Join our featured resource practitioners from May 27 to June 2 for an online dialogue featuring Engaging Pro-Bono Lawyers. A major obstacle for victims of human rights abuses is gaining access to legal representation in order to file a complaint against the perpetrator. This online dialogue will be space for practitioners to share successful tactics for engaging pro-bono, or free, legal services through access to a variety of professional resources.
Our featured resource practitioners include (click here for biographical information):
- Regina Germain of the Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, United States
- Jennifer Prestholdt and Colleen Beebe of The Advocates, United States
- Nyaradzo Muza of the Lawyers for Human Rights, South Africa
- Dewa Mavhinga, an independent pro-bono human rights lawyer, Zimbabwe
- Elisabeth Baraka of the Advocates for International Development, United Kingdom
- Wilbert Mandinde, Zimbabwe (currently at the University of Essex in the UK)
- Eric Lockwood of the Instituto Pro Bono, Brazil
- Rex Fernandez of Karapatan, Philippines
- Entila Zyba of the Albanian Disability Rights Foundation
Please add your comments by replying to the following main themes:
- What is pro-bono law and why is it so important?
- Developing partnerships and recruiting volunteers
- Training
- Security issues and self-care
- Sustainability
A Brief Summary of the Dialogue
The New Tactics Featured Dialogue “Engaging Pro-Bono Lawyers” tackled the issues of defining what a pro-bono lawyer is, what they do, how to develop a network of partnerships and volunteers in pro-bono work, how to train lawyers interested in pro-bono work, what issues of security existed in pro-bono work, and finally, how can pro-bono work be sustainably maintained.
The nature of pro-bono law was initially discussed, establishing the services which pro-bono lawyers provide. A very comprehensive definition of pro-bono work indicated the importance of providing legal assistance to marginalized populations, ranging from advice to counseling, and from legal representation to education. The theme of education was identified as a core concept that is often forgotten or underestimated, and educational work taken in Peru and Thailand by two different pro-bono organizations was presented. Lastly, a serious concern regarding the safety and security of pro-bono workers, who are often identified as dissidents by government or paramilitary forces, was mentioned. An example of community support and involvement in pro-bono work was given as a possible way to protect pro-bono workers.
Next, the dialogue focused on how organizations can recruit and create partnerships for pro-bono work., resulting in some helpful considerations. One discussant mentioned their creation of a network of 16,000 volunteers who are registered through them and take part in a wide variety of outreach programs, education meetings and conferences, etc. This group is notified weekly of a wide array of possible volunteer opportunities. Additionally, another participant offered a variety of suggestions they learned in a nationwide testimony collection regarding efficiency, expanding contacts, and utilizing interns. All of these suggestions are helpful for organizations interested in starting or expanding the use of pro-bono work.
Thirdly, the dialogue focused on ways of training lawyers for pro-bono work, which was immediately considered very necessary to introduce pro-bono work to regions where it doesn’t exist, to maintain a high quality of this work, and to maximize its effectiveness in areas where it is already conducted. Indeed, it was pointed out that in areas where pro-bono work has no legal framework, collective collaboration is necessary to create a possible mechanism. One discussant mentioned VanceNet as a global platform for the exchange of resources for pro-bono workers. Although, simply exchanging resources is not enough, as another participant pointed out the need for both face-to-face training and material resources in both technical legal issues and practical how-to guides. This kind of work has even been done specifically for NGO’s to help them reach their maximum effectiveness. Lastly, questions came up regarding the harnessing of help given to clients by ethics standards and health providers, and how training would be necessary to understand these limits.
Afterwards, the dialogue briefly expanded on the earlier topic of security threats involved with pro-bono work, for both clients and lawyers. As for clients, it was suggested to educate them on being aware of their surroundings and not being too risky, especially in the case of journalists, and how to use electronics to notify people of their whereabouts. As for the security of lawyers, one participant shared their experiences of having to set their own rules in their office after been repeatedly threatened by clients. Also discussed was the use of bringing accomplices (other lawyers or paralegals) to detention centers where pro-bono workers are held, and publicizing information on the arrests or enforced disappearances of workers.
Lastly, issues of financial sustainability were discussed in relation to pro-bono work, composing the most discussed issue of the entire dialogue. The follow list is composed of suggestions from participants regarding strategies for fundraising, attracting volunteers, gaining acceptance in legal communities, and many other issues aimed at keeping pro-bono work sustainable in one’s community.
- Have volunteers write short memoirs of their experiences, utilize personal stories to attract attention of idealists
- Prioritize potential opportunities for pro-bono work to take those cases that will have the most influence or you are most capable of performing
- Charge nominal fees to individuals or organizations to create a sense of entitlement and inclusion in the preparation
- Utilize legal student interns, and create a sentiment towards pro-bono work along the way
- Host fundraising events
- Have information sessions, perhaps with a free meal, for experience sharing. Dut don’t try to teach, instead focus on information exchange
- Certify your training programs so attendants get Continuing Professional Development points in reward
- Target regional BAR associations for support before targeting national BAR associations
All of these suggestions are wonderful for an organization interested in starting, expanding, or just trying to be more effective in its pro-bono work. This dialogue has illuminated the possibilities of pro-bono work to create progress in human rights, but like any tactic, it needs to be carefully thought-out for it to work. Hopefully this dialogue proved resourceful to those involved and to readers passing-by.
Need help participating in this online dialogue? Take a moment to watch our training video!
(Photo: Justice Sculpture, Federal Courthouse, Newark, NJ by Brooklyn Bridge Baby)
---What is pro-bono law and why is it so important?
What is Pro-bono law and why is it so important
Pro-bono law is the practice of giving legal advice free of charge to marginalised groups in society who might otherwise be unable to access legal services. For example, in Zimbabwe, pro-bono services are designed for poor individuals who need, but cannot afford, legal services. The lawyers who provide the legal services are not paid for their work. Our Law Society encourages all lawyers to give time to pro-bono legal services. The importance of pro-bono law is that it ensures access to legal services by those who may otherwise fail to access the services due to cost.
l have participated in pro-bono legal services targeting women and children provided by Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association (ZWLA). ZWLA runs a mobile legal aid clinic, that is, a team of lawyers make monthly trips to rural areas to offer legal advice and legal representation to those who cannot afford the services. Only qualified lawyers are used to ensure maintenance of the highest standards of legal representation.
Challenges we have faced in Zimbabwe relate to security of lawyers who choose to offer legal services in the field of human rights. Human Rights Lawyers are constantly under threat from State agents, making it difficult for them to do their work and for many to volunteer pro bono work. The other challenge is that fewer lawyers are willing to give free services to more serious offences like murder which take more hours to prepare and take through courts.
Developmental Legal Aid in the Philippines
In the Philiippines, pro bono is encouraged. but among progressive forces, legal aid for the marginalized and basic sectors of society are more in line with the late anti-dictator activist Jose Diokno's concept of developmental legal aid.
It is a concept where the clients are considered partners in their case. the approach is not only legal but also what we call meta legal approaches like office trooping, organizing and mobilizations.
rex
What is pro bono?
The premise behind the provision of pro bono services and the underlying ethical and other obligations is that everyone, regardless of status, should have equal access to justice. Thus, the phrase in Latin, Pro Bono, refers to actions taken "for the public good." The idea being that a legal system that ensures justice for everyone will benefit everyone and is in everyone's interest. In the US and other countries' legal systems this has come to mean the provision of free legal services that benefit:
In addition to the provision of free legal representation to low-income people to ensure access to justice, pro bono services also include:
Colleen Beebe, Attorney at Law Director of Education The Advocates for Human Rights 650 South Third Avenue, Suite 550 Minneapolis, MN 55402
pro bono work
when pro bono work becomes part of a stance or an advocacy, it includes not only litigation work but also education.
education includes para legal training and seminars to those who aspire to become para legal workers or as a human rights education to the those people we believe who needs them.
we are also into giving buzz cards and pamphlets to the peasants, workers, church workers, or in other words all those who are at risk with the government counter-insurgency programs or members of organizations called front organizations by the counter insurgency efforts of the government.
these buzz cards are just important information on what to do in times of abduction, illegal arrest and detention. the pamphlets are expanded versions which include what are their rights and explanation of these rights.
Education
Yes! I totally agree. I believe education is crucial for all actors (service providers, community organizations/faith groups, and clients and their families/the public/the government) to understand how important access to justice issues are and why.
There is an organization in Peru, Paz y Esperanza, that does a great job on integrating education into its overall holistic model to promote justice with (not just on behalf of) those who suffer injustice. For example, they have parents groups of children who've been victimized by physical and sexual abuse. They parents meet to learn about the legal system, what their rights how, how they can accompany their child/children through the justice system to demand that the crimes are prosecuted, and understanding how to help their child and the family heal from such a violation. The parents have become so organized that they go to trials of offenders with signs to demand justice be done, they demonstrate in front of the police and courts, and they make their voices heard (which is amazing because until recently they thought they had no voice. The results have been that perpetrators are being convicted, the region in which they live has declared special days to commemorate those victimized by violence, corruption issues are being addressed, and the media is telling their stories.
It's still a long road ahead to achieve justice for those victimized by violence in this area, but at least those who thought they would never be heard (or even had the right to be heard), nor have a chance to pursue legal cases in the courts, are seeing changes and they are getting empowered and organized! You can visit Paz y Esperanza's website at www.pazyesperanza.org .
Colleen Beebe, Attorney at Law Director of Education The Advocates for Human Rights 650 South Third Avenue, Suite 550 Minneapolis, MN 55402
Another example pro-bono legal education
Thank you, Rex, for bringing up the responsibility of the legal community to educate the community - and thank you, Colleen, for sharing that great example of legal education in Peru!
I have another great example to add this thread. This tactic comes from Thailand. The Thongbai Thongpao Foundation (TTF) brings free legal assistance to rural residents, along with training on basic human rights and law for daily life. Many rural communities in Thailand, as in many places, are have little awareness of their rights under Thai law. TTF implements training courses called 'Law to the Villages.' The target audience is teachers, students, farmers, community leaders, and especially women. The course usually lasts one weekend and are requested by the community. They often include the use of theatre - dramatization of court cases. An important aspect of completion of a course is the receipt of a photo id card:
Participants receive photo identity cards with the name and signature of their personal lawyer after completing the course. The back of each card lists the rights of suspects: the right to silence, to legal assistance, to know the charges against him or her and to post bail. After the program, a local paralegal committee is set up in the village consisting of five to seven people. The committee ensures human rights standards are followed and helps organize courses.
These cards remind the participants that there is someone that they can contact for legal assistance. The card could also dissuade someone from violating a card-holder's rights if they know that someone is there to protect them. This tactic is one of many included in our tactics database. For more information on this tactic, click here.
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
pro bono plus
the examples coleen and Kristin give are worthwhile emulating.
both examples however lead us to another aspect of pro bono legal work and that is a pro bono lawyer is also an organizer.
we are also agitators, if not catalysts of change in community. that is why lawyers are targetted by those who do not want the change.
that is why lawyers must also be for and with the people. we tend to forget that there are many lawyers among the leaders of the world historically and currently - lincoln and fidel castro are lawyers.
in karapatan, we have organized the victims and/or their families. we call the association of the families of the victims of enforced disappearances as desaparecidos, the families of the extrajudicial killings as Hustisya (Justice), and those who were former political detainees as selda (jail cell).
nevertheless, i feel the example of Krstin if to be emulated must be considered with the cultural and poltiical matrix of society where it must be followed. in the philippines, it is a little difficult, because the society is polarized. if karapatan or other people (not the government) will come in and organized the villages along these lines, the community will become a target of harassment and cooptation activities. the protection that the card will do will lose its efficacy in front of the onslaught of the counter insurgency activities of the government/military. their mindset is either you are for the government or you are for the other side sometimes called by them as terrorists. sometimes the cards will become the evidence of your being on the other side.
there was even a town ordinance that require fact finding in their jurisdiction to have permits and must be under military supervision.
however, in the Philippines we organize the para legal volunteers into a kind of network.
it is also my vision to create a kind of college or learning institution for paralegal volunteers to advance their para legal training and education along the lines of a law school and with the vision also of asking the supreme court to credit the training for law diploma.
