Luncheon talk 18 Aug 2016 by Jessica Marsh, Thomson Reuters Foundation

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WHAT WE DO
TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters
Foundation’s global pro bono
service that connects NGOs and
social enterprises with the best law
firms and in-house legal teams
around the world.

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 2200 connections in places like Kenya,
Nepal, Colombia, Mauritius, Cambodia,
Egypt, and Indonesia.
A GLOBAL NETWORK  60% of connections outside
traditional pro bono markets (e.g.
Bhutan, Alaska)
 Over $70million in pro bono for our
network

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TYPES OF PRO BONO LEGAL SUPPORT
 Day-to-day corporate/commercial
needs
 Cross-border research to support
high impact advocacy and policy
change:
 Human Rights
 Trafficking
 Corruption
 Microcredit
 Health
 Energy/Environment
 Social enterprise
 And many more...

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RESEARCH PROGRAMMES WITH IMPACT

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TRUSTLAW INDEX OF PRO BONO 2016
Launched 27 JULY 2016
This year the respondent firms represent over 64,500
lawyers working in 75 countries. These lawyers
performed over 2.5 million hours of pro bono work in
2015, with lawyers on average undertaking a
staggering 39.2 hours of pro bono. 2016 data suggest
significant positive growth in pro bono across the Asia
Pacific region.
PRO BONO IN ASIA
“Countries including Indonesia,
Philippines, South Korea and
Vietnam have already
implemented such [aspirational
pro bono] targets and other
countries will likely follow. ”
Cate Martin, Pro Bono Director, Asia-
Pacific, DLA Piper

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IN-HOUSE CORPORATE COUNSEL
•Many of Fortune 500 companies and a
majority of Fortune 100 companies have
either set up or are moving to establish
formal pro bono programs for the lawyers in
their legal departments
•Tailored to fit company’s CSR objectives
•TrustLaw January 2016: 44 in-house legal
teams (incl HSBC, JP Morgan, Intel,
Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and General
Electric)

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THE BUSINESS CASE FOR PRO BONO
•Interesting opportunities for lawyers
•Enhanced Inside/Outside Counsel
Relationships
•Enhance professional skills
•Corporate Social Responsibility
•Global network
•Supporting innovative & high impact
initiatives
•Driving social change
The involvement of a company's
legal department in pro bono
service can add value and breadth
to the company's corporate social
responsibility profile and activities,
as well as improve the quality of life
and stability of clients and the
community at large, making an
important contribution and creating
a better business climate.

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SUSTAINABLE PRO BONO – BEST PRACTICE
 A strong social justice and pro bono culture
supported by management
 A dedicated pro bono leader
 Broad awareness of the pro bono program within
the firm
 Broad engagement of staff and appropriate training
 A pro bono policy and strategic plan
 Performance of pro bono legal work to the same
standard as commercial work
 Adequate crediting and recognition of pro bono legal
work within the firm
 Setting a firm-wide pro bono target and budget
 Strong and deep relationships with community
partners
 A strategic risk management plan including accurate
record keeping and a regular evaluation process.

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Pro Bono + Sustainability
•TrustLaw Lawyer of the Year
Award Nominee: Joanna Zhou,
DLA Piper Australia
•Client: Global Nonprofit –
Business for Social Responsibility
(BSR)
•Project: Advise on climate change
negotiations - lead up to
Conference of Parties (COP) 21,
Paris, December 2015
•Aim: 7 core proposals to be
included in final Paris Agreement
on Climate Change
“Joanna and DLA Piper brought tremendous
expertise, professionalism and humility to their
collaboration with us. They never made us feel
like "clients" but rather as true partners in co-
creation and impact….They were totally invested
in this project and shared the vision of success
and push for outcomes that we cared about. This
made the relationship less transactional and far
more collaborative. I believe this - along with
their undoubted legal skill - contributed greatly to
our shared success.”

13. Pro bono in other fields / corporate volunteering

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TrustLaw Awards