Community: Pro Bono
We want to improve access to justice in Ireland by engaging in agile and impactful pro bono projects that result in positive change.
We are proud to continue our partnerships with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), charities and independent law centres which deliver frontline legal services to the most vulnerable people in the community.
Over the past year, we are proud to report that as a firm we have exceeded 17,000 pro bono hours and attained a participation rate of 75% for the first time.
Our pro bono work for FY23/24 has focused on five key areas:
1) Responding to humanitarian crises
2) Partnering with independent law centres and NGOs
3) Upholding the rights of refugees
4) Advancing human rights
5) Providing support to the charities sector
Key developments FY23/24
Responding to humanitarian crises
In times of crisis, challenges are often greatest felt by the most marginalised and vulnerable people in our community. Through the engagement of Arthur Cox lawyers in pro bono projects we increased our assistance to those with the greatest legal need.
Standing with the people of Ukraine
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, over the past year we have continued with our collaboration with NGOs, other law firms and pro bono partners to help displaced Ukrainian people in a number of ways and these include:
Ukraine Ireland Legal Alliance (UILA): As a founding member of this group of legal professionals who collaborate on legal initiatives such as access to legal information and the support of Ukrainian lawyers in Ireland, we partner with the Irish Red Cross and other law firms to improve access to legal information to Ukrainian people. Collectively, we launched a webinar series covering essential legal topics that included immigration, housing rights, employment, entrepreneurship, family matters and criminal law following a survey of needs, conducted by the Irish Red Cross. We are pleased to report that these webinars reached approximately 3,000 people across the country.
In November 2023, we hosted an information and networking event for Ukrainian lawyers, in association with The Law Society of Ireland and UILA members. Ukrainian lawyers, who included some of our own Arthur Cox colleagues, presented on a number of topics which included pathways to practicing law in Ireland, and the nuances of adapting to a new working culture in a foreign country.
Through our continued partnership with the UNHCR, over the past year we have conducted site visits to a number of Designated Accommodation Centres (DACs) where Ukrainian people fleeing the war in their homeland are accommodated. This collaboration with the UNHCR provides Ukrainian people with legal information sessions to help them understand their rights.
Afghanistan
When the humanitarian crisis began in Afghanistan our partnership with the Immigrant Council of Ireland and the Irish Refugee Council expanded significantly to help people apply for visas for their families in Afghanistan through the Afghan Admissions Programme. This programme was established by the Irish Government in 2022 and and we continue to support our Afghan clients and their families still at risk in Afghanistan to navigate the application process.
An example of this work is a client who we assisted when making a visa application through the Afghan Admission Programme. This visa application was for the client’s brother who faced extreme risk in Afghanistan. Our client’s father was a high-ranking official under the previous Afghan government and was responsible for the imprisonment of members of the Taliban. As a result, our client’s brother was at particular risk of retribution by the Taliban following their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, as the Taliban sought to eliminate those with any connection to the previous government. Fortunately, in 2024 a positive decision was issued. Our client and his brother have been reunited and are now living together in with other family members in the West of Ireland following years of separation.
“It is indeed a special moment for us to finally have my brother in Ireland after all the hard work and dedication from your team. Your support has been invaluable throughout this journey, and we cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for us.”
Afghan Admissions Programme Client
“It is truly inspiring to witness the flourishing collaboration between the Ukrainian and Irish legal communities. This event is a beacon of hope, demonstrating the power of unity and the resilience of the human spirit. Together, we can achieve remarkable things. I hope we continue to foster these connections, support one another, and pave the way for a brighter future.”
Mykola Skvortsov, Associate at Arthur Cox
“It is a pleasure to work with Arthur Cox colleagues to deliver information sessions to beneficiaries of temporary protection. The support we receive from Arthur Cox is invaluable in informing, and thereby enabling those fleeing the Ukrainian conflict to assert their rights as beneficiaries of temporary protection in Ireland.”
