FAQ for PILnet’s Clearinghouses

A Clearinghouse is essentially a match-making platform. Through our pro bono Clearinghouse we match civil society organizations (CSOs), groups of activists and human rights defenders, social enterprises [read more about who we can assist in the section about eligibility] with pro bono lawyers who provide high-quality legal assistance on a pro bono basis, which means free of charge.

The PILnet Clearinghouse service is unique because it’s available globally. For over 25 years, PILnet has been working with pro bono lawyers worldwide to assist CSOs through the PILnet Global Clearinghouse. We also operate several regional and local Clearinghouses: the Hungarian Clearinghouse, the Hong Kong Clearinghouse, and the Eurasia Clearinghouse. All other countries are covered by the PILnet Global Clearinghouse.

Currently, the PILnet Clearinghouse service operates in the following languages: Chinese, English, Hungarian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Yes, there is no fee associated with using our Clearinghouse service. The lawyers who volunteer to assist with Clearinghouse matters work pro bono, with means free of charge. However, the pro bono service covers only the legal services provided and does not include other expenses that may arise from legal services, including court costs or fees charged by public agencies for document registration such as notary or filing fees.

PILnet Clearinghouse services are available to all public interest/social justice organizations, charities, social enterprises or community groups that are independent, non-governmental and nonprofit in need of access to pro bono services. We have a mission-driven preference to assist human rights/public interest-related CSOs and matters, and we do not offer our Clearinghouse services to individuals. In particular, social enterprises should have a clear social mission, and their eligibility will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

We don’t provide assistance to CSOs affiliated with political parties. Faith-based organizations can benefit from PILnet’s Clearinghouse if their request doesn’t relate to the promotion of a specific faith and if their services don’t discriminate based on religion. We do not offer our Clearinghouse services to individuals or for profit companies (with the noted exception of social enterprises).

PILnet finds legal assistance for CSOs following these steps. (Please note that the following steps are generally applicable for matters handled by the Global Clearinghouse, and there might be some slight differences in the processes of local clearinghouses.) 

1. An organization fills out PILnet’s Clearinghouse Legal Intake Form (available in English, Hungarian, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese). After PILnet staff receive the completed form, we email the “Contact Person for this Pro Bono Project” listed in the intake form to confirm receipt, and address any immediate questions, if any.
2. PILnet assesses the organization’s eligibility and request. At this point, if we see necessary, we may request a meeting with the organization to discuss our process and get more details about the request.
3. We draft a matter description (a summary of the request in legal terms) and share it with the organization to review its content. This step might be skipped when the request is simple and self-explanatory.
4. Once we receive confirmation of the matter description, we upload it to the periodic Clearinghouse List, a regular list of pro bono opportunities we send to PILnet’s legal partners. The global network currently includes more than 800 lawyers around the globe whom we reach right away with your request. For requests concerning Hong Kong, the matter description will be uploaded to CLIX, Hong Kong’s Pro Bono Portal. We then wait for lawyers to volunteer for requests or reach out directly to selected partners.
5. After we have found a volunteer, we inform the organization and ask the law firm to run a conflict check. A conflict check is a standard process law firms use before taking on new clients or cases. It helps the firms ensure that representing the organization won’t create a conflict of interest with their existing clients. Essentially, it’s a way for the firm to double-check that they can represent the organization without any conflicting loyalties or legal obligations to others involved in your case. At this point, the firm might request additional information such as the legal name of the entity, incorporation documents, and other parties involved in the matter, etc. At this stage, we act as intermediaries between the organization and the firm.
6. Once the conflict check is completed, we will share the name of the firm with the Contact Person and confirm if they would like to proceed with an introduction and work with them.
7. As a final step, we will proceed with an introduction via email and whenever necessary, help arrange a call to begin the collaboration. Please note that this is the responsibility of the CSO to keep contact with the lawyer, follow up with the status of the matter and inform the lawyer about any change. PILnet is not involved in the legal advice, but we will get in touch periodically to check the progress and request feedback. 
8. Most law firms will provide an engagement letter to officially onboard the organization as a client. From this moment, the organization will have a lawyer-client relationship with the law firm, which means its communications with the lawyers are confidential, and the firm is legally obligated to act in the organization’s best interests.