Paralegals providing assistance under dangerous conditions
You raise a very important point in your comment - the dangerous conditions under which lawyers and paralegals are providing services to those whose rights have been trampled. By undertaking the provision of services, the lawyer/paralegal put themselves into a precarious and vulnerable position as well.
I would like to highlight one our tactical notebooks from Mexico that faces some of the challenges you have raised regarding security and danger in doing human rights work.
The tactic raised by the Chiapas Network of Community Defenders ( La Red de Defensores Comunitarios por los Derechos Humanos) proposes that victims and their communities become involved by electing their own defenders. The tactical notebook, Taking on Our Own Defense, presents a contextual framework that helps to understand the circumstances that gave rise to the process of the formation and development of the network itself. The actions of the Network of Community Defenders have created other interesting experiences in Chiapas for adapting the tactic. For example, a group of women’s rights defenders emerged from the community called "barefoot lawyers."
I'm interested to hear how others are addressing the issue of security and protection of those who are providing legal services.
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Program Manager
it is quite an idea. but i
it is quite an idea. but i have a gut feel that somewhere someplace, it cannot withstand an attack by the military establishment or a government dedicated to stifle any dissent and to consider eveything in a counter-insurgency paradigm - you are with us or against us. for that to work, you need a very organized, politicized or conscientized people. and i know in my experience, that despite these qualifications, an organized group cannot face up a military intent to destroy a people's creation who thinks them subversive.
i would like to know how can i have materials on the creation of barefoot lawyers, and how it works and their experiences and their developments.
i also do not know how these barefoot lawyers can interface with the formal legal system.
Barefoot lawyers
Rex,
Regarding your question to seek more information about the "barefoot lawyers" and their interface with the formal legal system - please use this contact link to the Chiapas Network of Community Defenders website ( La Red de Defensores Comunitarios por los Derechos Humanos) where you will see the e-mail link to the organization. I noticed that their "English" link does not seem to work but the "Espanol" works just fine.
Chiapas has many contextual issues, problems and high rates of human rights abuses as you've also mentioned exist at this time in the Philippines - where people are targeted by both military and para-military groups. You are quite accurate in your assessment, the tactic was certainly developed to enhance the organizational and cohesive ability of people to respond to this kind of situation where they find themselves "under constant fire". I hope you have the chance to read the tactical notebook to see what kinds of ideas you might be able to adapt and apply to the Philippine context.
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Program Manager
organizing for human rights
i would really love to read all about chiapas and their human rights situation and works. i would even like to visit and immerse with them to know the situation. that is why i really need time to read the materials they have. i know it can give me ideas and insights and better perspectives on organizing for human rights and trainings and education.
i have already tabbed their website and after this dialogue, i will open and communicate with them. my spanish is not fluent although i can understand better than those who have 12 units of spanish.\
anyway, nancy, gary king is a friend and he told me that you have been here in the philippines and sang with joey ayala.
thanks for everything and allowing me in this eye opening dialogue.
rex
a
Organizing for human rights
Rex,
It's great that you are so interested to have an exchange with Red Defensor in Chiapas. If you find they are also interested to exchange with you, you could apply for funds for such an exchange through the International Human Rights Internship Program (IHRIP) particularly with their Professional Development and Exchange Projects that provides resources for people like you to explore how you can learn from Red Defensor's work and they from your work in the Philippines. The IHRIP is a wonderful programs for human rights advocates, especially south-south initatives, for exchange. I encourage people to explore the IHRIP website information and contact them directly if you have any questions and wish to apply. Application forms are available in English, Spanish, French and Arabic.
Yes, I know Gary King - he created a great "new tactic" when he set up the Philippine Scholars organization to seek sponsors who could provide financial support to the children of human rights advocates who have been killed, disappeared, or imprisoned, leaving their families and children in situations of dire poverty and without access to education.
During my eight years living in the Philippines I had the incredible opportunity to perform with many amazingly talented, inspirational and generous musicians in the Philippines who have used their musical talents for social awareness and change efforts - to name a few wonderful friends, Joey Ayala, (who you mentioned) and also Gary Granada, Noel Cabangon who is in an article here featuring how his music is working for the environment and Greenpeace, and many others.
Rex - I'm sorry our paths didn't cross while I was living there in the Philippines, but I'm glad we've had the chance to meet virtually! Padayon!
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Program Manager
an inquiry
How could we visit this dialogue? i want to follow up on the tips and things raised here.
you use the word padayon which is my native tongue. did you stay in a cebuano speaking area or mistakenly referred to as bisaya. anyway that another thing to talk about.
rex
Revisiting the online dialogues
Hi Rex,
Anyone is able to revisit this featured online dialogue, and all the previous online dialogues, by going to the Online Dialogues home page - http://www.newtactics.org/en/dialogues/home. Under the 'Archive of Featured Dialogues' section you will find all of our previous featured online dialogues. The URL for this dialogue will also stay the same (http://www.newtactics.org/en/blog/new-tactics/engaging-pro-bono-lawyers) so you can always bookmark it. We can consider this the beginning of a 'Pro-bono law in a box'! :)
Please continue to share updates and resource in this dialogue space! We would love to hear about how you and other online communit member has used these resources.
Thank you for your great participation in this endeavor!
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
---Developing partnerships and recruiting volunteers
Engaging Lawyers and Law Firms
Advocates for International Development (A4ID) engages with lawyers through partnerships with law firms, barristers and legal academics ('Legal Partners') and through its individual members.
A4ID's Legal Partners are able to provide advice to organisations pursuing the UN Millennium Development Goals, in short, seeking to address global poverty. We have access to over 16,000 lawyers from around the world through our Legal Partners and this enables us to meet the needs of NGOs, social enterprises and developing country governments in the many and varied legal aspects of their work.
A4ID circulates pro bono opportunities to its Legal Partners every Monday. Opportunities range from desk based work - spending a couple of hours reviewing a contract or carrying out research - to several days spent in-country delivering training or conducting litigation. For more information, see http://www.a4id.org/legal-partners/introduction/default.aspx
Individuals with an interest in A4ID's work can become members. They have the right to vote for and stand as Trustees, can attend A4ID events and working groups, help to organise events and join in meetings with Development Partners, receive a weekly email with opportunities and information on international development and a quarterly newsletter. Further information can be found at: http://www.a4id.org/members/default.aspx
Individual members act as coordinators of our Working Groups on Debt & Finance; Governance; Trade & Investment; and Development Rights.
These varied ways of involving lawyers tend to complement each other and allow those whose firms are not involved to still participate in and support the other aspects of our work.
Recruiting volunteers in the Philippines
In karapatan, volunteers come from the people's organizations who already have the dedication. rewards come from work done and the spirit of fellowship with the people you are working with.
In karapatan, we do not have much along the line of other countries asylum laws and procedures. Although, we have experiences but there is no built in system. i will be hearing from others.
-Rex
Coordinating Large Pro Bono Projects
At the request of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), The Advocates for Human Rights has coordinated the work of the TRC in the diaspora. Since January 2007, The Advocates has documented statements from Liberians across the United States, the United Kingdom, and in the Buduburam Refugee Settlement in Ghana, West Africa. The Advocates also coordinated the TRC's public hearings in the United States in June 2008 to document public testimony from Liberians in the U.S. diaspora.
The Liberian TRC Diaspora Project would not have been possible without the work of more than 600 volunteers who contributed more than $10 million in pro bono services to the TRC. A small staff team at the Advocates coordinated statement-taking projects in Atlanta, Boston/Providence, Chicago, London, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. More than 40 law firms, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and Liberian community organizations were involved in the project.
A few of the tactics that we used to facilitate the administration of such a large pro bono project included:
Jennifer Prestholdt
Deputy Director, The Advocates for Human Rights
large pro bono project inquiry
how much would be the total cost of the said project? where did the funds come fron?
reply to inquiry
The Liberian TRC Diaspora Project received no funds from the TRC or the Government of Liberia. Instead, we funded the project with grants from several private foundations. The annual cash budget was approximately $225,000 per year (although slightly higher last year because we brought the full TRC to the U.S. to preside over the Diaspora hearings). Everything else was in-kind contributions, including all of the printing of training materials, technological support for the webcam training sessions/DVDs, film crew and court reporters for the public hearings, and the statement database which was built and maintained by a law firm.
Jennifer Prestholdt
Deputy Director, The Advocates for Human Rights
wow
that is a mouthful of help. how did you have this law firm help you? were the partners friends or did they resonate with the project? and how did you create this network of friends? what was it to them that they helped?
Developments in Pro Bono in the US
Our organization has been around for 26 years, so we have long-established relationships with the local legal community. In Minneapolis/St. Paul, the largest law firms had launched a new coordinated effort (the Minnesota Pro Bono Law Firm Summit) to enable them to take on larger pro bono projects. The TRC Diaspora Project was one of the first projects they agreed to undertake and that made things easier for us. In general, though, given our longstanding relationships with local law firms, we do not hesitate to make reasonable requests for assistance as we need it. The firms can't always help, but often they appreciate it as it provides a way for non-legal staff, such as IT, administrative and library staff, to be involved in pro bono work.
We have worked with law firms and volunteers in other parts of the US before, but the TRC Project was the first time we have coordinated such a large scale pro bono project with so many firms in the U.S. and U.K. We recruited some of the law firms in other cities through personal contacts; others through branches of law firms we were already working with. Then we were introduced to the local pro bono network in each city, which allowed us to recruit other law firms and volunteers.
Pro bono in the US has really become more organized in the past 5-10 years. Most large firms now have a Pro Bono Counsel as well as a Pro Bono Coordinator (who may not be a lawyer) and participate in the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge (law firms make a commitment to contribute approximately 5% of their billable hours to pro bono). There are also national organizations that provide support and training, such as the Pro Bono Institute. www.probonoinst.org.
Jennifer Prestholdt
Deputy Director, The Advocates for Human Rights
inquiry
has pro bono work structural support in the US?
or rephrased, why do firms go into pro bono work?
Summer Associates at Law Firms
We have found that summer is a very good time to engage law firms through their summer associate program. Since law firms take on a number of law students for the summer, it's a great way to involve newer/incoming lawyers on a variety of projects. Typically, we send out the pro bono project descriptions in May, with the expectation they will work on the projects throughout the summer and return them by August, if not sooner. This year, we distributed approximately 15 projects encompassing women's human rights, transitional justice, and education to various law firms.
inquiry
what is transitional justice? sorry for my ignorance.
Reports on promoting disability rights in Albania
I would like to share with you the recent initiative of ADRF in promoting the rights of girls and women with disability in Albania, first National Conference held in 26 May 2009 in Tirana Albania. In the links below please find a press release and a Study report on “How the human rights of girls and women with disability are respected in Albania”
- Entila
How do you engage pro-bono lawyers in disability rights?
Entila,
I would be very interested to learn about how ADRF has been able to engage pro-bono lawyers in advancing disability rights.
