A&L Goodbody pro bono week
Pro Bono Week is celebrated globally each year. It’s an opportunity to encourage, support and celebrate lawyers working across the profession in the delivery of pro bono legal services. This is the first year Ireland was involved in the week and A&L Goodbody implemented this by holding two events at their offices:
Pro bono and the activist lawyer
On Monday 8 May, ALG hosted a lunch and learn hearing from leading human rights experts on the role of pro bono in narrowing the access to justice gap. They were joined by Dr Maeve O’Rourke, Justice for Magdalenes, Dr Gearoid O’Cuinn, GLAN (Global Legal Action Network), Nick Henderson, Irish Refugee Council and Deirdre Malone, PILA (Public Interest Law Alliance).
Panel Discussion
On Tuesday 5 November, they organised a panel discussion on pro bono practice and partnerships in Ireland. Panelists included Wendy Young, President of KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), Sarah Farrelly, TrustLaw, Thompson Reuters Foundation, Carolann Minnock, Pro Bono Associate Arthur Cox, Rachel Power, PILA (Public Interest Law Alliance) and Eithne Lynch, Pro Bono Associate ALG. The discussion was facilitated by Larry Donnelly, political contributor and lecturer at NUIG.
As part of the event they also had an NGO Marketplace where attendees to the event had the opportunity to meet with legal and human rights organisations to learn more about their work to address social justice issues in Ireland.
PILnet Global Pro Bono Forum – Dublin 2020
It was also announced that Ireland will host the next PILnet Global Pro Bono Forum in October 2020. This is a huge opportunity for Ireland to welcome pro bono professionals, leading activities, academics and public interest law champions from around the world.