Fill out our Clearinghouse Legal Intake Form. You can fill out this form in English, Hungarian, Russian, Chinese, Spanish or Portuguese. Once you fill out this intake form, a staff member will get in touch with you via email.

Advice: Pro bono lawyers can assist with a wide range of legal services regarding the operations of your CSO, including setting up your organization, and reviewing various legal documents, contracts or legal requirements that your organization may be subject to. Review of documents can include employment contracts, drafting an anti-money laundering policy, or a data protection policy. 

Research: Pro bono lawyers can conduct legal research on local, national, regional, or international laws, legal cases, or best practices. This type of assistance can range from country-specific research to multinational comparative research. The legal research can support your organization’s advocacy or programmatic needs.

Analysis and drafting: Pro bono lawyers can analyze legislation, translate it into accessible briefings, explaining its practical implications, and help draft or review proposals for new laws or amendments.

Training: Pro bono lawyers can share their expertise with organizations through customized training sessions on specific legal areas, for instance, GDPR compliance or employment regulations or many others.

Litigation: Pro bono lawyers can provide litigation advice and actual representation in strategic litigation, as well as support with drafting complaints to the European Court of Human Rights or UN treaty bodies.

Hong Kong Legal Health Check: We currently provide a legal health assessment service for CSOs in Hong Kong, which aims to identify potential legal issues and operational risks in the organization and create a plan to address them. Read more here.

PILnet partners with pro bono lawyers from around the world. Our network includes established international law firms and in-house legal teams from various companies. We also collaborate with regional firms and local law offices. Additionally, we work with solo practitioners and sometimes team up with bar associations, law schools, and legal clinics, which operate under the guidance of law firms or professors.

It’s hard to say exactly how long it will take to find a lawyer. Ideally, you should set the deadline for your request at least three months after submission of the intake form, setting a very short deadline can reduce the chances of finding a pro bono lawyer. Many factors can affect this timeline, such as the size of the project and the time a lawyer would need to spend on it (sometimes it’s just an hour for simple advice, other times it requires weeks of complex research). The jurisdiction is also important – if the project involves multiple countries, we may need to assemble a team of lawyers from different countries, or we may have a smaller network in regions where pro bono culture is less developed. The topic matters too; some requests are more sensitive or require expertise from several teams. Additionally, the time of year can be a factor, as holidays or busy seasons might affect a lawyer’s availability.

While we do our best, PILnet cannot guarantee that every request will be matched with a lawyer before the deadline.

PILnet has created, with the support of our partners, legal resources for common legal topics that contain free preliminary guidance.

If the request is related to nonprofit registration and general nonprofit operational matters, please check out the Global Nonprofits Guide, a website which helps nonprofits find a suitable location and navigate the laws of the chosen country throughout the whole lifecycle of the nonprofit.  

If the request is related to employment law, please check out the Global Employment Compass. This page contains comprehensive information to help nonprofits navigate employment law in over 48 countries.

If the request is related to the regulation of Regulation of Cryptocurrency & NFTs, this page contains practical information about the laws of many countries on the topic as they affect nonprofits and donations.

More resources are available here, on the resource page, where you can also filter for languages or specific topics.

PILnet carefully matches each request with lawyers who have the relevant expertise and experience. We partner with top-tier international law firms, in-house legal teams, and local experts who are well-versed in a wide range of legal areas. Before we connect you with a lawyer, we ensure that they have the specific knowledge required for your project. Additionally, many of our partner firms have strong pro bono practices and are committed to providing high-quality legal support

PILnet works closely with national pro bono service providers (Clearinghouses) which operate regionally in many jurisdictions. If given permission in the intake form, we may share your request with these local pro bono providers, in order to reach more lawyers in our search for assistance. If you are not comfortable with us sharing this request, you can opt-out in the Intake Form.

PILnet understands that some CSOs may prefer not to share the name of the organization, especially when dealing with sensitive projects. In such cases, PILnet can circulate the project anonymously, using “Anonymous” in place of the CSO’s name, and only disclose the name after a firm has expressed interest. However, this might reduce the number of firms that respond. PILnet also offers different approaches for handling sensitive matters, which we can discuss after you submit the intake form. Alternatively, you can reach out to us directly via this end-to-end encrypted protonmail for sensitive inquiries [email protected].