Please share about the program that you direct regarding "Free legal Aid for people with disability and their family members.” Disability rights is an area of work that many people are not very familiar with and learning how you have engaged pro-bono lawyers in assisting you in your work would be very interesting and helpful.
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Program Manager
---Training
Lawyers come from supporters, no training system
In Karapatan we do not have any system for lawyers training. most of the time, lawyers who help in Karapatan come from volunteers or from the peoples organizations who have already in them the spirit of helping people.
rex
The importance of training
I think training pro bono attorneys is crucial and an important part of the overall recruitment, retention and rendering of professional services in any pro bono program.
Let me give you an example. I was training a group of lawyers in Ecuador who were from all over Latin America, many of whom were in private practice, some of whom provided legal aid. My goal was to introduce what pro bono was; inform private practice lawyers about the importance of providing pro bono services to disadvantaged/low-income persons; why it is our obligation as legal practitioners to do so; and how to do it effectively and zealously.
In the course of the training one lawyer said, "of course since they are poor we don't have to provide as much or as good a service to them, so it shouldn't be a problem." Well, this comment did cause some uproar among some of the attendees, but it's not an uncommon attitude in the profession. Another lawyer responded, "Well, I think we need to provide even better services to indigent clients because they have fewer, if any other, options for legal help."
The bottom line is, we will be recruiting/talking to people in the legal profession who have little, if no idea how to work with folks from other socio/economic backgrounds. So, any training program must provide a training component on working with folks who come from different backgrounds (i.e. not to treat clients paternalistically, disrespectfully or as if you are doing them a favor or expect something in return, etc.). Then, in any program we need to monitor how clients are treated (i.e. client satisfaction surveys or something like) and be able to vet out persons who just shouldn't represent others in these situations.
Colleen Beebe, Attorney at Law Director of Education The Advocates for Human Rights 650 South Third Avenue, Suite 550 Minneapolis, MN 55402
Why Pro bono training is important
I totally agree on the importance of training as Colleen states. In Zimbabwe the attitude among some private practice law firms was also to render substandard services in pro bono cases. Training would help underline the importance of access to quality legal representation by indigents. The philosophical, moral and ethical basis of pro bono work also require greater emphasis. l am sure more lawyers would come forward and volunteer to assist if they are clear on the vision and objectives of pro bono work.
Dewa Mavhinga
Cyrus R. Vance Institute
You may want to check out this program. Apparently the Cyrus R. Vance Center of the New York City Bar Association promote pro bono training/programs around the world. I came across them in my internet searches when I was preparing a training and found their materials very useful. The website is at: http://www.nycbar.org/citybarjusticecenter/vancecenter-overview/
It's been a great pleasure to dialogue with all of you! Thank you for the privilege!
Colleen Beebe, Attorney at Law Director of Education The Advocates for Human Rights 650 South Third Avenue, Suite 550 Minneapolis, MN 55402
VanceNet.org - online community of advocates of pro-bono work
Thank you, Colleen for sharing the website resource for training material.
While looking at this website, I found that the Vance Center has developed a resource called VanceNet.org. It is a global online community for lawyers, scholars and others supporting access to justice:
VanceNet, which was created and is administered by the Vance Center, is an online community of lawyers and other advocates around the world seeking to share information and ideas regarding ways of expanding access to justice and transforming the legal profession and legal systems to make them more responsive to societal needs. The site includes a blog that reports on recent news events and legal developments and discussion groups that allows registered members to exchange information and ideas, share resources, collaborate on projects, and obtain answers to questions in areas in which other members have expertise. Finally, VanceNet contains a searchable directory that enables members to contact other members with similar interests. Lawyers, scholars, advocates, and others interested in issues relating to access to justice are encouraged to become active participants in VanceNet.org by registering at www.VanceNet.org.
Is anyone a member of this online community and can share how they have utilized this resource? Being able to share resources, experiences, etc online is a great way to strengthen you work and keep you invigorated (at least, this is what we've found here in the New Tactics online community!). I am very pleased to see that this specialized online community exists for advocates like you!
I have researched and bookmarked several website resources that you might find interesting, in addition to VanceNet.org. You can find these bookmarks here - http://delicious.com/newtactics/pro-bono.
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
I agree with both Colleen
I agree with both Colleen and Dewa on the importance of pro bono training.
I used to run a project - the Media Lawyers Network (which Nyaradzo was a trustee of). It is easier to discuss issues of how best clients should be represented with a group of lawyers who are either members of a group of common interest or who associate with the cause. Once lawyers understand the cause and associate themselves fully to the extent of becoming members of such a group, then normally the issue of payment is secondary. As members of the MLN, they understood that they could not bill in terms of the Law Society Tariff but payment would be limited to covering basic expenses up to a certain limit. Of course it becomes problematic if you have a case which drags on and takes most of the lawyer's time in which case certain concessions might have to be made to pay for some of the time.
The other advantage of a network which meets occasionally is the sharing of legal tips. We found it useful as members of the network were always up to date with developments in media law issues.
There are lawyers who believe that they do not need any training. For such lawyers, one can try to send newsletters, emails or bulletens with new tactics in defence with the hope that they can be read.
Wilbert P. Mandinde
lawyers who feel they do not need training
wilbert,
you gave me a brilliant way of getting in touch with lawyers to seduce them to become pro bono lawyers. that is by the newsletters, emails or bulletins you mentioned.
i will try to talk with my organization in using this to get in touch with lawyers.
thank you.
rex
rex Also I consider
rex
Also I consider really important training pro bono Lawyers. During 2007 we have had such a similar experience in Albania. NGO that I am working realized a 2 day training in 6 region of Albania, where around 85 Lawyers have gain information about disability issue but also that have been aware about the necessary of providing legal advice to peoples in need and specially peoples with disability.
Some of the participants emphasized that involving in a case and giving the appropriate law expertise take a lot of time, so they looked really difficult providing free of charge legal assistance to the peoples in need. The only solution it is establishment of appropriate mechanism in legal framework in order to engage Lawyers in pro bono initiative.
Actually in Albania doesn’t exist such a law or even the information about it. Also lack of trainings or awareness in this filed is missing, so it needed to be done more in it.
Best
Entila
Training Resources
When we train volunteers to take asylum cases, participate in overseas fact-finding missions, or other kinds of direct services, we try to provide both in-person training and written resource materials. For many volunteers, this kind of support is crucial to making them comfortable enough to take on a pro bono matter in a new area of law.
The live training involves both international human rights law and more practical "how to" information. When possible we try to do a "mock" interview or hearing. We often conduct the trainings at law firms, which can provide technological capabilities beyond what we can as an NGO. As a result, we have been able to offer volunteers DVDs of trainings and archived webcam training sessions. We are hoping to start doing podcasts in the near future as well.
The written resources are often quite lengthy. Again, they offer both substantive human rights law along with more practical instructions and sample forms, etc. Volunteers often report that they consult the training materials repeatedly during the course of their pro bono commitment.
Jennifer Prestholdt
Deputy Director, The Advocates for Human Rights
inquiry
are the training materials for share?
Reigning in the Generosity of Pro Bono Attorneys?
Some of our volunteer lawyers services above and beyond legal services. We have had attorneys give their clients cell phones, help them move into new apartments, give them furniture, clothes, food, take them to dinner, or host them for meals within their own homes. Our mental health and health service providers have strict boundary rules. Our legal departmeny relies, instead, on rules that govern professional conduct for lawyers. I would be interested to hear if other organizations have boundary rules, or if you do not. Please let me know.
Regina Germain, Legal Director, Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, Denver CO USA
boundaries of generosity of probono lawyers
I found it a surprise that generosity has become a concern. Although, i understand the danger involved in such generosity relevant to ethical considerations, however, it is not a problem here in the philippines as lawyers although belonging to the 15 percent above incomed persons, do not have that luxury of giving to pro bono clients, although sometimes, they give food, and fare during court hearings. sometimes, temporary sanctuary. there is already a boundary set up by the income of pro bono lawyers. i would love to see the day a three suited lawyer become a pro bono lawyer in the Philippines Then he can give as much as he can.
anyway, there is a tendency for care providers whether health or legal to have the florence nithingale syndrom. for legal care providers, the only boundary would be losing one's objectivity in handling the case.
boundaries
Here in the United States, many lawyers, especially from large firms, are accustomed to giving clients tickets to sporting events, meals, and other gifts in order to retain the client. I think that mindset transfers over to their pro bono clients.
Regina Germain, Legal Director, Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, Denver CO USA
a two-pronged approach and thank you
The IPB trains its volunteer attorneys in the intricacies of third sector law (aka NGO law) so that they have the legal tools to provide legal assistance to the NGOs in need. In addition to the training, they are provided with a set of materials to which they can refer when questions arise.
In addition, the IPB conducts workshops directly for community leaders living in underprivileged communities who hope to advance their cause by forming a non-governmental organization. By teaching these activists about the laws governing the formation of an NGO, the IPB seeks to empower them to mobilize their supporters and articulate their policy goals with greater force. The idea is to help them maximize their organizational efficacy.
It has been a real privilege to learn from all of you. I wish you all the very best in your pro bono endeavors and hope that we can continue exchanging ideas and strategies for a long time to come.
Sincerely, Eric Lockwood, Instituto Pro Bono São Paulo, Brazil
---Security issues and self-care
Managing a 'quick-response' unit
Before joining Lawyers for Human Rights, I worked as a lawyer in private practice for 6 years. Although it was always very busy, I on the whole enjoyed the challenge of my work. It felt good to win a case and make lots of money at the same time, kind of a double bonus. The few sad moments were when a client who had been really treated unfairly could not raise legal fees. No matter how good the facts of the client's case were, the golden rule was that you simply do not touch a case before a client paid. The only exception were the pro bono murder trials which the Attorney-General's office dumped on our laps, but then those cases had so much at stake that the thrill of success would be greater than any payment. My boss loved them for the publicity that they attracted to the firm. I did feel guilty on the occasions when I had to turn away a client with a genuine problem but I always quickly got over it. Private practice has always been about the bottom line,hasn't it?
As time went on though, I became restless and felt that I could do something more with my life and my legal talent than chase after some clients with fat pockets. I felt that there was more value in working with the poor and the marginalised clients whose rights are daily trampled upon. I started involving myself in human rights work on a small scale whilst in private practice, with the unique advantage of being able to collect legal fees from my paying clients and choosing when to assist needy clients. This could not be for long since you really can not mix the different sets of values involved-making money on one hand and serving the community on the other.
When I jumped ship to be full time in pro bono human rights work I discovered that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Now I must do with minimum support staff, limited funds and an endless stream of clients. I get all sorts, the genuine with real problems and those who simply want to manipulate me. The worst kind of client is the one who wants to collude with me or worse still, to cheat me into helping them to cheat the system legal. Invariably, all demand to be attended immediately. The gretest dilemna is how to discern the truth from the fabrications so that you do not play to some trickery games and at the same time you do not summarily dismiss all cases as dubious when you really need to quickly assist the client. All are at various levels of trauma, from the country of origin, from frustration with the South African Department of Home Affairs, with UNHCR or with everything. You get called names and you are threatened with harm by the very person that you intend to help. You are sometimes tempted to scream back at them,forget all professional etiquette!
At our office we have a strict appointment system but usually you get at least three clients in a day claiming absolute emergencies just to get their way into my office. The results? Long hours, skipping meals (not to talk of teas served in the boardroom 6metres away from my office twice a day), huge backlog resulting on many working weekends. Sometimes, support staff who think that as long as you do not have a client sitting in your office, you are not busy compound your problems. And you are still expected to treat each and every client courteously and deliver timeously on their matter. Not that anyone really chases up after me but I am used to the culture of effiient service delivery, so I have sleepless nights if I can not bring my work up to date.
