Representative Matters
Our Core Practices
Pro Bono
Offices
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At Dechert, pro bono services are part of a long-standing tradition and are at the heart of our culture. We are committed to providing pro bono legal services to individuals and communities who cannot otherwise afford legal counsel.
Our commitment is evident within and across our offices and practice groups. We take referrals from a wide range of local, national, and international legal services organizations. We handle cases in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Continental Europe covering a broad range of issues. Our goal is to find opportunities that match the personal interests of our lawyers and will enable us to make a difference.
We mean what we say. At Dechert, pro bono work is not only encouraged but also recognized--our associates receive billable hour credit. The firm has pledged to devote three percent of total billable time each year to pro bono work, and beginning in 2007 will require all U.S.-based attorneys to perform at least 25 hours of pro bono work per year to ensure universal participation in our pro bono program. We are a founding member of the Law Firm Pro Bono Project and a signatory to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge.
Dechert is one of the few global firms to have a partner who dedicates 100% of her time to promoting pro bono work. She oversees a firmwide pro bono committee, with representatives from every Dechert office. They help to identify pro bono opportunities in a wide variety of areas and match those opportunities with attorneys interested in handling them.
Examples of the ways in which we have served our communities include:
- Staffing legal aid clinics through the Homeless Advocacy Project (Philadelphia), the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (Princeton), the North Kensington Law Centre (London), the Legal Clinic for the Homeless (New York), and Droits d'Urgence (Paris)
- Leading an international group of more than 100 lawyers and scholars in proposing new laws for Afghanistan through the Afghanistan Transitional Commercial Law Project, and drafting proposals for employment laws
- Challenging death penalty sentences
- Working with a wide variety of international human rights organizations--among them Oxfam and Interights on a wide range of issues including access to justice and international trade
- Representing prisoners in civil rights claims challenging their conditions of incarceration
- Representing numerous Afghan nationals currently detained in Guantanamo Bay, which involved visits to our clients in Guantanamo Bay and relatives of the detainees in Afghanistan
Dechert and individual lawyers have been recognized for pro bono contributions by numerous organizations. In 2003, we received the Solicitors Pro Bono Group's inaugural award for Best Contribution by a Law Firm. We have received awards from the Philadelphia Bar Association, Ayuda, the Homeless Advocacy Project, the Lawyers Alliance for New York, the Legal Aid Society of New York, and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.
The London office undertakes a large amount of pro bono activities and projects. We advise members of the public, charities and organisations on a variety of litigation and non-contentious issues. We regularly advise at the Citizens Advice Bureau in the Royal Courts of Justice and have a longstanding relationship with the North Kensington Law Centre where we run evening advice clinics. We have also set up a new advisory clinic for charities and others on employment, property and contractual issues in Angel Islington in conjunction with Community Matters. We participate in projects sourced and offered by LawWorks and Advocates for International Development, and we actively seek new and exciting opportunities for our assistant and trainee solicitors. We also take on representations from the Free Representation Unit, JUSTICE and numerous other human rights organisations.
Dechert has recently been shortlisted for a LawWorks award in the LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2008 category for 'Best Contribution by a Law Firm' and in 2007 one of our junior associates in London was a finalist in the Law Society Young Lawyers Pro Bono Awards.
In addition to pro bono work, lawyers in the London office assist LPC students with their training contract application forms and help them with their interview technique. At the other end of the education spectrum, members of the London office help children at a local primary school to improve their reading ability.
If you have questions about Dechert's pro bono program, please contact Suzanne E. Turner, pro bono partner, at suzanne.turner@dechert.com.
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