Maria Hennessy, Assistant Protection Officer, UNHCR
Anna Krys, Co-Founder of United for Changes; Eamonn Conlon SC; Artem Nedostup, Co-Founder, Ukrainian Action Ireland; Anna Bazarchina BL; and Carolann Minnock, Of Counsel, Arthur Cox
L-R: Richard Willis, Partner, Arthur Cox; Rashiduddin Yoldash; Hamiduddin Yoldash; Susan O'Leary, Associate, Arthur Cox; and Carolann Minnock, Of Counsel, Arthur Cox
Partnering with independent law centres and NGOs
We continue to partner with independent law centres and NGOs which form a critical link to people most in need of pro bono legal advice and our lawyers. NGO partners work at the frontline combatting social injustice and exclusion by delivering free legal services to the most fragile people in our community. By working together, we equip our partners with additional staff resources and collaborate on pro bono projects, which in turn improves the organisations’ capacity to deliver their important services. This directly aligns with our goal of delivering tangible impact to those with the greatest need.
Our Arthur Cox employment Group also supports FLAC employment clinics every week. The aim of this employment clinic is to provide practical guidance on employment law to people seeking to understand their workplace rights. Over the last 12 months approximately 48 clinics were held and 168 people received legal guidance. This assistance involves helping employees understand their employment rights and available options.
Upholding the rights of refugees
Supporting refugees and other displaced people is a key part of our pro bono work. The firm is proud to support and advance the rights of refugees and displaced people under the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum Legal Community Pledge. This commitment builds on our 2019 Pledge when we undertook to complete 1,500 pro bono hours annually as a signatory to the inaugural Pledge.
Over the past financial year, 250 of our lawyers completed over 5,000 of pro bono work in support of refugees and forcibly displaced persons. Our lawyers advised 87 individual refugees and displaced people on 118 matters, covering a range of immigration law issues including family reunification and citizenship applications, and assistance through legal information clinics and legal helplines. In partnership with the Irish Refugee Council, we have assisted people applying for international protection across various stages of the international protection application process.
Our commitment to immigration pro bono work includes an increase in our provision of financial and in-kind resources to NGOs working in the immigration sector, and continued placement of legal professionals on secondment with our NGO partners, such as the Immigrant Council of Ireland.
KIND Family Reunification Project
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), the Immigrant Council of Ireland, Irish Refugee Council and Arthur Cox partner on the KIND project alongside other law firms. The aim of this project is to help unaccompanied minors who have been granted refugee status in Ireland to apply for family reunification. The KIND project addresses a gap in legal services as family reunification is excluded from the scope of State legal aid. Many young people applying for family reunification have been through terrible ordeals in the countries of their origin and their families often continue to be at risk. It can be extremely daunting for these young people to navigate the lengthy and complex family reunification application process without help from a lawyer.
In the last year, over 200 Arthur Cox lawyers have worked with 64 families from countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Albania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Sierra Leone. This assistance has resulted in 23 successful applications meaning these families can reunite and settle in Ireland.
To celebrate five years of the KIND project, in June 2024, as part of the European Pro Bono Week, we were pleased to host, alongside other project partners, a KIND event - Reflections from a Pro Bono Partnership. Altogether we have assisted 252 unaccompanied and separated children, from 29 countries. In addition to recognising the achievements realised over the last five years, this event also focused on the growing need for legal support for children arriving unaccompanied in Ireland, highlighting the importance of pro bono services provided by the legal profession.
“The work undertaken by Arthur Cox lawyers with the Immigrant Council of Ireland is really supremely important to us because we are a small independent law centre working in a very difficult issue in immigration in Ireland…To do this we need as much support as possible and the resources that Arthur Cox provide us and the partnership that we have with Arthur Cox really helps our legal team deliver that service.”