What is my remedy? I dermacate my territory clearly,my office is mine. Once you are inside it, you are subject to my rules. For example, I insist on seeing an appointment slip before starting the consultation. Secondly, I insist on a basic data registration form being filled in by or for each client before they come in. This gives me an idea of what their issues are. With such foreknowledge, I make it clear at the start of each interview how long it will be and empasise to the client the need to make good use of their time. They must get straight to the point and also avoid unnecessary distractions like answering their cell phones whilst in consultation with me. It also encourages them to tell the truth at the first go (which is otherwise very unlikely) knowing that there will be no time to panel-beat the story. Of course it remains in my discretion to extend the consultation as necessary but it is important for my client to believe that I will stick to the time.
Once I have taken full instructions, I usually deal with the issue immediately if possible but sometimes I need to reschedule the appointment in order to work on things that take more time. Apart from this, I keep my colleagues including the receptionist and other support staff, informed on my planned schedule and I try as much as possible to stick to my diary. I don't usually entertain clients who meet me at the reception or in the corridor and try to 'steal' some consultation time. All emergencies are screened and referred by the receptionist. This was getting quite heavy on our receptionist and we have recently recommended the appointment of an intern to operate a helpdesk in the reception area,where the cases are screened. She starts work next week and we really hope that this will impove our performance as clients will not wait too long only to be told that we can not handle their matter inside the lawyer's office. This saves a lot of time for both the client and us.
Whenever I need help from colleague or other people I ask for it. Above all I take time to reflect on my work to check whether it is still progressive. Sometimes you need time just to stare at your office wall.
I now feel that I am making a huge difference to my clients' lives. For those who are also doing something that they feel is worthwhile, please set rules and also take care of yourself. If you do not you may end up very bitter and frustrated about your work . Then you will become part of the problem to your clients. In this part of the world where I leave one does not just see a lawyer unless they have a real stressor and they consequently demand immediate attention and on their terms. We are responsible to ensure the top quality of our service hence the control of our work remains our priority.
good luck!
Nyaradzo
Nyaradzo Muzah
Lawyers for Human Rights
Pretoria
Re: Managing a 'quick-response' unit
Thank you, Nyaradzo, for sharing the ways that you've been able to manage your very busy schedule being a pro-bono lawyer. I really like your idea of utilizing interns (or other volunteers) to help you and the receptionist to document, organize and assist in the process. I can imagine that would be a huge help. I would bet that others participating in this dialogue use volunteers for this type of work.
I am curious to know more about your 'quick-response' unit. Do all of your clients come to your office or is this 'quick-response unit' mobile?
How do the lawyers and other staff in your office practice self-care? Do you have a time each week, for example, to debrief your cases?
Thank you!
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
Security issues and self-care
Security issues are very important and sensitive issues.
For some of us who have worked with ascertainable clients, it is important to always train them in securing themselves. Journalists are a funny lot, adventureous (maybe the profession demands that) but quite risky as well.
It is important to always tell such clients to avoid trouble. Where it is unavoidable, to ensure that at least someone is aware of where s/he is. The most frustrating thing is to be told that a person has been arrested but you do not know from where. Again clients such as journalists can have a template in their cellphones written arrested at ....which they can immediately send to a friend or relative who then gets in touch with lawyers.
Clients needs also to be advised to alert their close relatives or friends whom they will probably contact in the event of arrest of who their lawyers are as well as the contact details for the lawyers. Betterstill if the clients can just dispatch the template message to the lawyers.
At certain police stations it is not advisable for a lawyer to venture there alone. There is always security and comfort in numbers. So it is advisable to go with another lawyer, especially where one anticipates a hostile police reception.
Wilbert P. Mandinde LLM (International Human Rights Law) Candidate School of Law - University of Essex Wivenhoe Park Colchester Essex CO4 4SQ Tel +447717353660
Security issues, mobile phones, and unarmed accompaniment
Thank you, Wilbert, for sharing the ways that pro-bono lawyers have addressed security issues. It is great that the lawyers are putting so much emphasis on the security of their clients. I was expecting to hear about ways that pro-bono lawyers are addressing their OWN security issues, but you have brought up the equally important issue of protecting the CLIENTS.
Adding a template to your clients' mobile phones to tell a lawyer or relative when he/she is arrested, is a great tactic! New Tactics has previously hosted a featured online dialogue on Using Mobile Phones for Action, but there was not a lot of discussion on using mobile phones for security purposes - alerting people of arrests, etc.
You mention that you try to have a lawyer accompany another lawyer going to a police station - as there is "always security and comfort in numbers." This is another great use of a tactic that has been discussed in a previous featured dialogue on Unarmed Accompaniment. There are organizations that provide this service - and if such an organization is working in your region, it would be worth making that connection and possibly a partnership. These unarmed accompaniers could accompany the pro-bono lawyers to places like police stations, and could also accompany clients. It is a very powerful and successful tactic! For more information on this tactic, read the in-depth case study - Side by Side: Protecting and encouraging threatened activists with unarmed international accompaniment
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
security issues and pro bono work
this is related to the issue of pro bono work.
As stated, pro bono work is legal work with a stance or that coupled with an advocacy. my advocacy is human rights and i do pro bono work with human rights whcih include the whole spectrum of human rights - informal settlers included, right to food and environmental rights.
human rights work in the philippines reeks with danger and when you are arrested, you do not have the right to a mobile phone. it is taken from you and never returned. much more when you are abducted, when everything is taken from you. state sponsored robbery which is in a way a form of taxation.
a human rights lawyer in the Philippines is almost always a dead man walking or listed in the order of battle. because human rights work in the philippines is always connected by the state with their counter insurgency. in fact, the government has created an agency to do legal counter insurgency work. or the use of legal suits and actions as a counter insurgency measure. pending now are cases against doctors and lawyers for murder, arson just to harass them with their advocacies.
i just dismissed a case against me in a court filed by a brother of a governor of a province.
however, it is impractical to use a template in a mobile phone because it will be taken except if you know how to hide it well.
it is impractical in the philippines to bring another lawyer to the police station because there are not much lawyers here. however, what we do is we bring a para legal worker with us.
Security training guide and quick response procedure
In karapatan, we have a para legal training seminar and part of that seminar is a kind of guide culled from experience of what to do when faced with a security threat. they are also asked to leave a kind of communication parameters to people who are close to them.
Regional offices and the national office have a quick response procedure. when a report is made of a loss or a threat, documentation is made at first level and a team of para legals are organized with a lawyer sometimes accompanying but always there is a lawyer on standby for more serious discussions.
The qrt's are equipped to do further documentation work. and they make reports. the qrts usually then send out urgent action messages to the outside world.
rex
Resource: Security-in-a-box
Rex - I am curious to learn more about the security guide that Karapatan has developed for their para-legal training seminars. What was the process for developing such a guide, in case others wish to create something similar?
I am also curious to learn more about the 'urgent action messages to the outside world' that the courts send. What does these messages look like? How are they sent? Electronically? To whom?
I wanted to share one resource that might be helpful to you and others. It is called 'Security-in-a-box' and has been developed by Tactical Technology Collective as a resource for human rights advocates to secure their computers, protect sensitive information, and communicate through the internet privately. There is a section on how to destroy sensitive information and on how to protect sensitive files on your computer. It is good information for anyone working in the field of human rights for your own protection and that of your client. I hope you'll find it helpful!
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
security concerns
i am sorry if you misunderstood me. karapatan sends the urgent actions into the internet and not the court. it is a request that people write letters or do something with the case which is usually enforced disappearances or threats or extrajudicial killings.
our guide c omes from experience culled from the cases we have and during our conferences and conventions.
if you would wish i can send a template and a sample of the urgent action and an excerpt from our manual for paralegal training. if it helps.
i am interested in the security in a box. how do i acquire it?
rex
Acquiring 'Security-in-a-box'
Thanks for your clarification, Rex. I would be very happy to receive and post the documents that you mention above.
Regarding acquiring 'Security-in-a-box,' you can access all of the resources by going to the website -- http://security.ngoinabox.org/. The website contains all the chapters of the book, but online. The website also contains the links to free software that you can download online.
To access all of this information OFFLINE, you can request a digital copy directly from Tactical Technology Collective (contact them by filling out this form - http://security.tacticaltech.org/comments). I have a copy, but the file might be too large to send via email. We can try, if you want. Just contact me.
We are hoping to have a future online dialogue on Security Issues for Human Rights Practitioners where we hope to discuss not only information security tactics, but also physical security tactics.
I hope you find the 'Security-in-a-box' helpful - I know I have!
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
about the documents
Here are the documents reference to above:
unfortunately, excerpts of the the paralegal are in Filipino. i do not have the time to translate them. maybe in someother time.
i scanned the security in a box and i believe it can help. i will work on it after the dialogue.
rex
---Sustainability
Sustainability
This is perhaps our most difficult challenge. We currently operate on a shoestring and recently our budget was cut. That resulted in salary cuts to staff - which in our legal department is one full time person (me) and one part-time paralegal. I would be interested to hear how others sustain their programs.
Regina (Legal Director, Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, Denver, Colorado USA)
Contributions by peoples organizations and NGOs
in Karapatan, we have two ways of sustaining ourselves. First it must be said that we are a gathering of peoples organizations and federations of peoples organizations and non government organizations who are working with peoples organizations. they put in some contributions to karapatan. we also unfortunately need to have outside sources like funding agencies. we are still in need of them.
rex
Attracting New Volunteers
Two things that we do at RMSC in Colorado, USA, to attract new volunteers are:
1) We ask former volunteers to write an article for a legal publication about their experience. Or we will write an article about them, with their permission. We have received many new volunteers from publishing the work of our former volunteers
2) We provide every volunteer with a simple office-made certificate entitled, "Voice for the Voiceless," with their name, our thanks, and signed by me. These are prominently displayed on the office walls of many of our volunteers. Attorneys at their firms who see these also become volunteers.
Regina Germain, Legal Director, Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, Denver CO, USA
Sustainability
Everyone has a right to legal representation. However not everyone can access the right for free. While it is easier with clients who can pay their bills, as lawyers, we have to consider it our social responsibility to assist the less priviledged members of the society for free.
For those in private practice, while normal operations can be sustained by the client who can pay, it is necessary to dedicate a certain amount of time to those who cannot afford the legal fees. A lawyer can therefore sustain certain pro-bono cases if there are other clients who can bankroll the other day to day operations.
For the lawyer in NGOs, aggressive fundraising is needed to sustain these operations. It is important to always remember that funding partners will not fund all the cases and as such it is important to identify priority issues that one will primarily focus on. Each country has unique needs at a particular time, e.g., in Zimbabwe currently one will focus on the continued need to protect the human rights defenders who continue to be persecuted while in UK and South Africa focus would shift to protection of migrants and asylum seekers. Identification of these unique needs is important if one is convince funding partners to step in.
There is also a need to have a criteria for case selection because noone can be able to take all cases. Where cases with a public interest component are taken, the idea should be to establish a certain legal principle, e.g. current efforts being made of testing the waters at the SADC Tribunal. Once that principle is established it is important to move on to the areas.
The use of interns (and para-legals) has the effect of reducing the wage bill but continuing to render the much needed service. I need to caution though that we should be careful in doing this least we are accused of enslaving the interns.
