Pro bono matters
As a major international law firm, we have a social responsibility to provide pro bono assistance to enable communities around the world to secure fair access to legal advice and justice.
Our lawyers give global and local pro bono legal support to the individuals and organisations who need it most.
The pro bono programme in each of our offices varies to address local need. Broadly, we partner with charities, legal advice clinics and pro bono brokers to provide legal advice and representation to those in our local communities who need it most. Our people donate their skills and experience so that our pro bono clients may understand and assert their rights, enabling them to access justice regardless of background or wealth.
In addition to local projects, we seek out opportunities to use our global reach and legal expertise to innovate and to help charities and non-governmental organisations with their operational needs. We also work with our peers and other organisations to provide a coordinated response to a range of international issues and unanticipated events.
If you want to know more about our pro bono offering or you would like to partner with us, please contact us on probonosocialimpact@clydeco.com
United Kingdom
COVID-19 Pro Bono Response
Clyde & Co are working with global and local clients to solve key issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and to advise on the new resilience measures businesses need going forward.
As part of our pro bono response, in London our employment team has mobilised to advise local community groups seriously impacted by COVID-19 on issues such as: the UK Government's Job Retention Scheme; furloughing staff; and managing staff during this period of uncertainty and financial instability.
Climate-conscious virtual hackathon
Our lawyers partnered with The Chancery Lane Project to help create practical legal solutions to reverse climate change. This collaboration included running hackathon events and contributing to the online database of climate clauses. You can browse the database here.
Community legal clinics
Community legal clinics are a vital source of support and advice where there is unmet legal need in the community. In the UK, we run weekly legal advice clinics from community advice centres in several London boroughs, Manchester and Surrey. Our volunteers provide free legal advice and representation to individuals attending those clinics.
At the 8th Annual Corporate Engagement Awards in 2018, Clyde & Co won the award for 'Best Pro Bono work for charitable, social or ethical cause' for our work with Together For Short Lives. Through the 'Voices for Families' advocacy service, Clyde & Co lawyers support families with seriously ill children by providing them with free legal assistance.
Disability benefits advocacy project
Lawyers in our London office, in conjunction with LawWorks, have developed a successful practice representing individuals in the First-tier Tribunal who are appealing decisions by the Department for Work and Pensions to remove, to reduce or not to grant them a disability benefit award.
Asia Pacific
Partnering with legal advice centres
In Hong Kong we partner with The Duty Lawyer Service which provides a Free Legal Advice Scheme to provide one-off advice to members of the public in need of legal support. The objective of the Scheme is to enable members of the public with legal problems to receive preliminary advice as to their legal position.
Coordinated COVID-19 Pro Bono Response
Clyde & Co Australia is participating in a working group that is actively looking at how we, as a firm, can assist charities, individuals and our local communities to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19.
As part of that response, the Australian Cyber Team has assisted in preparing Privacy and Cybersecurity FAQs for community groups affected by COVID-19.
Pro Bono Partner of Broken to Brilliant
Broken to Brilliant is a charity whose goal is to reduce the long-term impact of domestic violence by empowering survivors through education, life skills training, and social support networks. A key activity of the charity is releasing books which share survivors' stories, together with messages of hope and resilience. In Australia, we have partnered with the charity, helping with the publication of its book 'Shattered to Shining' and providing valuable pro bono support. Our people have also raised funds for the Give A Book campaign, which has enabled distribution of 'Shattered to Shining' to women's shelters in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
Pro Bono Partner of World Bicycle Relief Australia
We are pleased to provide ongoing legal support to the global not-for-profit organisation, World Bicycle Relief, through our Australian pro bono programme. World Bicycle Relief distributes specially designed bicycles into rural areas in developing countries where the main mode of transport is walking. Where distance can be a massive barrier to education, health care and economic opportunity, the gift of a bicycle can open up many opportunities for the recipient.
Middle East & Africa
Pro Bono Partner of Manzil
Manzil is a non-profit education centre in the UAE that caters to children with cognitive and physical challenges from the age of 4. Clyde & Co's Dubai office provides pro bono legal advice to Manzil including contractual and governance advice, assistance with regulatory issues with the relevant authorities, employment advice and commercial law advice.
Supporting EdUKaid
EdUKaid is a charity that operates in the rural Mtwara region of southern Tanzania. Its aim is to improve access to education for some of the country’s most disadvantaged children. Clyde & Co provides legal support and advice to EdUKaid including on its NGO status and related legislative changes.
Pro bono partner of Orbis
Clyde & Co Qatar is proud to support Orbis with pro bono advice on a variety of matters. Orbis works to preserve and restore sight in the poorest communities around the world, by conducting outreach services, providing training and developing eye health systems.
Partnering with Youth Hub
Youth Hub was launched by the UAE Government through the Federal Youth Authority in 2017. It is a community space for people between the ages of 15 and 35, providing a place for them to work or study and collaborate. Our lawyers support the Youth Hub by providing advice and guidance to its users on the legal aspects of setting up a business in the UAE.
Americas
Partnering with Kids in Need of Defense
A number of our US offices work with national organisation Kids in Need of Defense, representing unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children in their deportation proceedings, together ensuring that no child stands in court alone. For example, one of our lawyers represented an unaccompanied minor who arrived in the US from Guatemala in 2017. She successfully petitioned the San Mateo Superior Court for an order establishing her client's Special Immigrant Juvenile status. As a result, her client is now eligible for a green card to remain in the United States.
Working with Chapman Partnership
Our Miami office works with Chapman Partnership, a local organization that provides services and shelter for victims of domestic violence. Our lawyers provide pro bono advice and representation including assisting minors who are victims of trafficking to enter the foster care system.
Pro Bono Attorneys for The Alliance for Children’s Rights
The Alliance for Children’s Rights protects the rights of vulnerable young people by providing free legal services, advocacy and programmes that create pathways to jobs and education. We support the Alliance predominantly through its Foster Care Adoption and Legal Guardianship programs. Our lawyers volunteer as pro bono attorneys, giving children in foster care permanence by facilitating foster care adoptions and helping caregivers establish legal guardianship of their wards so they can do basic things for them such as enrolling them in school, getting their medical needs met and obtaining financial assistance.
Get in touch
To find out more details on our pro bono initiatives, please get in touch with Caroline Loving, Pro Bono Manager: caroline.loving@clydeco.com.
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