PILA 2021 Round Up
PILA ROUND UP POST 2021
This year marks 12 years in operation. The demand for PILA’s service has grown far beyond what we could have ever anticipated. In the 12 years since our establishment, PILA has positively impacted the work of NGO’s and the lives of their service users. A sincere thank you to all our dedicated staff, volunteers, corporate partners and stakeholders for supporting our work over the past 12 years; we could not have had this impact without your generosity. In 2021, PILA said farewell to Deirdre Malone and Rachel Power – we thank them for their huge contribution to the work of PILA.
Since 2009, PILA has supported over 1,400 referrals through the Pro Bono Referral Scheme and has provided 310 social justice organisations with direct legal assistance. In the first 12-months of COVID-19 in Ireland we saw a huge increase in the demand for our services, receiving 210 pro bono referrals during this period from a myriad of NGO’s all adopting to a new way of working. Over the past 12 months, PILA has facilitated just over 100 pro bono referrals, which includes 4 impact projects.
PILA currently has
- 250 Partner NGOs;
- 8 Partner In-House Legal Teams;
- 52 Partner Law Firms;
- 15 Partner Universities & Law Schools; and
- 350 Individual Pro Bono Lawyers.
The work PILA carries out would not be possible without the support of our sustaining and supporting partners:
Sustaining Partners
"Collaborating with the Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA) supports Arthur Cox in delivering meaningful pro bono assistance to those most in need. PILA plays a vital role in connecting us with NGOs providing frontline legal services and together we develop pro bono projects to improve access to justice for vulnerable people in our community."
"2021 has been another challenging year; with the impact of the pandemic being felt more acutely by some in our community. Throughout it all PILA has been a linchpin bringing together the legal profession and civil society in innovative ways to share in that burden. As a sustaining partner of PILA A&L Goodbody recognises the crucial role PILA plays in developing a strong and collaborative pro bono culture in Ireland. We look forward to continuing our work together in 2022. "
“Over the course of the pandemic, PILA has worked hard to support NGOs and community organisations in need of access to pro bono legal support which has helped them survive and deliver their crucial services. McCann FitzGerald is proud to be a sustaining partner of PILA.”
Supporting Partner
“At Eversheds Sutherland, we have a history of pro bono work. We are delighted to partner with PILA to support its vision to develop public interest law in Ireland in a practical way and to help identify pro bono opportunities for our lawyers. In 2018, Eversheds Sutherland agreed on a five-year strategic partnership with PILA to help develop people’s understating and awareness of their legal rights and improve their access to justice.”
PRO BONO PLEDGE IRELAND
Since the launch of the Pledge in November 2020, we now have 50 law firms, 8 individual Solicitors, 38 Barristers, and 2 in house legal teams as signatories. The first NGO pitch event was held in September 2021 and was a fantastic success. The event was the first of its kind in Ireland and sought to connect Pledge Signatories with NGOs and Civil Societies in need of legal expertise. Organisations such as the Irish Foster Care Association, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and NASC presented and overview of their organisations and highlighted how pro bono can assist them in delivering their services.
Speaking ahead of the event, FLAC Chief Executive Eilis Barry said:
“The need for Pro Bono legal assistance is now even more pressing due to the pandemic. Although pro bono work can never be a substitute for a properly funded system of legal aid, it is a vital tool to increase access to justice for vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals and groups.” - Eilis Barry
The Irish Foster Care Association had the following to say:
"PILA were very approachable and supportive. They answered our queries and gave assistance whenever we needed it throughout the application process. We felt fully supported in preparing for the pitch, the guidance provided on how to structure the pitch was extremely useful and helped clarify how we needed to communicate our request to the group. Overall, it has been a very positive experience and we are really happy to be able to access the service. We are delighted now to be in a position to offer a series of legal workshops to foster carers, and those in the fostering community on topics which are central to their role in caring for and supporting children in care" - IFCA
Julie O' Leary, Advocacy Service Manager with NASC - Migrant & Refugee Rights commented:
"Nasc were delighted to participate in PILA's first Pro-Bono Pledge Event. We have now teamed up with a firm of solicitors in Cork and look forward to working with them to assist our clients during the Afghan Admission Scheme and undocumented migrant regularisation scheme in 2022. This will help us to increase our capacity and to assist more individuals across Cork." - Julie O'Leary
A recording of the event is available HERE
Following the success of the first NGO Pitch Event, PILA will host 4 further NGO Pitch events in 2022. The objective of these events is to connect Pledge Signatories that have committed to doing pro bono work with NGOs and Civil Societies that have projects in need of legal expertise. These events are scheduled to take place on the following dates:
Thursday 27 January 2022 at 9.30am; Thursday 28 April 2022 at 9.30am; Thursday 8 September 2022 at 9.30am; Thursday 25 November 2022 at 9.30am.
Applications for these events are now open and must be completed and returned by 7th January 2022. The application form is available HERE.
January will mark the first year of reporting for signatories to Pro Bono Pledge Ireland. Reporting will run from September – September. With this in mind, 2022 will be a shorter reporting period, running from January – September. New Guidelines for Reporting under the Pledge are available HERE.