In certain countries, e.g. Zimbabwe, certain categories of professionals cannot afford to pay full legal services. I have worked with freelance journalists who find it difficult to meet their day to day basic needs. Yet at times there are willing to make certain contributions to the cause, e.g. report writing. Therefore it is important for us to be innovative and see how, in our different fields, we can assist each other, the lawyer and the client to ensure that the service continues to be available.
Wilbert P. Mandinde LLM (International Human Rights Law) Candidate School of Law - University of Essex Wivenhoe Park Colchester Essex CO4 4SQ Tel +447717353660
Criteria for case selection because of limited resources
Thanks for raising all these great points, Wilbert, regarding the social responsibility for providing pro-bono services to those that cannot afford it.
Your comment requiring the need to strategically select cases reminded me of a tactic from our online tactics database.
There is also a need to have a criteria for case selection because noone can be able to take all cases. Where cases with a public interest component are taken, the idea should be to establish a certain legal principle, e.g. current efforts being made of testing the waters at the SADC Tribunal. Once that principle is established it is important to move on to the areas.
The tactic, Litigating representative cases to push for women’s rights through legal reform, comes from the Center for Women’s Law Studies and Legal Services of Peking University in China. The center conducts research on women’s issues and provides pro-bono legal services to Chinese women of all backgrounds. The center’s most successful tactic has been in litigating a select number cases that carry great implications for Chinese women’s struggles in the current socio-economic context. The center receives so many requests for case litigation, that they cannot possibly represent all of the requests. Instead, they have decided to concentrate on significant cases that represent contemporary women's issues in China. This tactic allows the media to focus on a specific women's issue.
How have others managed to select 'significant cases' like the center in China? What is the criteria that you use?
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
Making budgets go farther
In a recent conversation with a fellow web developer she mentioned that she has seen more bartering between herself and client. For example: trading X hours of web design work for Y hours of massage. The massage therapist gains a good looking logo and the designer gains the relaxation needed to weather the bad economy and do better work.
This isn't always an option, and people still need to have income to pay bills and salaries, but I wonder if more organizations couldn't barter services to help them weather tight budgets.
-- Samir Nassar Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellow - 2009 New Tactics in Human Rights Project CVT, Restoring the Dignity of the Human Spirit
Charging a Fee
There is a non-profit in Denver, Colorado that charges an upfront, one-time administrative fee of $100 to cover the costs of copying, postage, and phone calls.
Other non-profits in the immigration field are allowed by regulation to charge "nominal" fees for their services.
My understanding is that few, if any, non-profits can be self-sufficient on fees alone.
Regina Germain, Legal Director, Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, Denver CO, USA
Charging a Fee
Our pro bono asylum legal service program, which serves 700-900 people a year, has asked for a voluntary contribution of $150 per case for much of its 25 year history. The contributions used to generate an average of $5000 a year - not enough for self-sufficiency but not negligible. Unfortunately, changes in work authorization and other rules have dramatically reduced that number as very few clients can afford even $150.
Members of the Asylum Project steering committee have also suggested that we charge individual volunteers or law firms a fee to take a pro bono case. We have not tried that yet but it is something to think about.
Jennifer Prestholdt
Deputy Director, The Advocates for Human Rights
charging a fee
we kind of distinguish between an individual client and a group client.. we also distinguish whether an individual client is endorsed by a group or is a walk in. and finally we distinguish an individual walk in client by the nature of his case. All of these are indigent clients. We have no experience of any rich person being a walk in client. If the nature of the case involves property ownership or any cause of action that involves gain of money except labor cases, we charge a fee, payable in installments that would come up to 200 dollars. group endorsed individual client are shouldered by the group and cover only expenses. group clients are usually informal settler and agrarian cases and we ask about Ps. 10 dollars from each person, excluding appeal.
but the greatest of the fees we demand is that they participate in the case preparation and even in the course of the trial.
Charging a fee
I think it's important to distinguish between clients and nature of their case, however most often clients simply can't pay anything for service. The organization that I work at do not provide free legal aid, so we try to connect people who are approaching us with organizations that have lawyers working pro bono. The reason they are approaching NGOs in these matters is not because NGOs seem to be credible or efficiant, but because they simple can't afford a lawyer. Being aware of the situation, Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights has supported two organization who offered free legal aid in the Western Balkans. I'm not aware if and who is willing to support these project in othere parts of the world. Yes, it means some sort of dependency on donors, but it gives you a possibility to offer your services to people who can't afford it otherwise. Even when we talk of small fees, it's really hard to say what is affordable to people, for eaxample living in slums or refugees (two groups that often ask us for assistance).
Best regards,
Jovana
experience
it has been our experience in the Philippines to ask a little from the client. the purpose of which is to give a feeling of ownership to the case and thus make them participate. the money is small. It has been our expereince before that we it to them free and they just ignore the case and sometimes leaving us stranded with an empty bag of a case.
rex
tapping into available (but sometimes unknown) resources
Some companies have a certain quota of public interest clients that they can take on pro bono. For instance, if you are an NGO trying to raise funds and looking for the help of a marketing/advertising agency in your marketing strategy (pamphlets, folders, website, etc.), it is worth looking into whether these agencies can help you on a pro bono basis.
I imagine this might extend itself to other areas as well, such as web design, printing/graphics, etc. If they cannot take us on completely pro bono, maybe the work can be done for a significantly reduced rate.
I think tapping into the student population is also worth looking into. It is a way of getting them involved in your cause, and there are many terrifically talented students who will charge a more reasonable rate, or perhaps volunteer.
Tapping into available resources - volunteers
Eric,
Your comments about tapping into available (and sometimes unknown) resources are excellent "food for thought" for organizations. The New Tactics project itself is very fortunate to engage many students and professionals in our work. Our New Tactics resources - such as our Resource for Practitioners and tactical notebook series - have been produced through pro-bono or significanlty reduced fee services (editing, graphic design, translation, etc).
Regarding pro bono legal services, I am aware of many universities that utilize the format of legal clinics to provide their law students with experience in providing services to a wide variety of disadvantaged populations (asylum seekers, death penalty cases, etc) and issue-based work (immigration, domestic violence, etc.). In one of our previous dialogues - Human Rights Education: Incorporating Practical Experince, Jadwiga from the Jagiellonian University Human Rights Centre in Krakow, Poland wrote about their legal clinic and how students provide not only research but actual representation under the supervision of professional lawyers but gain an opportunity to see the importance and impact of doing this work as well.
I hope that others in this dialogue will share their experience of engaging students in such legal clinics or in other support opportunities.
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Program Manager
Engaging students -- the IPB's Pro Bono Junior initiative
Thank you, Nancy, for your comments and for providing such helpful resources. We second wholeheartedly the points you have made about the importance of engaging students.
Here at the Instituto Pro Bono (IPB), we are the in the midst of launching an initiative called Pro Bono Junior, a program designed to tap into the energy and idealism of students by involving them in pro bono work while they are in law school, with the hope that the experience will transform them and energize them to continue doing pro bono work long after they have graduated. Since the pro bono ethic has not yet taken root in Brazil, particularly when compared to the legal culture that prevails in the U.S., we are hopeful that this younger generation will be all the more vocal in articulating the need for pro bono regulations and in convincing their peers of the importance of pro bono work.
Logistically, the Pro Bono Junior program will work as follows. Interested students will register with the IPB, thus declaring their availability to the volunteer law firms, lawyers, and NGOs who have already registered with us. Law schools will reward students who participate with academic credit, and the students' names will be displayed on our website.
Law students would assist the NGO and the supervising attorney with whom they are paired by conducting legal research and helping monitor the case's progress. As an added bonus for the student, she not only gains valuable hands-on legal experience but has the opportunity to cultivate a relationship with a lawyer or law firm that could be her future employer. And the supervising attorney gains the benefit of a committed student devoted to working on her pro bono cases.
This model of engaging students to do public interest work presently exists in Brazilian medical schools, which require medical students to treat individuals from underprivileged communities for two years in public hospitals, thus inculcating an ethic of giving back to the community.
engaging students
We admire the thought and the vision of the IPB pro bono junior program and i await the results.
I kind of like the idea of students doing pro bono work and crediting it as an academic unit. in the philippines this will need the Supreme Court's imprimatur.
In the Philippines, we have the experience of tapping the law students through their organizations. during the anti dictatorship struggle in the Philippines, the law students were in the forefront and they organized themselves. law groups and human rights groups make arrangements with them in doing legal work. Usually when these students become lawyers they engage in pro bono work.
one of these lawyers group which is now defunct even created an associate membership for law students.
these law student groups veritably become training grounds for pro bono work.
Training law students - importance of pro-bono work
I want to draw attention to Eric's post regarding his own experience as a student where he participated in a "law clinic" that provided him with valuable hands-on experience but also instilled in him a desire to do pro-bono work.
Just this past weekend I heard a radio report that some law firms in the United States are implementing a "new tactic" in order to defer their new hires from taking their positions - due to the economic recession. In order to maintain their offers to newly graduated lawyers, the firms are offering a half salary and asking these students to provide their services to non-profit and non-governmental organizations while the firms recover business and economic viability. In effect, this is a pro-bono offering of services. In fact, the pro-bono services extended beyond the United States. One woman interviewed said she would be working with an organization in Central America.
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Program Manager
Making Budgets Go Further
The local chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association hosts a fundraiser each year for our organization and another organization that represents detained immigrants. We split the proceeds from the event. This is a tremendous boost to the legal department. The funds we raise help pay for attendance at a national conference. The bulk of the funds raised, though, go to the agency in general. We have been negotiating within our own agency over the years, through changing Executive Directors, to carve out some of that funding for a litigation fund to help pay for experts, long distance calls, overnight mail, etc. The event is a good way to celebrate the accomplishments of our volunteers lawyers and law students. The firms and law schools often purchase tables at the event. And this year, we are giving our first Annual Pro Bono Service Award to a law firm that helps both organizations.
Regina Germain, Legal Director, Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, Denver CO, USA
Asylum Breakfasts
One way to attract new volunteers and keep your current volunteers updated on changes to the law is to host monthly training sessions. At RMSC in Denver, we host monthly asylum breakfasts for seasoned lawyers, law students, current volunteers and lawyers we hope will become volunteers. Each breakfast consists of a speaker, training materials (provided to attendees electronically), donated space for the breakfast at a local law firm, corporation or law school, and coffee and a light breakfast (also donated). We never charge a fee for these breakfasts and each lawyer receives continuing legal education credit (required by most state bar associations). Our speakers, who have ranged from governmental officials to nationally reconized experts on asylum law, also donate their time and talents. Attorney volunteers tell me they appreciate not only the opportunity to learn about cutting edge issues, but also that the breakfasts give them an opportunity to share their experiences with others who take on similar cases. I encourage others to consider the possibility of instituting such a mechanism for your volunteers to learn and for your agencies to attract new volunteers. Best regards,
Regina Germain - Rocky Mountain Survivors Center
Re: Asylum Breakfasts
Thank you, Regina! I think this is a wonderful of example of a creative way to recruit volunteers. It is very clever that you are also educating them (and training them) at the same time!
Offering the continuing legal education credits in the process is a great incentive - I wonder if others have utilized these required legal education credits to recruit volunteers?
Kristin Antin Online Community Builder, New Tactics in Human Rights
Credit Points
A4ID has recently become accredited for its Annual Law & Development Training Programme so that lawyers attending can receive CPD (Continuting Professional Development) points for this course. Most lawyers are pleased to gain these points but it's probably not the deciding factor as to whether they are involved in it. However, it may help in having their law firm support them in their participation if they know they will gain CPD points for it.
volunteer lawyers
It is a hard act to follow in the Philippines. The Supreme Court in the Philippins passed a bar matter circular requiring lawyers to give 60 hours of free legal aid every year and there are now much protest and appeal. It is difficult to ask lawyers firm to shell money for a pro-bono cause. but it is worth a try. it has not yet been tried here.