Brian Killoran, CEO, Immigrant Council of Ireland
Pictured (from left to right): Katie Mannion (Managing Solicitor Irish Refugee Council); Carolann Minnock (Pro Bono Of Counsel Arthur Cox); Kady Kazadi Badikolela; Marieanne McKeown (Director, Partnerships and Pro Bono Programmes KIND Europe); Erithié Kazimbe; Sara Phelan SC; Eithne Lynch (Head of Pro Bono, A&L Goodbody; Mamoud Mansaray; Abdikarim Hussein Bare; and Muna Ahmed. Photo Credit: Fennell Photography
Our client fled Somalia due to a threat to her life from the Al-Shabaab terrorist group and had been separated from her family for over four years:
“My family and I are really thankful for what you and your team at Arthur Cox did for us. It was all easy to understand, and the team were always helpful if I had any questions and were quick getting back to me. I’m thankful that my family are safe here with me and it is all thanks to the hard work Arthur Cox did for us. I lost hope when I left my family in that situation [in Somalia] but now seeing my mom and my siblings grown up, it really feels different. The process and the outcome were all positive. The Arthur Cox team were there for any help they could give us, and their assistance was excellent. We are grateful, and we will always remember what Arthur Cox did for us.”
Promoting Pro Bono in Ireland
Our commitment to supporting the growth of pro bono in Ireland is one of the goals in the Arthur Cox pro bono strategy. Pro bono creates opportunities for collaboration with the NGO sector, legal profession and our clients. We are a founding signatory of Pro Bono Pledge Ireland, launched by the Minister for Justice in 2020. Pro Bono Pledge Ireland is the first collaborative effort in Ireland to articulate the shared professional responsibility of lawyers to promote access to justice and provide pro bono legal assistance to those in need.
“Events like these are vitally important to keep a spotlight on this important issue and foster greater connections between organisations like the ICI, IRC and KIND with the legal community in Ireland.”
Brian Killoran, CEO of Immigrant Council of Ireland
PRO BONO WEEK 2024
As a member of Ireland’s Pro Bono Week Committee, Arthur Cox and other legal partners, organised a number of online and in person events to promote pro bono in June 2024. Pro Bono Week celebrates the critical role lawyers play in supporting civil society and human rights organisations. Activities were centred on the theme ‘Harmonization of Pro Bono across Europe’, which featured different actors from the pro bono ecosystem. The week wrapped up at an event hosted by Law Society of Ireland and brought together the wider legal and NGO communities to celebrate the growth of pro bono work in Ireland through a panel discussion and an NGO pitch event.
SHOWCASING THE PUBLIC INTEREST LAW ALLIANCE (PILA)
On 28 May 2024 Arthur Cox participated in the Wheel’s National Summit in Croke Park to raise awareness about pro bono among the charity sector and PILA. The Wheel is Ireland’s national association of charities, community groups and social enterprises, Carolann Minnock, Arthur Cox Pro Bono Of Counsel, moderated an engaging panel discussion on “Accessing Justice: How Pro Bono Legal Services Can Help”. Discussion topics included governance issues faced by charities, the role of pro bono in supporting the important work of charities and the key role of PILA in coordinating the pro bono referral scheme. The panel comprised Eilis Barry, CEO Free Legal Advice Centres, Diarmaid Ó'Corrbuí, CEO, Carmichael and Assumpta O’Connell, Pro Bono, McCann Fitgerald.
Progress so far
Over the past year, we have exceeded 17,000 pro bono hours and attained a participation rate of 75% for the first time. This represents 30 pro bono hours per fee earner. We made steady progress in delivering on each of our objectives.Looking forward, we are mindful that our goal is to strengthen the quality and impact of the pro bono work we undertake. To this end we will continue to monitor and review our projects to assess results and make sure we are always doing the most impactful work.
We want to achieve the following objectives in 2024/25:
Looking ahead
For our Community Programme over the next 12 months, we plan to expand our ‘Day of Service’ volunteering to more teams across the firm to increase volunteering opportunities and hours.
We will resume our Trainee trip to Zambia and ensure the continuation of community building projects – classrooms teacher housing in the rural village of Hakalinda.
We will maintain strong Pro Bono participation rate and number of hours to deliver legal assistance to those with the most pressing needs.