A4ID’s Online Legal Health Check is now live
Development organisations can benefit from a free online assessment of their legal needs.
A4ID’s online legal health check enables NGOs and social enterprises to identify their legal needs. It comprises thirteen modules of multiple choice questions, each evaluating a different area of an organisation’s operations, such as employment, data protection and risk management. A written report is produced and can be downloaded for future reference. Having completed the online legal health check, A4ID development partners can then seek pro bono legal assistance on any of the matters identified through A4ID’s broker service.
Although designed for international development organisations, the tool is accessible to all and is likely to be equally useful to charities and NGOs working domestically.
“Two years ago we introduced our legal health check, a new and innovative way for lawyers and NGOs to work together. Now we have taken that model online, particularly for organisations with less time to spend on the process. The feedback on it so far has been excellent and we expect it will be a useful tool for thousands of development organisations around the world,” said Elisabeth Baraka, Head of Partnerships and Legal Services at A4ID, who initiated and managed the project, and wrote A4ID’s legal health check.
A4ID’s free online legal health check can be accessed here. Organisations working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals are encouraged to complete it, then contact A4ID at [email protected] to discuss the results and ask for pro bono lawyers to assist them to address the gaps identified.
A4ID’s online legal health check provides brief guidance on each topic that is relevant to organisations based in any country. In this first version, more detail is also provided in relation to UK law. In time, A4ID will produce many different versions of the online legal health check, each relevant to a different country.
“All development organisations need to address their legal needs proactively. A4ID’s online legal health check is a brilliant way to do this – from anywhere in the world, any time. We were delighted to partner with A4ID on it,” said Theo Trayhurn, a partner at Allen & Overy who worked on the project.
Yasmin Batliwala, Chief Executive of A4ID, said: “Allen & Overy brought in a large team lawyers from across many departments to work with us pro bono to develop the content for the online legal health check. We are also grateful for the funding from the Legal Education Foundation for this project. We look forward to developing many more online resources in the coming year.”