What is pro bono law and why is it so important?
The premise behind the provision of pro bono services and the underlying ethical and other obligations is that everyone, regardless of status, should have equal access to justice. Thus, the phrase in Latin, Pro Bono, refers to actions taken "for the public good." The idea being that a legal system that ensures justice for everyone will benefit everyone and is in everyone's interest. In the US and other countries' legal systems this has come to mean the provision of free legal services that benefit:
1. Underprivileged persons or communities 2. Organizations that help such persons 3. Civic, cultural and educational institutions that serve the public interest and are not able to obtain effective legal counsel
In addition to the provision of free legal representation to low-income people to ensure access to justice, pro bono services also include: 1. Legal services for public interest cases 2. Direct brief advice, service and/or referral (i.e. "first aid") 3. Legal education/popular education to raise awareness about people's rights 4. Dispute resolution/mediation 5. Transactional representation for non-profits/charity /civicorganizations 6. High impact litigation (litigation that benefits a large number of people) 7. Law reform and development of public policy that helps underprivileged groups
Colleen Beebe, Attorney at Law Director of Education The Advocates for Human Rights 650 South Third Avenue, Suite 550 Minneapolis, MN 55402
pro bono
Well said, Colleen. Your enumeration of who are pro-bono clients does not need more elucidation. However, the Karapatan experience leaves us the question of what is free? does the lawyer or karapatan, in this case, shoulder all the expenses for litigation. When it comes to human rights cases, that is always the case, much more for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, torture. but when cases involved people's organization, the people's organization is asked to should some of the expenses and sometimes including lawyer's fees which is very very minimal. The purpose of which is to give to this set of client a sense of belongingness in the litigation and therey pressure them to participate and be partners in the litigation and not mere spectators. in cases involving properties, usually, urban poor dwellers, informal settlers, when no obligation is asked from the client, they usually leave the lawyers moreso in the philippines were cases are long and tedious.
legal advise and opinion is always free in pro bono. quick response team is always free. preliminary documentation is always free. but it is in the litigation where the client is sometimes asked for purposes that he stays with the case, not necessarily with the lawyer.
in most cases in the Philippines, human rights lawyers and sectoral based lawyers most of the time balance paying clients with the pro-bono ones. what the right hand receives, the left hand gives. this is in conjunction with the issue of lawyer's sustainability. moreso, if the lawyer does not want to be tied down to a funding agency.
Pro bono vs. legal aid
Yes. You have some interesting points, which beg the question: what is the difference between legal aid services and pro bono? Pro bono seems to be the practical expression of a lawyers' ethical obligation to ensure that the justice system is fair (i.e. everyone has access to justice). However, under international law, States (governments) also have a duty to ensure equal access to justice under the law. That means that States should provide free legal services to disadvantaged/low-income people. This means that lawyers are paid (whether its by the State or through a non-profit) to provide free legal services. Pro bono, to me, is not a legal aid attorney who is paid but provides free legal services. Rather, pro bono is an attorney who provides free legal services to someone in need without reimbursement. Legal aid is different and I think State's have the duty to provide access to justice through free legal aid programs.
When the State falls short of its legal duty, then it's up to lawyers to step in to comply with their ethical duty to help others and to give part of their time to help people who cannot effectively access the judicial system. I think we should also advocate, as lawyers, what those international legal standards should be to ensure access to justice and to advocate that the State comply with international standards. I'm not sure that the limits should be, as you raised.
In the US and many Latin American countries a lawyer's professional code of conduct encourages (and sometimes requires) lawyers to do pro bono work. It's interesting because in some countries there are even legal and constitutional obligations. For example, I understand that in Brasil (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that the 1988 constitution established a requirement to provide free legal assistance to anyone who could prove they did not have enough money (I think that this is broader than just for criminal matters but I am not sure). Whether or not States comply with these obligations is another matter.
Colleen Beebe, Attorney at Law Director of Education The Advocates for Human Rights 650 South Third Avenue, Suite 550 Minneapolis, MN 55402
Utilizing volunteers to provide services that legal aid couldn't
One difference that I see, and it is significant, is that our pro bono attorneys have the resources and time to make the strongest case possible on behalf of our clients. I am one attorney in a small legal office. If I dedicated 100 hours to each case, I would serve very few clients. By training and attracting volunteer lawyers (at last count we have over 75) we are able to provide the legal services that a legal aid attorney could not.
Regina (Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, Denver, Colorado, USA)
Utilising volunteers
I am all for giving as much legal assistance as possible to as many clients as possible. However, whenever I think of paralegals and volunteers who are not primarily qualified as lawyers being trained specifically to give legal assistance in certain areas of law, I can not help worrying that the quality of the legal assistance given is compromised. Perhaps it is because in my home country the standards set for people to train as lawyers are very high, that I am not convinced that just anyone can give proper legal advice. I have also met a few colleagues from human rights organisations who had made the client's case worse because they did not understand the asylum seeking procedures themselves. Perhaps we should discuss ways in which we can ensure quality of service when unqualified persons are trained as volunteers.
Nyaradzo Muzah
Lawyers for Human Rights
Pretoria
ABA's Standards for Pro-Bono programs
Hi Nyaradzo,
I just came across this document that I thought might interest you. The American Bar Association (ABA) has a document called STANDARDS FOR PROGRAMS PROVIDING CIVIL PRO BONO LEGAL SERVICES TO PERSONS OF LIMITED MEANS (Pro Bono Standards). The Pro Bono Standards were the product of four years of work by the Standing Committee on Lawyers' Public Service Responsibility (SCLPSR). They were created to guide new pro bono programs in improving and evaluating existing programs so that these programs can effectively and efficiently facilitate the provision of high quality legal services to persons of limited means.
It does not seem that there is anything enforceable about these standards - they are just a guide. Is there anything similar to this in South Africa? If a pro-bono lawyer makes the client's case worse, is there anykind of repercussion for the lawyer? Would it matter if the lawyer was working pro-bono or not in this kind of situation - where a lawyer's assistance actually hurts the client's case?
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
International obligation to ensure access to justice
Thank you, Colleen, for making the distinction between 'pro-bono' and 'legal aid services.'
Colleen also points out that "under international law, States (governments) also have a duty to ensure equal access to justice under the law." So what are these international standards and obligations?
A great resource for this the International Bar Association has a website called InternationalProBono.com - http://www.internationalprobono.com/. Under 'Pro Bono Declarations' you will find the International Bar Association Pro Bono Declaration. In this Declaration, under profession f, you will find:
Recalling that access to justice for all individuals is a human right and that governments have the primary responsibility to realize and protect that human right through measures such as state funded legal aid, as underscored in article 10 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, article 14(3)(d) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, other major international, regional and national instruments, and also the Legal Aid Resolution adopted by this Council in 1996;
The International Bar Association has also developed a 'Pro Bono and Access to Justice Committee' whose objectives are: to foster world wide recognition of the principle that access to justice is the right of all individuals and to promote access to justice for all, regardless of their financial means, race, age, ethnicity, gender, or popularity of cause.
Has anyone had experience using international law to reform the pro-bono policies in their country?
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
Brazil's 1988 constitution and reality
Thanks for your post, Colleen. Yes, the Brazilian constitution of 1988 does require the state to provide free legal assistance to the indigent for both civil and criminal matters. Unfortunately, although the 1988 constitution is on its face an incredibly progressive document, there is a wide disparity between what the Constitution mandates and what happens in practice.
Many Brazilian states have yet to formally organize their legal aid offices. It was only in 2006, almost twenty years after the 1988 Brazilian constitution was promulgated, that São Paulo established its own state legal aid office. At present, São Paulo's legal aid office is completely overwhelmed. There are only 400 legal aid attorneys for the entire state. Last year, two million individuals in the city of São Paulo alone sought the services of legal aid attorneys.
The state tries to fill these gaps by hiring what they call "advogados dativos," lawyers who have formal agreements with the state legal aid office and bar association to represent those who cannot afford private attorneys. These "advogados dativos" themselves are poor and sometimes rely exclusively on state-appointed work. Overworked and underpaid, they have developed a reputation for offering subpar legal representation.
Given these circumstances, allowing lawyers to practice pro bono law to help meet the demand for legal assistance becomes a necessity. Unfortunately, until a few years ago, it was considered a violation of a lawyer's professional code of conduct to do pro bono work. After the IPB intensely lobbied the São Paulo Bar Association, they passed a resolution allowing lawyers in the state of São Paulo to do pro bono work, but not directly for individuals -- only for non-profit organizations. Nevertheless, this was a big step forward.
Another factor complicating matters is how the state defines indigence, i.e., what kind of economic hardship you have to show to be eligible for free legal help from the state. In Brazil, to be eligible, you have to make less than roughly $540 a month. There are approximately 75 million Brazilians who earn between $540 and $900 a month. They are thus ineligible to receive free legal assistance from the state but too poor to afford a private attorney.
When the state fails so miserably in carrying out the vision of the Constitution, it becomes all the more important to allow private lawyers to engage in pro bono advocacy. In Brazil, only two states, Alagoas and São Paulo, allow lawyers to do pro bono work and, again, only for NGOs and not individuals.
Working around regulations where they fail us
Is it possible to do pro-bono workfor a token fee? You mentioned that State bar associations in Brazil govern whether lawyers can perform pro-bono work. Does this mean that legal work has to be done for a fee? If so, is the fee set to a standard? What happens if a lawyer charges a client the full fee for services, knowing that the client cannot and will not pay? Can the lawyer forgive the debt? Lastly, would such tactics be considered so transparent that they would still bring up lawyers who engage in them against charges of violating the code of professional ethics?
-- Samir Nassar Upper Midwest Human Rights Fellow - 2009 New Tactics in Human Rights Project CVT, Restoring the Dignity of the Human Spirit
re: working around regulations where they fail us.
Thanks for your great questions, Samir.
The state bar associations use specious reasoning to justify their prohibition on pro bono advocacy. At first blush, their concerns may seem legitimate but, after probing their justifications, their fears are ultimately unfounded.
To answer your first question, it is not possible to do legal work for a token fee. The fee is set to a standard. One of the arguments against allowing pro bono advocacy is that undercharging will create unfair competition in the marketplace, hurting those lawyers who have few clients and need every last client they can get. There is a glut of lawyers in Brazil, and some undoubtedly have a hard time finding work. Nevertheless, approving a pro bono resolution can actually generate more legal work. Consider the following example. If pro bono advocacy is permitted, an NGO that otherwise could not afford legal representation can now look to access the justice system. A law firm that represents that same NGO pro bono, if the case is sufficiently burdensome, at some point may need to hire additional attorneys from outside the firm to help with the case, which would benefit lawyers who are underemployed. Moreover, as another counterargument, It is worth keeping in mind that clients who cannot afford to pay are not clients poor attorneys are looking to represent.
There is also anxiety in some circles that pro bono advocacy would be an underhanded form of marketing, whereby law firms would look to bring in new clients by first representing them for free, and then later charging them as regular clients (or undercharging them, as discussed above). By prohibiting firms from actively seeking out pro bono clients, i.e., not allowing them to advertise that they do pro bono work, and imposing strict ethical regulations, this concern can be adequately addressed.
I think you've hit the nail on the head with your last question. A lawyer who knowingly took on a client who she knew could not pay, but formally billed the client pro forma, would be violating the spirit of the code of ethics.
