2021 was a bootcamp style session that discussed the process of establishing a pro bono practice within law firms. The panel, consisting of Pro Bono Partner at Matheson, Ms. Niamh Counihan, Pro Bono Associate at A & L Goodbody Ms. Eithne Lynch, Pro Bono Associate at Arthur Cox Ms. Carolann Minnick, Pro Bono Practice lead and Partner at Eversheds Sutherland Mr. Eoin Mac Aodha, Public Interest and Human Rights Solicitor at KOD Lyons Mr. Stephen Kirwan, and Legal Officer with PILA Ms. Danielle Curtis BL, provided advice to law firms on a variety of topics such as
Responding to concerns relating to pro bono work:
Building a pro bono culture:
Procedure and Practice Issues:
Sourcing Pro Bono Work– walkthrough of the PILA pro bono portal.
The key message arising out of the event is that taking on a variety of pro bono work leads to a healthier pro bono culture within the firm and that sharing the outcome, and benefits, of pro bono cases with senior management is vital for continued support. Pro Bono is a collaborative pursuit and allows ordinarily competing firms to come together for a greater cause which benefits both the legal community and society together.
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This webinar was chaired by Mr. Lewis Mooney BL and sought to advise NGOs on the importance of adopting the particulars of the Charities Governance Code. The panel consisted of Director of Investigations and Enforcement with The Charities Regulator, Mr. Thomas Mulholland; charity law expert and trustee Mr. Bill Holohan SC from Holohan Lane Solicitors; Ms. Niamh Callaghan, Partner at Mason Hayes & Curran and specialist adviser on charity law, governance and compliance with the Charities Acts; and Mr. Philip Smith, Pensions and Charity Law Group coordinating Partner at Arthur Cox.
The panel discussed at length the various do's and don'ts for NGOs, reporting on the code one year on from its commencement, and offered advice on how best to remain in compliance with the code. The key take-away message was: if your organisation is not currently in compliance, don't worry the Charities Regulator is not going to be banging down your door but do act now and work with the Charities Regulator in order to bring your organisation into line with the code. Being proactive in this regard will save you and your organisation a lot of hardship further down the line.
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This online workshop took the form of a pre-recorded monthly meeting within a fictional NGO called 'No More Slaves'. As the meeting progressed the Chair of the event Ms. Michelle Drury, Legal Counsel with GOAL Global, paused the video at key points and invited discussion from the panel on the various issues that had arisen:
The event was a great success and there were some very insightful submissions offered by the panellists. The session ended with a brief Q & A from the audience.
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The final event of Pro Bono Week Ireland 2021 looked at the various Data Protection and GDPR issues that NGOs often face. The session was Chaired by Ms. Anne-Marie Bohan, Partner at Matheson and Head of the firm's Technology and Innovation Group. Anne-Marie was joined by Mr. Ronan Lupton, Senior Counsel, who specialises in the areas of data protection, privacy, GDPR and defamation; Mr. Niall Rooney, Group Data Protection Officer at Rehab Group, and Ms. Sarah Noonan, Public Law Associate at Philip Lee and prosecution solicitor for the Data Protection Commission.
The panel discussed a variety of topics such as advice on compliance with the GDPR, tips on policy procedures in order to streamline compliance, how to avoid data breaches and what to expect if one does occur, and navigating subject access requests in light of the GDPR.
The session was very well regarded and feedback from viewers has been very encouraging.
We are indebted to all who took part in Pro Bono Week 2021. It truly has been a fantastic week and a great success all around.
To our sustaining partners Arthur Cox, A & L Goodbody, and McCann Fitzgerald LLP, to our supporting partners Eversheds Sutherland, to Matheson, William Fry, Leman Solicitors, Holohan Lane Solicitors, Philip Lee, Mason Hayes & Curran, KOD Lyons, members of The Bar of Ireland and The Law Society of Ireland, to everybody within the PILA Alliance, thank you all so much for being so generous with your time and knowledge and for participating in this event.
The biggest takeaway from the week has been the fact that there is a piece of pro bono work for everybody, no matter your area of law or your experience level. You can start slow with a single referral and there's no obligation to take on more than you can handle, it is entirely your choice which requests you take on. For anybody wishing to get into pro bono work, please feel free to reach out to us at pila@flac.ie
We look forward to hearing from you and thank you once again,
Danielle Curtis, BL
PILA Legal Officer
&
Daithí Ó'Maonaigh
PILA Administrative Assistant