1. ANO Country assistance:
Social startup from Russia needs legal advice on opening a nominal account
NGO: ANO Country assistance
Website: In developing
Project: Legal advice on opening a nominal account
Jurisdictions: Russia
Legal topics: Online Banking
Deadline: July 31, 2023, NEW
Language: Russian
Criteria: Knowledge in the field of regulation of bank accounts for online platforms
Additional Information:
ANO Country Assistance is a social start-up in the launch stage. The startup’s idea is to create a convenient digital platform for socially vulnerable groups of citizens, through which they can access free services in various fields, ranging from legal advice to household assistance. The platform offers both free and paid services but all services are free for socially vulnerable customers. To ensure the availability of payment options while maintaining free services for recipients, the startup plans to attract donations and investments.
During the project launch, the startup encountered a challenge in opening a nominal account, which is an account used for conducting transactions with money where the rights to the funds do not belong to the account holder but to the participants involved in the transaction.
Currently, the startup seeks for pro bono legal assistance to address the issues related to opening a nominal account for their non-profit organization.
2. PILnet:
International public interest law organization seeks assistance with research on employment law to support new Global Employment Guide for nonprofit organizations
NGO: PILnet
Website: https://www.pilnet.org/
Project: Research on employment law to support a new Global Employment Guide for nonprofits
Jurisdictions: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, other available jurisdictions here
Legal topics: Employment law, remote work, independent consultants
Deadline: July, 2023 (flexible), Ongoing
Language: English or Russian
Criteria: Expertise in employment law, knowledge of taxation and non-profit law in relation to employment
Additional Information:
PILnet is a global non-governmental organization that creates opportunities for social change by unlocking law’s full potential. With programs in Europe & Eurasia, Asia, and at the global level, PILnet aims to reclaim and reimagine the role of law so that it works for the benefit of all.
For many employers, the pandemic and the increasing displacement of workers following events in Ukraine, Russia and Afghanistan has led to a greater diversity in types of workers and their physical location. For non-profit organizations, it can be difficult to navigate and comply with the legal framework as it applies to each of these types of workers and the different jurisdictions they work in.
PILnet is working on a project that aims to strengthen the resilience and autonomy of non-profit organizations by providing an easily accessible and user-friendly guide on employment laws in numerous jurisdictions worldwide. Currently, PILnet is finishing work on developing a questionnaire for the research and looking for pro bono lawyers to research the employment labor laws in their respective jurisdictions.
3. PILnet:
International public interest law organization seeks legal research on all aspects of non-profit registration and operation in various jurisdictions
NGO: PILnet
Website: https://www.pilnet.org/
Project: Legal research on all aspects relating to non-profit registration and operation
Jurisdictions: Live jurisdiction tracker
Legal topics: Non-profit registration, taxation, employment law, opening an organizational bank account, non-profit reporting mechanisms
Deadline: July, 2023 (flexible), Ongoing
Language: English
Criteria: Legal expertise in non-profit entity registration, taxation, employment law
Additional Information:
DLA Piper, ECNL, and PILnet joined forces to create a Global Guide on how to set up charities around the world. It is a guide for organizations waiting to move their operations to another country or open new organizations abroad. Non-profits generally run their operations on limited budgets. Trying to hire a lawyer when expanding is an extra burden put on them which sometimes hinders their growth. This project aims to strengthen the resilience and autonomy of non-profit organizations by providing an easily accessible and user-friendly platform on non-profit registration around the world.
The project was launched at the PILnet 2022 Global Forum in Dublin. The project is run in collaboration with numerous law firms generously dedicating time to the cause. Currently, PILnet with partners proceeding with the second phase of the project, and collaborating with Chase, a consumer banking company, through their Force for Good technical assistance project to achieve greater impact and make the information more accessible and relevant for the NGO end users.
At this stage of the project pro bono lawyers will be asked to answer a list of questions on how to set up a charity in their country and enter answers in a dynamic form. To see a questionnaire for the research please visit the following link.
