“From Strength to Strength“
Pro Bono on the Rise at PILnet’s 2011 Pro Bono Forum
SAVE THE DATE!
PILNET'S 2012 EUROPEAN PRO BONO FORUM
25-26 OCTOBER, MADRID From classical times the point of a forum was talk, and the talk never stopped during PILnet’s 2011 European Pro Bono Forum, held in Berlin, 17–18 November. On the dais, in quiet corners, during lunch, and over coffee, Forum participants from Europe and around the world shared notes, debated strategies, discussed ideas, and reflected on how far pro bono has come in five years since the first Forum was held.
The Pro Bono Forum “goes year by year, from strength to strength, because pro bono is phenomenally infectious,” said Lord Phillips of Sudbury during the closing session. After two days, 20 workshops and plenary sessions, and countless conversations between pro bono lawyers and NGO representatives, Forum participants returned home with a deeper understanding of the key issues facing European pro bono and innovative ideas about using pro bono collaboration to advance economic, social, and environmental justice.
Attracting more than 300 participants from Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America, the Berlin Forum— the largest yet—featured a series of presentations that had listeners buzzing. During the opening session, a speech from Axel Filges, president of the German Federal Bar,* set the tone by analyzing German law in relation to pro bono and calling on the country’s legislature to “modernize” the law to help expand pro bono. (For the complete transcript of Filges’s comments, click here.)
“In Germany this has been an inspiring conference,” said Berlin Host Committee co-chair Jan Hegemann. “It will have an enormous impact on pro bono in the future. We will keep the momentum.”
As Forum participants bemoaned the impossibility of attending two or even three workshops at a time, top legal experts from around the world, representatives of leading NGOs, and major figures from European law firms addressed cutting-edge pro bono topics including Roma rights, the role of the bar, and business and human rights.
With Europe facing an uncertain economic future, a number of speakers emphasized the rising importance of pro bono legal assistance. “During difficult economic times the role of us lawyers becomes even more important because there are more battles to fight, more people to protect, more justice to spread,” said Lord Phillips (in photo below). In a similar vein, Joss Saunders of Oxfam noted, “Working pro bono can help ensure that the best lawyers are working for the poor as well as for the rich.”
Edwin Rekosh, PILnet’s executive director, expressed admiration and astonishment at the “sheer quantity of brainpower and passion for the idea of harnessing the law to improve society” that the Forum attracts each year. Next year the Forum moves to Madrid, where the president of the bar is already welcoming the event—another step forward for the spread of pro bono in Europe.
*The speech was delivered on behalf of Filges by Friedrich Graf von Westphalen of the German bar association.
More about the 2011 European Pro Bono Forum
The Role Pro Bono (Can) Play in German Society (speech by Axel Filges, president of the German Federal Bar)Click here for photos from the Forum
Fighting for the Common Cause at the Pro Bono Forum (blog post by Edwin Rekosh; includes video address to the Forum by Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship)
Special coverage of the 2011 Forum from TrustLaw/Reuters
Breaking Down More Walls: Pro Bono Comes to Germany (blog post by Edwin Rekosh)
