2024 European Pro Bono Week

Lance Bartholomeusz is an Australian national who joined UNHCR as the General Counsel in October 2016. Before joining UNHCR, he was the Director of Legal Affairs of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), where he worked for 12 years. He has some 30 years of legal experience in the United Nations, private commercial practice, a domestic appellate court and a government regulatory agency. He has published extensively on various topics of public international law, including the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, amicus curiae before international courts and tribunals and the mandate of UNRWA.

Özgür Kahale is the Pro Bono Director for Europe managing a high-volume pro bono program in 20 countries serving more than 2000 attorneys. The Firm’s European Pro Bono Practice provides free legal assistance to key European NGOs, United Nations agencies, social entrepreneurs, academic institutions and disadvantaged individuals. Özgür creates, launches and manages programs in complex legal environments to serve the unmet legal needs of the community. She leads several big projects and focuses on migrant rights, child rights and rule of law. Özgür contributes to the development of pro bono in Europe by organizing pro bono roundtables, events, meetings and leads the discussions on pro bono and its development in Europe. She is also in charge of the Pro Bono team’s technology and access to justice work stream and she organises DLA Piper’s “Access to Justice and Technology Summit” every year

Dr. Daria Sartori is a practicing human rights lawyer registered with the Italian and French Bars. After working as a case-processing lawyer in the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, she established her own legal practice and is now extensively involved in pro bono work at the European level. Notably, Daria is the Executive Director of the EU Public Interest Law Clinic at New York University (Paris Campus), designed to engage students as public interest practitioners in the field of European law and policy. She is also a co-founder of the newly established Pro Publico, and founding partner and supervisor of the award-winning Rule 39 Pro Bono Initiative, which focuses on human rights litigation for the protection of vulnerable foreigners and asylum seekers.

Dr Filip Czernicki, Attorney-at-Law, graduated from the Warsaw University Law School. Besides his academic and business career he works on the development and promotion of lawyers pro bono activity as well as improvement of legal education and establishment of legal clinics in Poland and Eastern Europe. Since 2018 Coordinator of the Warsaw Bar Association of Attorneys-at-Law pro bono programs. Filip also runs the first in Poland and the only so far clearinghouse program managed by the Bar Association.

Since 2015 member of the National Legal Aid Council which is the advisory body to the Minister of Justice of Poland. Since 2002 he has been the President of the Polish Legal Clinics Foundation and a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for Justice Education (President: 01.2009-12.2013). In 2008 he funded the first in Poland and only clearinghouse run by an NGO and devoted supporting NGOs with free legal aid.

Author of articles and publications on legal clinics, pro bono and access to justice. Awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland with the Gold Cross of Merit, in 2012 in Madrid received from the Global Network for Public Interest Law – European Pro Bono Award and in 2010 for the merits of the Polish judiciary received a Medal of the Minister of Justice. Since 2018 Coordinator of the Warsaw Bar Association of Attorneys-at-Law pro bono programs. Since 2015 member of the National Legal Aid Council which is the advisory body to the Minister of Justice of Poland. Since 2002 he has been the President of the Polish Legal Clinics Foundation and a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for Justice Education (President: 01.2009-12.2013).

Author of articles and publications on legal clinics, pro bono and access to justice. Awarded with the Gold Cross of Merit, European Pro Bono Award and a Medal of the Minister of Justice.

Izabela Konopacka is a graduate of the Faculty of Law and English Philology at the University of Wrocław, Vice-Dean of the District Council of the Chamber of Legal Advisors in Wrocław and a member of the Foreign Committee of the National Council of Legal Advisors. In 2022 she was elected as the President of FBE.

In her practice, she mainly deals with cross-border cases, especially those involving the element of Anglo-Saxon law (i.e. “common law”), as well as European Union law.

She is a firm supporter and advocate of continuous learning, education and new technology in law. She is a defender of human rights and unequivocally committed to equal opportunities and encouraging newly qualified lawyers at the start of their career.

She graduated from Wrocław University with a Master’s degree in law and an MA in English. Currently, she is working on a PhD at Wrocław University, Department of International and European Law, She is the author of numerous publications on common law, new technology law and fashion law.
Another aspect of her work includes representing clients at European courts such as the European Court of Human Rights, and also providing consulting services for Polish businesses wishing to expand and develop their activities overseas.