News

• Events

  May 17, 2012

  Facing South

  Following mounting successes in Budapest, Paris, and Berlin, PILnet’s European Pro Bono Forum is moving south this year to Madrid, Spain, a city and country where pro bono as a concept is still young. But legal social responsibility has been present for centuries and so pro bono has quickly gained support at the highest levels of the legal community.   Read more »
• Events

  May 4, 2012

  Untangling Islamic Law and Women’s Rights

  Rawan Mohammed and Siti AminahWhat is the relationship between Islamic law and the rights of women? Does Sharia justify violence against women… or guarantee their protection? Speaking before a capacity audience at PILnet’s New York office on March 22, four PILnet Fellows—all Muslim women with a deep knowledge of Islamic law—addressed these questions and others as they described the legal status and the daily reality of women in their home countries of Indonesia, Jordan, Nigeria, and Palestine.   Read more »
• Media Coverage

  April 23, 2012

  In China, Charting a Course for Public Interest Lawyers

  Public interest law is alive and well in China, evidenced by the success of the recent Chinese Style Pro Bono Legal Service Conference, held on Hainan Island 12–13 April 2012.   Read more »
• Events

  March 9, 2012

  PILnet Forum Aims to Advance Public Interest Law in the Middle East and North Africa

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9 March 2012—Building on the events of last spring and the transformations now taking place in many parts of the Middle East and North Africa, PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest Law will convene major figures from the region’s human rights and public interest legal communities to address the potential of public interest law to effect social change.   Read more »
• Media Coverage

  February 22, 2012

  Al Jazeera Covers PILnet Fellow Huang Xuetao’s Work on Mental Illness in China

  In a video report on the inadequacies of mental health care in China, where 173 million are estimated to suffer from mental illness and few receive care, Al Jazeera interviewed 2009 PILnet International Fellow Huang Xuetao for her take on the nation’s treatment of the mentally ill. The president and founder of the Equity and Justice Initiative in Shenzhen, she focuses her work on the rights of persons with mental disabilities and on efforts to combat the practice of forced institutionalization.   Read more »
• Project Updates

  January 27, 2012

  Looking Back on the Birth of a PILnet Clearinghouse

  Until just a few years ago, pro bono was a foreign concept to many in Russia. But the access of NGOs to affordable legal services has became more critical as new registration requirements and complex tax regulations have made the legal environment for NGOs in Russia more challenging.   Read more »
• Events

  November 30, 2011

  “From Strength to Strength“

  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.    Read more »
• Events

  November 21, 2011

  Winners Announced for PILnet’s 2011 European Pro Bono Awards

  PILnet announced the winners of its prestigious European Pro Bono Awards on 18 November during the closing session of the 2011 European Pro Bono Forum in Berlin. Dietmar Knopp was recognized for his extraordinary contribution to the development of pro bono culture in Europe, and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights teamed with the Warsaw office of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP were lauded for their exemplary partnership in the public interest.   Read more »
• Events

  November 21, 2011

  Hungarian Pro Bono Awards Announced

  Recognizing the growing importance pro bono legal assistance in Hungary, PILnet: The Global Network for Public Interest Law in collaboration with the Hungarian Bar Association has announced the winners of the inaugural Pro Bono Awards.   Read more »
• Project Updates

  November 10, 2011

  PILnet and Law Firm Partners Hold Flagship Ethics Course for Russian Law Students

  The legal profession in Russia is largely unregulated and professional ethics are not widely taught in universities. In the last few years, however, the landscape has begun to change and there have been moves towards improved regulation of the profession.   Read more »