PILA will work closely with Pro Bono Pledge Signatories to develop a pro bono practice manual. It will be compiled by law firms, in-house counsel, and barristers to enhance and support the provision of pro bono services.
PILA IMPACT PROJECTS
Pro Bono Support for FLAC PhonelineDuring the pandemic, the FLAC Information and Referral line experienced a huge increase in the demand for legal information. Pro Bono Pledge signatories were ready and willing to step into the breach to fulfil this need and to ensure the public need for legal information could continue to be met.  "Without the generosity of qualified volunteers who have donated their time and expertise, the FLAC information and Referral Line could not even attempt to meet this demand." - Erin Brogan, FLAC Telephone Information Line Coordinator.  "Access to justice lies at the heart of the Arthur Cox Pro Bono Practice. Collaborating with FLAC enables us to apply our skills and knowledge to help people understand and access their legal rights. We are proud to support the FLAC Information Line and the work we do together to help people in need." - Carolann Minnock - Arthur Cox Pro Bono Associate. |
Children's Rights Alliance - Legal ClinicsPILA and supporting partners Eversheds Sutherland teamed up to provide free Legal Clinics to children, young people, and their families following a request for assistance from the Children's Rights Alliance.Praising the success of this project, Legal and Policy Manager with the Children's Rights Alliance Julie Ahern commented: "This [project] has meant a greater number of families can avail of our services through an increased number of free legal advice clinics. These clinics have contributed greatly to people's understanding and awareness of their legal rights." - Julie AhernEoin Mac Aodha, Partner at Eversheds Sutherland commented: “We recognise that COVID-19 has created significant challenges for children and young people and this year we wanted to use our privilege of legal expertise to assist some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We were delighted to partner with the Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA) so that a greater number of people, who contact the CRA Helpline for legal information, can access support with family law issues and become better informed about their legal rights. The project involves providing free, one-to-one legal advice appointments with a solicitor. We are delighted to be able to make this small contribution and it’s the first time the firm has done pro bono work solely focused on children’s rights.” - Eoin Mac Aodha |
Pro Bono Response to the Afghan Crisis In August 2021, in response to the Afghan humanitarian crisis, the Irish Refugee Council received over 2,000 calls from the Afghan community in Ireland seeking to bring their family members to safety. Katie Mannion, for the Irish Refugee Council, commented that they were not equipped to handle this volume of casework requiring immediate legal representation. The call for help went out to PILA who liaised with A&L Goodbody, the firm has provided pro bono assistance to the Irish refugee Council in the past. Support came in from right across the firm and since then there has been a team of 80 lawyers working with 29 Afghan clients who represent multiple applications for discretionary visas for their family members in Afghanistan.As a result of this work, referrals have also been made to Arthur Cox, who are working with the Immigrant Council of Ireland, and to Matheson and Philip Lee too. This collaborative effort between law firms is evidence of the pro bono ethos within the Irish legal community of helping those in need and doing so in a purely non-competitive way. "We were all taken aback by the speed at which the Taliban took power in Afghanistan. Within a matter of days we worked closely with PILA and the Irish Refugee Council to assemble a large team of lawyers and immediately began work on visa applications. We are acutely aware much legal work remains to be done and are committed to supporting our NGO partners in this important work". - Eithne Lynch, Pro Bono Associate with A&L Goodbody |
PRO BONO WEEK IRELAND 2021
22 November to 26 November
Pro Bono Week Ireland 2021 was a massive success with unprecedented numbers in attendance at each of the virtual events that took place throughout the week. The online events for this year's Pro Bono Week were:
- Monday 22 November - Launch Event
- Tuesday 23 November - Pro Bono Bootcamp
- Wednesday 24 November - Implementing the Charities Governance Code
- Thursday 25 November - Strengthening the Legal Capacity of Civil Society in Ireland: A Day in the Life of an NGO Workshop
- Friday 26 November - Data Protection for NGOs
Full details for each of the events are set out in the December 1st PILA Bulletin which can be found by clicking HERE.
A NOTE FROM PILA
We are indebted to all who supported PILA since establishment and throughout 2021. To our sustaining partners Arthur Cox, A & L Goodbody, and McCann Fitzgerald LLP, to our supporting partners Eversheds Sutherland – thank you again for your continued support. To all of our Alliance partners who have kindly provided assistance through our Pro Bono Referral Scheme - thank you all for being so generous with your time and expertise.
To our NGO partners, we will aim to increase our outreach, legal information sessions and the number of supports which are available. For more information on our pro bono referral scheme, see HERE.
Lastly, PILNet Global Forum 2022 will take place in Ireland from 17 – 19 October 2022. The Forum offers 3 days of sector meetings, workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities. More information will be made available via PILNet and PILA website in due course.
We look forward to hearing from you and thank you all once again,
Danielle Curtis, BL
PILA Legal Officer
&
Daithí Ó'Maonaigh
PILA Administrative Assistant