We are lobbying state bar associations, one by one, to approve pro bono resolutions allowing lawyers to represent NGOs for free. This strategy has been gaining some momentum of late. Several state bar associations have shown themselves more receptive to the pro bono ethic. We are also trying to show how much interest there is amongst attorneys to do pro bono work. The hope is that once enough states have signed on, we will able to convince the federal Brazilian Bar Association of the need for a national pro bono law allowing lawyers to do free legal work throughout Brazil, and not just for NGOs but directly for individuals as well.
Working around regulations
Eric,
Thank you so much for clearly answering the questions that had been posed.
I want to bring attention to the excellent tactical notebook resource, Expanding Access to Justice, that was written by Marcos Fuchs of Instituto Pro Bono regarding the creative way in which your organization has been able to not only work around the regulations but engage lawyers to provide pro bono services to NGOs.
I so often hear from people in countries around the world that they cannot get lawyers interested in providing pro bono services. It would be great to hear you and others share a bit more about the following:
I'll look forward to hearing the replies!
Nancy Pearson, New Tactics in Human Rights Program Manager
engaging lawyers to do pro bono work
As i have mentioned in other topics and also before, our experience in the Philippines with engaging lawyers to do pro bono work is very limited. pro bono lawyers are usually students who have been associated with pro bono work or advocacy works.
although, it is in our program and we have started to communicate with law schools about helping us do pro bono work but our target here is more the students.
the bar association in the philippines has also a program which involves all their chapters throughout the country which is free legal aid program.
but again, with so much poverty in the philippines and access to justice depends on lawyers, the program and even the government public attorneys cannot suffice to meet the demand.
this is not including those people who are by the nature of their case, involving human rights violations cannot be covered by the public attorneys.
nonetheless, there is a silver lining. the supreme court has come up with a circular requiring lawyers to give 60 hours of their time to pro bono.
but many lawyers and some bar association chapters are up in arms.
so it is a wait and see situation.
re: working around regulations
Thanks so much for your comments, Nancy. I'd like to try to address some of the points that you raise in your post.
In our attempts to disseminate the pro bono ideal to other Brazilian states (remembering that only two states, São Paulo and Alagoas, have approved pro bono resolutions allowing lawyers to do pro bono work, and only for non-profit organizations), we have assiduously lobbied other state bar associations to follow suit. Our exposure to the legal community in other states comes in large part from events and conversations that are held with the state bar associations as we attempt to convince them of the tremendous need for a pro bono resolution.
Moreover, when the IPB was founded, many of the lawyers who came together to advocate for pro bono regulations had substantial visibility within the São Paulo legal community, consisting of both lawyers and law professors. This ended up conferring a kind of "legitimacy" on the IPB, and made it easier for the IPB's work to make inroads with those previously unfamiliar with its work. It also facilitated news of the IPB's work spreading by word of mouth. Perhaps the lesson that can be extracted from our experience is that it helps to have founding members who are visible in the legal community, as that can help generate some initial momentum.
In Brazil, the profession's code of ethics has been an obstacle to overcome in regard to pro bono advocacy. So we have sought to change the mentality tied to the code of ethics, i.e., that practicing law on a pro bono basis is an ethical breach. Change has been gradual, but there are strong signs of change, as evidenced by the pro bono resolutions in São Paulo and, more recently, Alagoas. Attorneys in many other states have also shown interest in taking on cases pro bono. As more and more state bar associations embrace the pro bono ideal and recognize how many millions of Brazilians lack meaningful access to justice, we will be that much closer to reforming a broken system.
In regard to Nancy's last point, we are trying to learn more about the extent to which lawyers who are enrolled in the IPB's pro bono program reach out to their colleagues to encourage them to volunteer their legal skills, so that we can better gauge whether we need to emphasize this more as a means of recruiting additional volunteers.
pro bono vs legal aid
I fully concur with the ideas of colleen.
In my experience and as an afterthought after reading Colleens update, there is really need to distinguish between pro bono and legal aid. legal aid is more of a duty while pro bono is more of a stance.
and human rights in situation where there is state sponsored human rights violations or complicity to it, pro bono becomes a must as the government will renege on its duty to give legal aid to those whom it is persecuting or whom it denies to have been victims of.
thus, most lawyers who do pro bono work are those who are advocates in the real sense of the word - making a principled stance on an issue. Karapatan which is a human rights organization and which has been bedeviling the Philippine government for its clear policies and complicity on extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture has been giving pro bono services to human rights victims.
Managing a 'quick response unit 2'
In South Africa,lawyers and activists working on refugee and asylum issues have had to keep on their toes in recent years. You may have heard about the xenophobic violence that erupted in May 2008 and left numerous people,most of them foreigners, dead. Actually xenophobia has always been and remains an ugly reality. This, together with other factors such as the overwhelming arrivals from Zimbabwe and the Department of Home Affairs' failure to set up adequate mechanisms to manage the inflow, has led to dismal service delivery.
The 5 Refugee Reception Offices in the country are haunted by a perennial 'access problem' where thousands of asylum seekers jostle outside their gates every morning to apply for asylum, extend their temporary asylum seeker's permits, attend interviews, apply for refugee IDs, or to access any other service. Some give up and end up becoming illegal, leading to more problems such as arrests and deportations. Following stakeholder meetings in which the DHA undertook to implement certain strategic initiatives to curb the access problem and the ensuing corruption and harassment of asylum seekers at its offices, our unit has been carrying out patrols of these centres to monitor against corruption and crime and sometimes assist clients with 'special needs' to gain access. We have seen a lot of improvement much more recently so our presence has been effective. LHR is currently challenging the fining of some of these asylum seekers whose temporary permits expired because of the access problem in court. However, due to shortages of personnel to carry out such monitoring patrols, this has not been constant. Interns and candidate attorneys help very much in this regard.
Service delivery to asylum seekers and refugees in the country is generally problematic although the Refugees Act and the Constitution form an excellent basis for their protection. This is due to xenophobic attitudes, lack of awareness as to their rights and the general public's failure to distinguish refugees and asylum seekers from immigrants. It is common for instance for a bank teller to insist that a refugee must bring a valid work permit before being served. Our job is to quickly inform the relevant institution of the correct legal position and this usually resolves the issue for our client.
Within the RMRP we have a mobile unit but it is specially a Detention Monitoring Unit. My colleagues in this unit visit Lindela, the deportation holding centre at Krugersdorp just outside Johannesburg, almost on a daily basis to consult with people detained there to ascertain whether their arrest, detention and the impending deportation are lawful. A lot of litigation has emanated from these consultations and this has curbed arbitrariness. LHR 's 'watchdog' role has therefore positively impacted the policies of the DHA.
The Refugee and Migrant Rights Project in which I work is directly responsible to protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees although it works closely with the Strategic Litigation unit. We have an internal referral system whereby we 'throw' cases requiring litigation 'over our shoulders'' to our colleagues in SLU. However, our organisation has limited capacity due to the influx of clients and we have to outsource lawyers. It is very expensive to litigate in South Africa and we are compelled to be creative. We have developed a relationship with some advocates where they work on a 'no-win no-fee' basis in some of our referrals. This has really helped a lot of our indigent clients to access justice.
The 'quick response' RMRP effectively complements LHR 's other efforts made through the Strategic Litigation Unit and recommendations for policy interventions by the government ands the UNHCR regional office in the protection of the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa.
Nyaradzo Muzah
Lawyers for Human Rights
Pretoria
Pro-bono lawyers as 'watchdogs'
Wow, Nyaradzo - 'Lawyers for Human Rights' is monitoring and protecting people's rights on so many different fronts in South Africa!
Thank you for the great explaination of several different units at your organization. Your work monitoring of Refugee Resettlement Offices in South Africa sounds like a good fit for the 'education' element of pro-bono work (see the thread on 'education' started by Rex above) - that is to create awareness around rights of refugees and asylum seekers and the legal services that they are able to access. As you mention - I can imagine that interns and candidate attorneys would be very helpful for this kind of work. Do others monitor Refugee Reception Offices or work to encourage pro-bono lawyers to do this kind of work?
It is also encouraging to hear that you monitor dentention centers. In Uganda, there is a torture treatment center that has special access to prisons to monitor the treatment of prisoners. They bring a team of doctors, psychologists, and social workers. They meet with prisoners to find out about their treatment there. If necessary, these interviews will be shared with pro-bono lawyers.
I can imagine that monitoring detention centers and prisons requires a team of professionals that know what to look for - often these clients are very afraid to tell anyone if they are being harmed. Do you work with other professionals besides lawyers to do monitoring work, for example doctors, psychologists, etc?
Do others provide pro-bono services (or coordinate these services with lawyers) for monitoring detention centers?
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
Dear colleagues. My
Dear colleagues. My name is Sardar, HRD from Kyrgyz Republic, one of the former Soviet Union countries. We are monitoring close facilities during last 5 years. Our monitoring goals focused on conditions and main human rights violations. We coordinating visits with lawyers, who are providing with free legal aid to prisoners and detainees. So in our case it is really important to increase number of pro-bono lawyers in our communities.
Sardar Bagishbekov
Kyrgyz Republic, Voice of Freedom
Pro-bono lawyers as 'watchdogs'
Yes, using interns and candidate attorneys has really gone a long way in easing the work at LHR and assisting more clients than we would otherwise have been able to. But we are just a small group in a huge country. I still feel that not much has been done to involve lawyers in private practice in pro bono work and I will make recommendations for LHR to use some of the strategies I have learnt during this dialogue. I
n South Africa, a lot depends on on one's residence status and I believe that asylum seekers and refugees are at the end of the rung. We have a situation where there is an excellent legal framework for their protection but absolutely no information about it to them and also to the locals. Sometimes the suffering that result is indescribable as is clearly evidenced by the xenophobic attacks of last year.Perhaps a huge campaign to involve more lawyers and to raise awareness generally would help.
We can hardly find any doctors who are willing to help. A few psychologists accept a limited number of clients for trauma counselling. It all boils down to lack of information on the importance of pro bono work.
Nyaradzo Muzah
Lawyers for Human Rights
Pretoria
pitching ideas effectively
I met with an individual on Thursday who is helping us brainstorm fundraising strategies generally and, more specifically, advising us on an event we are organizing to involve local law firms in São Paulo in our business plan. I wanted to share something that I learned in this meeting about the importance of persuasively pitching your idea to those from whom you are seeking financial support.
We are trying, in some senses, to replicate the model we have seen in countries like the U.S., where pro bono organizations with similar goals receive substantial support from the law firms that participate in their programs; since we serve as a clearinghouse, linking lawyers interested in doing pro bono work to those NGOs that are in need of legal help, it would be fair for the law firms that benefit from our work to help ensure our financial sustainability.
Our consultant suggested that we include in our presentation to our local law firms testimonials from four individuals. Ideally, these testimonials would come in the form of a short video clip (approx. 30 seconds). The first individual would be one of the founders of the IPB, an esteemed attorney whom the lawyers present would immediately recognize, talking about the critical importance of expanding access to justice in Brazil and of the lawyer's duty to do pro bono work. The second individual would be one of our volunteer attorneys talking about the transformative experience of pro bono lawyering, and the sense of personal satisfaction and connectedness to the community one derives in doing the work. The third speaker would be someone from one of our beneficiary NGOs, talking about how valuable the legal work performed was to the organization. Finally, we would ask one of the students in the Pro Bono Jr. program to talk about their experiences participating as a student. (For the lawyers present, the student is also something of a "glimpse into the future," and a reassurance that the IPB's services will be needed for well into the future.)
