Pro bono refers to free provision of legal services, including litigation, by individual lawyers or organisations. Such services free of charge are normally aimed at individuals or organisations who don’t have the resources to afford them. This could include, for example, activists, asylum seekers and persons with disabilities and their representative organisations.

Nowadays, pro bono legal support is provided by individual lawyers acting by themselves, organisations and also law Firms. Although the Pro Bono culture is well established in the United States (US), the practice in Europe is more oriented towards providing legal assistance to support NGOs in their human rights advocacy.

Some organisations that provide such service or connect with pro-bono lawyers are The Good Looby, International Lawyers Project (ILP), International Senior Lawyers Project (ISPL), PILnet, Lawyers without Borders, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and the Digital Freedom Fund. Many big law firms have a pro-bono coordinator, whom you can contact. Specific countries, states, cities, and even bar associations may have their own pro-bono or public interest committees and organisations

Explore what the possibilities in your country are. A good way to start will be to check big Law Firms or NGOs working in the judicial field.

• Poland: in 2015, a blind woman was denied boarding on a bus service from Lublin to Warsaw as a result of the driver refusing to embark her guide dog. Two lawyers, who represented the client pro bono thanks to the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, represented the client in court and won the case. The Regional Court of Warszawa-Praga ruled in favour of the woman, ordering the company to issue an apology and pay 5000 PLN to a charitable cause (more information on the Polish case that receive pro bono judicial support).
• Belgium: in 2019, the European Network for Independent Living (ENIL) and two other disability rights organisations decided to initiate proceedings at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against the European Commission for failing to halt the use of EU funds to build institutions. The three organisations were represented on a pro-bono basis by Covington & Burling LLP. Unfortunately, the case was deemed inadmissible by the ECJ.