Pro Bono
Addressing complex legal issues
Pro Bono Counsel, Lara Nassif was invited to the GRF by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to speak at a side event launching the 2023 Legal Community Pledge (the "2023 Pledge"). She was invited in her capacity as a member of the Core Group who played a key role in drafting the 2023 Pledge and encouraging law firms to sign up to it.
Lara Nassif (second from right in the first photo) speaks on a panel with other signatories to the Global Refugee Forum Legal Community Pledge.
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In 2019 HSF joined over 100 legal and refugee rights organisations who signed up to the Global Refugee Forum Legal Community Pledge. Collectively, we committed to provide 127,000 pro bono hours annually towards this goal. Members of the Pro Bono practice in London and Australia are part of the Core Group that administered the 2019 pledge. This group also worked alongside PILnet, a global NGO that supports public interest legal work, pro bono, legal education and access to justice, to draft and encourage law firms to sign up to the 2023 Pledge. |
During the event, Lara announced that over the course of the next four years, 110 pledgers – comprising refugee-led organisations (RLO), international and national NGOs, academic institutions, law firms, bar associations, the United Nations Development Programme, and the governments of Australia and Chile – pledged to work with and support over one million refugees and displaced persons. Moreover, law firms and NGOs together pledged nearly one million hours of legal assistance. Lara also discussed the impact she hoped law firms could have when executing their pledge commitments.
In addition to signing up to Joint Legal Community Pledge, signatories were asked to make specific organisational pledges.
HSF committed to prioritise working with refugees and displaced persons on projects across our global network for the duration of the pledge. In particular, we pledged to:
- seek to assist more refugee entrepreneurs and refugee led social enterprises on legal issues which are fundamental to the setting up of their businesses.
- increase the number of Refugee Led Organisations to whom we provide pro bono and capacity building support
- provide pro bono support which addresses the specific needs of refugees and displaced persons who are at particular risk due to their gender, age or sexuality (eg, women, children and/or LGBTQ+ people)
- second at least one legal professional to NGOs working with refugees and displaced persons and/or RLOs a year.
- make financial contributions to our partner NGOs working with refugees and displaced persons and/or RLOs
One of the most powerful messages to emerge from the GRF is how important it is to include refugees and displaced persons in all decision-making processes that concern them.
As a firm, we are committed to meaningfully engaging refugees in the design, implementation and evaluation of refugee rights pro bono or legal assistance projects.
If you are interested in hearing more about the pledge or joining it, please reach out to Lara Nassif.
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