A4ID Launches Legal Health Check for Development Partners
A4ID has recently launched its new Legal Health Check tool for international development organisations, designed to promote a better, more in-depth understanding of their legal needs, and thus helping them in their fight against global poverty and injustice.
This tool was launched at A4ID’s private ‘International Innovations in Pro Bono’ breakfast function on 5th November, during the 13th UK National Pro Bono Week.
Please see the Press Release below for more information.
A4ID Launches New Legal Health Check for Development Partners
5 November 2014
A4ID has launched its new Legal Health Check tool for international development organisations, designed to promote a better, more in-depth understanding of their legal needs, helping them in their fight against global poverty and injustice.
A4ID has been piloting the Legal Health Check with White & Case, a global law firm, over the past year and the tool was launched at A4ID’s private “International Innovations in Pro Bono” breakfast function on 5th November 2014, during the 13th UK National Pro Bono Week.
From 2015, the Legal Health Check will be offered to all of A4ID’s Development Partners, enabling a more in-depth assessment of their legal needs. It will also be an appealing exercise for lawyers who participate.
Using the Legal Health Check, lawyers from A4ID Legal Partners will work closely with an NGO to understand the legal condition of the organisation. The result will be a written report, setting out the legal issues the NGO needs to address, in terms of their importance and urgency, which the organisation can then work through over time. A4ID’s broker service team will then support the Development Partner to access pro bono legal advice on each specific need identified through the Legal Health Check.
A4ID’s CEO Yasmin Batliwala said:
“I am delighted to be announcing the launch of our Legal Health Check tool for our Development and Legal Partners at this very special event and during this important Pro Bono Week. We welcome the pro bono support we receive from the legal world in our vision of helping the law and lawyers play their full part in the eradication of global poverty.
“We are proud of our broker service, which puts legal partners in touch with development partners seeking legal support. This Legal Health Check tool will prove to be an invaluable asset for NGOs in assessing their individual legal needs, improving their risk management and the strategic use of the law in their work and I would like to see everyone taking advantage of it.”
Jo Weiss, Head of Social Responsibility, at White & Case whose lawyers have been piloting the tool said:
“It’s exciting to have a pro bono matter that can potentially involve all of our practice areas, which can be done in any of our offices, and which goes to the core of a charity’s legal needs and helps them to proactively address their most important legal issues.”
For more information about the Legal Health Check or to arrange an interview with A4ID’s CEO, please contact: [email protected]
Notes to editors:
A4ID is a global charity that believes the law can, and should, be used more effectively to eradicate global poverty. Our vision is to see the law and lawyers playing their full part in the eradication of global poverty. Our mission is to inspire and enable lawyers to join in the global fight against poverty and to ensure that legal support is available for those engaged in that fight.
A4ID brings together legal and development professionals to maximize progress towards the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and from 2015, towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We do this through ensuring that all those working towards the eradication of poverty have access to free legal support, while also raising awareness of how the law and lawyers can play a role in eradicating global poverty.
The Legal Health Check for Development Partners has been piloted in the last year through a partnership with a global law firm, White & Case, working with a range of development organisations. Addition information about White & Case can be obtained from [email protected] + 44 20 7532 2670.
White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with lawyers in 39 offices in 26 countries. Among the first US-based law firms to establish a truly global presence, they provide counsel and representation in virtually every area of law that affects cross-border business. Clients value both the breadth of their global network and the depth of US, English and local law capabilities in each regions where they work and rely on their complex cross-border transactions, as well as their representation in arbitration and litigation proceedings.
A4ID was started in 2006 when over 1,000 London-based lawyers joined with Oxfam to make a public commitment to use their skills and expertise to reduce worldwide poverty. A4ID is the charity that developed from this dynamic movement. To date, the work of A4ID has continued to make a significant difference worldwide. We work with over 50,000 lawyers in more than 90 countries to provide legal assistance to almost 600 development organisations. We have provided nearly US$40 million of free legal advice since 2006, assisting important projects in over 114 countries.
A4ID is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1118565, and registered company number 5907641. Our registered office is at The Broadgate Tower, 20 Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2RS. For more information on A4ID visit: www.a4id.org.