2022 Global Citizenship Review

What's inside

Highlights from our Global Pro Bono Practice and Global Citizenship initiative

A message from our Chair

In a year of geopolitical turmoil, environmental disasters and threats to human rights, we leveraged the full spectrum of our capabilities to help address the challenges of our time.

The Firm and our people supported those affected by the war in Ukraine in multiple ways—giving financial support to charities working on the ground, organizing donation drives for emergency relief provisions, providing pro bono advice to refugees and even opening their homes to those escaping the conflict. Elsewhere, we helped refugees from Afghanistan evacuate and resettle in safer countries.

In the wake of natural disasters such as the catastrophic floods in Australia, our lawyers helped families rebuild their homes and lives. We also helped tackle long-term issues, through research on carbon rights and climate change.

In the United States, our lawyers fought for the human rights of prisoners and women: challenging the use of long-term solitary confinement and helping to develop a unique database tracking rapidly changing reproductive healthcare laws in all 50 US states.

A long-term pillar of our pro bono work has been educating and empowering the next generation of legal leaders around the world. We celebrated important milestones in two projects we support: the inaugural graduating class of Bhutan’s first and only law school and the fifth anniversary of the African Centre on Law & Ethics.

This review tells these stories and more about the ways our people donated their time, knowledge and expertise to make a positive impact on their communities and the world in 2022.


Hugh Verrier, Chair

Emergency response

We mobilized to help those escaping crises

Call to action

Responding to those affected by the war in Ukraine

Ukraine response
Brendan Hoffman © Bespoke Reps

In the wake of the storm

Rebuilding houses and lives following the Australia floods
 

Australia floods
Brendan McCarthy © AAP

Safe passage

Helping refugees fleeing from Afghanistan

gc afghan refugees
American Photo Archive © Alamy Stock Photo

ESG & pro bono

While two distinct areas, ESG and pro bono can overlap and even complement each other

Navigating the difference between ESG and pro bono

A conversation with Jacquelyn MacLennan, EU competition and trade law partner, Global Pro Bono Practice Leader (2015 – 2022) and Business & Human Rights Interest Group member
 

Navigating the difference between ESG and pro bono
© James Cannon Photography

Access to justice

Highlights include a historic civil rights settlement and work to end solitary confinement

Isolated for life

Protecting prisoners from the harms of long-term solitary confinement

Justice solitary
Michael M. Santiago © Getty Images

Journey to justice

Fighting to obtain just compensation for our client who was wrongfully convicted of murder

Justice Shawn Williams
Holly Pickett © The New York Times/Redux

Advancing human rights

Our work focused on the rights of women and children

A holistic approach

Improving access to justice for children

A holistic approach juvenile defense
Gustavo Oliveira © WBR Photo

The problem with pardons

Providing access to executive clemency for women and other vulnerable groups

Rights vance center pardons
Kansas City Star © Getty Images

Reproductive freedoms

Building on our long history of reproductive rights pro bono work

Rights roe v wade
Ian Waldie © Getty Images

Environmental action

We used our skills to help protect our environment and support climate action

Carbon rights

Identifying legal frameworks for developing countries to address climate change

Carbon rights
Michael Melford © Bespoke

Call of the wild

Free speech victory benefits endangered gray wolves

Call of the wild gray wolves
Stan Tekiela © Getty Images

A sustainable bond

Facilitating green and blue bonds in Africa

Environment ECON Africa Green bonds
Justin Jin © Bespoke

Educating future leaders

Two of our legal education programs come full circle in Bhutan and Ghana

First class

Marking a milestone for Bhutan’s first law school

Bhutan
© JSW Law

An ethical foundation

Supporting the African Centre on Law & Ethics as it trains law students and practitioners from across the continent

Africa legal ethics
David Malan © Getty Images

A truly global pro bono practice

Our work focuses on providing access to justice, serving organizations with a social or environmental mission and promoting the rule of law and good sovereign governance

Pro bono hours and participation

122,152pro bono hours in 2022


100k+ pro bono hours for the sixth consecutive year
100% of our offices and practices do pro bono work

160+ partners and counsel serve as pro bono leaders
900+ pro bono matters in 2022

 

Pro bono secondments

Deepening client relationships and boosting associates' skills

Pro bono secondments
© European Lawyers in Lesvos

Office highlights

Pro bono matters from each of our offices

Pro bono office highlights
Gabriel Mello © Getty Images

Learn more

For more information about our commitment and activities, please visit our Global Citizenship web pages.