I came away from the meeting with a stronger sense of the importance of telling your story vividly, in a way that breathes life into your cause. By interviewing the people involved and visually communicating their stories, It ceases to be an abstract idea and becomes something concrete and particular.
catching ideas
it is a good idea but difficult to follow in the philippines. usually, the law firms who might be good targets here are afraid of conflict of interests. what happens is that pro bono work involves advocacies which might conflict with their present clientele or which might endanger their target clientele. how do we address this?
re: catching ideas
Would there be some way perhaps to speak with the firms to have a sense of which kind of advocacy they would be willing to engage in? Perhaps some kind of questionnaire could be designed that would screen out potential conflicts of interest and then allow the law firms to take on the cases that wouldn't present ethical problems.
a matter of perspective
that would be a good way to start it. however, the greater problem i think i will have in the philippines is how to make the law firms participate as there is no incentive for them to participate. for them pro bono is just additional burden.
although it is not prohibited in the philippines.
i just wanted to compare the legal matrix re pro bono between philikppines, brasil and the US and why pro bono work is effective in making lawyers and law firms participate in it but not in my country.
re: a matter of perspective
Having gone to law school in the U.S., I can remember how the law school clinics were critical to planting the seeds of a pro bono mentality. I consider the work I did on an asylum case in an immigration and asylum law clinic far and away my most rewarding experience in law school. It made me want to do asylum work pro bono after graduation.
I remember some of my classmates actively wanting to do pro bono work after graduation and not just viewing it as an obligation. Perhaps the experience of getting that valuable hands-on experience as a law student, while you are still somewhat impressionable and idealistic, is critical to instilling the pro bono ethic in lawyers. This is the thinking behind the Pro Bono Junior initiative that we are launching: that law students who do pro bono work during law school, upon graduating, will not view pro bono as an additional burden but see it as part of their responsibility as lawyers.
You mentioned earlier needing to get the Supreme Court's imprimatur for a similar program. Is it a very bureaucratic and lengthy process? Do you think the Supreme Court would be supportive of it?
on SC imprimatur
what i mentioned as needing imprimatur is having volunteer work of students be credited for academic units or para legal trainings of paralegal volunteers be credited with academic units.
with pro bono, the Supreme Court recently issued a memorandum circular requiring lawyers to do 60 hours of free legal work/aid. lawyers and some chapter of the national integrated bar are complaining and resisting. we are awaiting the Court's action on this.
i think the law schools have a contribution in the mind set of lawyers to pro bono. most of the law schools here stress on the money making aspect of practice.
Resource: Message-in-a-box
Hi Eric, I wanted to share another Tactical Technology Resource that might help you 'persuasively pitch' the importance of pro-bono work. Message-in-a-box is a toolkit (like Security-in-a-box) with many instructions, examples and resources to developing and marketing a message. There is a chapter in this toolkit on Making advocacy videos without a camera that includes examples of how this has been done effectively, and tip on how to create a video this way. There is a chapter on How to record and edit a 2 minute interview, also without a video camera. I hope this will be helpful for you and others working to promote their work without a large budget!
If you or others are interested in more examples of how to use video for advocacy, you could take a look at our previous featured online dialogue on Video Advocacy. Thanks!
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
that is such a great help
kristin, i never knew there are those kinds of ways of doing things. i will look into that also.
i also wish that there will be a legal remedy or justice in a box.
rex
re: message-in-a-box
Thank you so much for sharing these resources with us, Kristin. I know we will make good use of them!
Lawyers who feel they do not need training
I totally agree with Dewa, Colleen and Wilbert that we need to be creative in our engagement of lawyers in pro bono work. I think lawyers generally think that they do not need to learn anything more than they already know ,but you can teach them more by making them believe that they are not necessarily learning anything more but they are simply accessing useful research resources on that area of law by participating in a certain group. I will confess that as a member of the Media Lawyers Network that Wilbert ran in Zimbabwe, I never felt as though I was being taught anything, rather I felt that I was enhancing my skills and knowledge in media law by engaging with other lawyers who had an interest and expertise in the same field. I also valued the pool of information that was readily accessible through the bulletins and newsletters. So I felt that I had a certain legal speciality. Looking at it now, I admit that I actually learnt a lot in media law and Wilbert, you got away with your 'subtle training'. Well done!
Nyaradzo Muzah
Lawyers for Human Rights
Pretoria
Thank you Rex, for your
Thank you Rex, for your great idea to open an institution to ensure adequate training for paralegals. Using paralegals and volunteers would go a long way in raising awareness around the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in South Africa. It is quite worrying to see how even well educated and influential people do not have an idea on these rights. Asylum seekers and refugees suffer as a result. We currently do not have enough lawyers/paralegals working on this critical are. At LHR we are reall y trying hard but it sometimes feels like taking out a river of water with a teaspoon. I certainly hope that we can get more pro bono lawyers working with us. The idea of bulletins and newsletters to encourage them also sounds fabulous.
Nyaradzo Muzah
Lawyers for Human Rights
Pretoria
Recruiting paralegals/volunteers for asylum pro bono work
Hi Nyaradzo, Rex mentioned in his post above (on SC imprimatur) that the Supreme Court in the Philippines "recently issued a memorandum circular requiring lawyers to do 60 hours of free legal work/aid. lawyers and some chapter of the national integrated bar are complaining and resisting. we are awaiting the Court's action on this." I wonder if the Supreme Court in South Africa has issued such a memorandum? Is there a policy in South Africa (or other countries) requiring lawyers to work a certain number of pro-bono hours?
How have these policy changes been implemented?
Kristin Antin, New Tactics Online Community Builder
thanks, nyaradzo
i am more keen on paralegals - training them and mobilizing them for human rights. this is along my hope and vision of making law accessible and understandable by the common ordinary people making them less dependent on lawyers.
sometimes this dependency and looking at a lawyer as a saviour in the Philippines are sometimes the cause of apathy and immobility and helplessness. it is making them get a grasp and hold of their legal problems and solutions, that they become more empowered.
but as you said it is like draining a lake with a teaspon. but i remember an old chinese folklore of the crazy old man and the mountain. you just dig and dig, scoop water teaspoon by teaspoon until you build a critical mass of people who will be there to dig that mountain or scoop the water.
it is my dream.
Thank you everyone for such envigorating conversations!
It's been a privilege dialoguing with you all! I wish you much success in everything that you do. May your paths be clear and safe!
Colleen Beebe, Attorney at Law Director of Education The Advocates for Human Rights 650 South Third Avenue, Suite 550 Minneapolis, MN 55402
concur
thanks colleen and to everybody for a dynamic dialogue. my wish is that all the peoples in the world can have equal access to justice.
rex
Lawyers in SA do not know pro bono
No Kristin, in South Africa there is no requirement for lawyers to do pro bono work. There is much emphasis on the legal aid clinics run by most universities and by independent organisations like LHR. Government has also set up the Legal Aid Board but unfortunately it only assists citizens and permanent residents, leaving asylum seekers,refugees and other migrants unprotected. Even so, they do not have the requisite capacity to assist all indigent persons. Some lawyers in private practice barely remember that there is a concept of pro bono work to even consider. In general, it is very expensive to access justice especially in the High Court and Constitutional Court. When I just arrived in SA three years ago and I was considering challenging a provision in The Attorneys' Act which allows only citizens and permanent residents to be admitted to practice here, I asked a certain lawyer if she could consider assisting me pro bono since it was in the interest of the profession, she said that she would not even touch the case unless I had R80 000!
In Zimbabwe, there is compulsory pro bono work for every practitioner. It is however on a small scale, I used to handle three murder trials a year. The good thing in the criminal cases is that lawyers usually put in maximum effort because out of moral values, you really can not be reckless with a trial in which your client could face the death penalty,paid or not. In the civil cases, some do really shoddy work to get it over and done with.
Nyaradzo Muzah
Lawyers for Human Rights
Pretoria
It would make everything
It would make everything safer. I agree on this strategy.
home security system
Use of Awards in Pro-bono services
Awards are very important as they should serve to acknowledge effort, dedication and quality to the receipient and encourage others to emulate the award receiver. At the same time awards, if not managed well can demotivate other lawyers, e.g., in a situation where each and evry year an award is being worn by one person. I do not believe that in any jurisdiction you will find only one dedicated lawyer. Award givers should be open and consult widely before the award.
Should there be anyone with some award giving rules, please lets share and see how awards can be used properly for motivation and encourgement.
Wilbert P. Mandinde LLM (International Human Rights Law) Candidate School of Law - University of Essex Wivenhoe Park Colchester Essex CO4 4SQ Tel +447717353660
Pro bono law
The engagement of pro-bono lawyers and their role very much depends on the different contexts and legal systems we deal with. In countries which have developed democracies and rule of law where the role of the lawyer is recognised and well defined the question of the pro-bono lawyer may relate mainly to persons who may have difficulties of access to lawyers due to financial or other constraints. However, when we deal with countries where the legal system is itself extremely primitive the engagement of the pro-bono lawyer is associated with far deeper problems. For example let us take a case where the trial may drag on for ten or more years as it the case in several countries of Asia and Africa; or let us take a case where the killing or serious harassment of the complainant and the witnesses is very common; take also a case where the court or customary practices prevent the professional intervention that is normally allowed to a lawyer within a better system. In some countries, for example Sri Lanka, some initial attempts have been taken by lawyers closely associated with and supported by human rights groups to deal with such issues. Only pro-bono lawyers undertake cases such as those on behalf of torture victims.
This also applies to other human rights abuses. In the overall context the likelihood of a successful outcome is minimal. The hazards are enormous. The time periods involved can be very long. Under those circumstances that lawyer alone cannot share the whole burden of the services rendered to the client. Many activities need to be combined to be able to have even some limited legal intervention. Publicity is essential so that the human rights abuse is made known to a large audience; constant intervention for protection is necessary which also requires the capacity to generate publicity and linkages with local and international agencies. These are situations in which lawyers who practice professionally for the making of their daily bread will not be interested. In fact, many of them may shun such cases because they might suffer some consequences to their practices by associating with such causes as seeking redress for human rights abuses.
If we discuss this issue of pro-bono lawyers it is necessary to discuss such problems of context and what despite of all odds some lawyers and others associated with the defence of human rights are trying to do under these situations.
Legal aid; the Rwandan perspective
It was good to read experiences from different online discussants on the topic and i felt compelled to, start with, just an introduction of our own experience in Rwanda. I am available to share more should there be any questions and or comments.
Following our recent history of Genocide and war, the justice sector was left lacking in every aspect; no infrastructure and very few qualified lawyers whose services are largely offered on a commercial basis. This is unaffordable to majority indigent Rwandan population and vulnerable groups. In 2004 a forum comprised of 35 local and international (resident) legal aid intervenors was created; the legal aid forum (LAF). Envisioned to see Equitable Access to Justice for All, and with a mission of promoting equitable access to justice for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, through provision of accessible and high quality legal aid services, the LAF encompassing the different levels of the ‘Legal Aid Triangle’: education, advice and representation committed to the following objectives;
Since its creation, a lot has been acheived but more challenges still lie a head. We are fast tracking registration of the forum secretariat as well as engaginging the government and other stakeholders to make the necessary reforms in a legal framework for the forum to be more effective. Members of the legai aid forum meet regularly to discuss the way forward. Slowly the intended beneficiaries are becoming aware of the available services. The challenge ahead is resource mobilisation LAF to sustain the need so far created.
The author is Dr. NTARE Charles the executive secretary FACT RWANDA. FACT RWANDA is the sitting vice-chair of the LAF, in RWANDA.