 


Visuals by Roman De Giuli

office highlights

Office highlights

Pro bono matters from each of our offices

Story

5 min read

Americas

 

Boston

Boston

Ongoing representation of a man on death row in Mississippi challenging the constitutionality of his conviction and sentence, and asserting his innocence

Chicago
Assisting individuals with expunging and sealing their criminal records through Legal Aid Chicago's Criminal Record Relief Program
Houston
Representing Central American children seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status to enable them to remain in the United States
Los Angeles  
Assisting Ukrainians residing in the US in applying for Temporary Protected Status so they may safely remain and work in the country
Mexico City
Providing corporate advice to two Mexican nonprofits: Ambulante, which supports documentary films as a tool for cultural and social transformation, founded by Mexican actors Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, and the Morelia International Film Festival, which supports filmmakers and raises awareness of Mexico’s film culture

465+ 

pro bono matters in 2022

Miami
Representing a plaintiff in a four-day federal jury trial in a Section 1983 civil rights action seeking compensation for injuries sustained from being shot by law enforcement
New York    
Representing 13 clients on their criminal appeals and securing a victory in the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, which resulted in a conditional discharge for our client; also serving as amicus counsel for a group of law professors on an important stop-and-seizure case at the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court
São Paulo    
Researching laws on holistic juvenile defense in Brazil for The International Legal Foundation
Silicon Valley  
Ongoing representation of a resettled Ethiopian refugee living in the US in his efforts to unite with his nine-year-old daughter living in an Ethiopian refugee camp 
Washington, DC  
Representing the best interests of two minor children, ages nine and five, in a highly contested custody dispute between their parents in the DC Family Court

Asia-Pacific

 

Beijing
Conducting research on collateral registry reform in China for Women’s World Banking 
blue ribbon

Hong Kong

Providing corporate governance advice to Karen Leung Foundation, an NGO devoted to gynecological cancers

Jakarta
Researching laws on holistic juvenile defense in Indonesia for The International Legal Foundation
Melbourne
Ongoing advice to low-income clients in dispute with their builder as part of Justice Connect’s Domestic Building Legal Service Clinic
Seoul
Conducting Korean legal research to support the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law project

105+ 

pro bono matters in 2022

Shanghai
Reviewing team memorials and judging oral rounds in the 2022 White & Case International Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition
Singapore
In collaboration with BABSEACLE, a justice education organization operating in Asia, providing an online Business Law and Ethics seminar series for students from law campuses in Laos
Sydney
Providing general real estate advice to Hedland Men’s Shed, a nonprofit men’s community center in Western Australia
Tokyo
Representing individuals seeking asylum in Japan through a partnership with Japan Association for Refugees

EMEA

 

Abu Dhabi
Assisting children’s literacy nonprofit Room to Read in registering in the United Arab Emirates
Astana
Providing legal and organizational support to Kazakhstan student entrepreneurship competition Enactus Kazakhstan and mentoring its participants
Berlin
Providing real estate advice to Ärzte ohne Grenzen e.V./Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders Germany) related to lease agreements and the relocation of its office in Berlin
Brussels

Brussels

Assisting The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex Youth and Student Organisation (IGLYO) to finalize the second edition of its LGBTQI Inclusive Education Report

Cairo  
Providing general advice to Lead Foundation, an Egyptian microfinance institution advancing the economic empowerment of those in need
Doha
Representing the Lebanese Visual Art Association in its role as curator of the Lebanese Pavilion at the 2022 Venice Biennale
Dubai
In conjunction with the UK Sierra Leone Pro Bono Network, meeting with key stakeholders including the Sierra Leone Law Reform Commission, British High Commission, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Energy to understand the key areas of support for relaunching the Firm’s pro bono initiative in Sierra Leone
Düsseldorf
Researching the legal certifications required to practice immigration law in Germany for the International Refugee Assistance Project
Frankfurt 
Providing general governance and compliance advice to Make-A-Wish Deutschland gGmbH
Geneva
Helping the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) advance the idea of a circular economy and the sustainable use of natural resources by providing a peer review of a policy paper under UNECE’s CIRCULAR STEP program, which is a stakeholder-engagement platform to facilitate progress on these issues
Hamburg
Providing ongoing corporate, employment, tax and litigation support to ELIM Diakonie, a nonprofit that provides nursing homes, mobile health care and social integration projects to the sick, elderly, migrants and asylum seekers

345+ 

pro bono matters in 2022

Helsinki
Researching laws on holistic juvenile defense in Finland for The International Legal Foundation
Istanbul
Analyzing the impact of the pandemic on prison populations in Türkiye for Penal Reform International
Johannesburg 
Assisting Enterprising Africa Regional Network in setting up an impact investment company in the agricultural sector and advising on soil rehabilitation and training partnership arrangements with international investors
London
Participating in a multi-firm collaboration with Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit helping victims of the Windrush scandal apply for compensation from the UK Government
Madrid
Representing emotional crisis helpline Teléfono de la Esperanza in navigating its data protection obligations when dealing with certain situations requiring urgent assistance
Milan
Providing corporate and regulatory advice to Fondazione per L’Infanzia Ronald McDonald Italia, a nonprofit supporting children and their families
Nur-Sultan  
Advised the Kazakhstan Bar Association on legal education initiatives and improvements to the court system
Paris
Representing victims of child prostitution and child abuse through referrals from Agir Contre la Prostitution des Enfants
Prague
Providing legal support to Post Bellum, a nonprofit that documents the memories of witnesses of major 20th-century historical events
Riyadh 
Researching the linkage between the right to safe drinking water and sanitation and the right to a healthy environment for Human Right 2 Water
Stockholm
Providing corporate advice to Norrsken Foundation, an NGO helping social impact tech entrepreneurs solve global challenges, and providing legal advice to its member entrepreneurs
Warsaw
Advising the Polish nonprofit Inspiring Girls International Limited on corporate, employment, intellectual property and compliance matters

Photo by Gabriel Mello © Getty Images
Steps leading to the top of the Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur.


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