News & Events

Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation e-Newsletter (February 2009)

Since it opened its doors in 2006, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation has enlisted 74 Lex Mundi law firms to provide pro bono legal services to more than 200 social entrepreneurs on almost 400 separate legal projects.  Spanning the globe from Sri Lanka to the Dominican Republic and from Vermont to Pakistan, these legal services addressed a wide variety of issues, but they shared one common element – they helped social entrepreneurs accomplish their missions of positive social change and improved the lives of the poor and disenfranchised.

Thanks to the generosity of Lex Mundi member firms and their lawyers, as well as substantial new grants from three foundations, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation is proud to announce that it has the resources available to continue to play a leading role in supporting the global social entrepreneurship movement.  In 2009, the Foundation intends to increase the number of social entrepreneurs served and to foster deeper relationships between Lex Mundi member firm lawyers and social entrepreneurs, so that entrepreneurs can increase their capacity through strategic advice. 

The Foundation will also embark on the following exciting initiatives:

• As a result of a grant from The Lemelson Foundation, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation will identify and provide pro bono legal services to invention-based social entrepreneurs around the world;
• Through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation will provide pro bono legal services to Knight’s News Challenge Winners and will work with Ashoka Innovators for the Public, one of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation’s collaborators, to provide pro bono legal services to Ashoka Fellows in 26 communities in the US and to News & Knowledge Fellows throughout the world; and
• The Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation will also begin building an innovative new on-line interactive legal resource for the social sector called “LawForChange™”.  This unique project is funded by the Knight and Lemelson Foundations and the Kellogg Action Lab.

As the Obama Administration hastens to create a White House Office of Social Entrepreneurship and the Kennedy-Hatch “Serve America Act” moves through the US Congress, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation – the only organization dedicated to providing social entrepreneurs throughout the world with first-class pro bono legal assistance – is in the right place at the right time.

The social entrepreneurship movement is receiving powerful support and enhanced prominence not only in the US but around the world. By staying abreast of these fast-moving developments through close contact with the Obama transition team and the bipartisan advocates of social entrepreneurship in Washington, DC, the Foundation aims to be and remain the premier provider of legal services and resources to the global community of social change makers.

Below are two recent projects of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation that highlight the pro bono work being done by Lex Mundi member firms and the impact Lex Mundi member firm lawyers are having on the lives of the world’s poor and disenfranchised.

Teams from Richards, Layton & Finger and Bowman Gilfillan Help mothers2mothers Support Mothers and Children with HIV in Africa

Each month, more babies are born with HIV in one clinic in Africa than in one year in the United States, Canada and England combined. This is because treatment to prevent the infection of newborns in the developed world has become as simple as a single dose of medicine for the mother and her newborn.  While these same clinical solutions are now available in Africa, their impact and effectiveness for HIV-positive mothers is less successful without complementary social, emotional and psychological support.

The organization mothers2mothers (m2m) helps save these children and their mothers by offering essential support.  m2m offers an effective, sustainable model of care that provides education and support for pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV/AIDS. This model includes working to prevent babies in Africa from contracting HIV through mother to child transmission, keeping mothers and babies living with HIV/AIDS alive and healthy by increasing their ability to access health-sustaining medical care, and empowering mothers to battle the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS in their families and their communities.  m2m operates over 450 sites in South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland and Zambia. (For more information about m2m, visit www.m2m.org.)

m2m was introduced to the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation by one of the Foundation’s collaborators, the Skoll Foundation.  m2m was one of eleven 2008 recipients of the Skoll Foundation Award for Social Entrepreneurship. This award recognizes innovative and sustainable approaches to resolving urgent social issues, and it is one of the most prestigious honors that can be bestowed on a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).  Previous honorees include some of the world’s most highly regarded charitable organizations.

To date, Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., Lex Mundi’s member firm for Delaware, and Bowman Gilfillan, Lex Mundi’s member firm for South Africa, have provided invaluable pro bono legal support that is helping m2m achieve its great success.

David Torres, Director of Special Projects for m2m, states, “We have developed a fantastic working relationship with the team from Richards, Layton & Finger. They have been very involved in helping us with every aspect of the incorporation of our new 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, mothers2mothers International. Overall, we cannot say enough about how valuable this help has been to our organization.”

Catherine Dearlove, a director at Richards, Layton & Finger, who has overseen the firm's work with m2m, said, "We are pleased to have had the opportunity to assist m2m on its restructuring project and look forward to supporting m2m in the future.  Much as our corporate clients often need to revisit their governance structures as they grow, m2m found that its model for serving HIV-positive mothers and their children in the developing world had been so successful that it had outgrown the governance structures that were in place.  Our team worked with m2m's international management staff to identify the needs and goals for the organization as it moved forward and to develop a new governance structure that will allow this organization to continue to grow and expand its services.  We were also lucky enough to have David Torres visit our firm's offices in Delaware to speak to our lawyers about the problem of mother to child transmission of HIV in Africa and m2m's programs, which brought into sharp focus the importance of m2m's work and made us all feel that, by assisting m2m, we were in some small way helping to make a difference in the world."

Richards, Layton & Finger's work for m2m has included:

• Developing a strategic restructuring plan, which included the establishment of mothers2mothers International ("m2mI") as the global parent for all of m2m's operations, and guiding m2mI through the process of obtaining tax-exempt status;
• Ms. Dearlove and her colleague, Associate John Mark Zeberkiewicz, facilitating the first meeting of the new Board of Directors of m2mI in New York and advising the Board concerning various corporate governance and procedural issues; and
• Drafting funding and licensing agreements and documented policies and procedures to govern the relationship between m2mI and m2m's operational sites and organizations in Africa.

Ms. Dearlove added, "We are grateful to the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation for bringing Richards, Layton & Finger together with m2m and giving us the opportunity to use our experience in corporate restructurings to assist this wonderful organization."

m2m has also praised the valuable assistance being provided by Paula Youens, Aneria Bouwer, Ineke Bosman, Emma Whitelaw and Candice Ndzeku with Bowman Gilfillan.  Bowman Gilfillan has worked with m2m on a number of matters in South Africa, including:

• Considering and commenting on a lease agreement for m2m’s new premises;
• Providing m2m with comments and drafting recommendations for their various employment contracts in South Africa; and
• Requesting authorization from the Exchange Control Department of the South African Reserve Bank for the intellectual property licensing agreement between m2m South Africa and m2m International. This effort is being coordinated with Richards, Layton & Finger in the US.

The great pro bono work of Lex Mundi member firm lawyers at Richards, Layton & Finger and Bowman Gilfillan is helping ensure that m2m achieves its critical mission.

 

mothers2mothers’ operational sites provide education and support to pregnant women and new mothers living with HIV/AIDS.

 

Lex Mundi Member Firm Lawyers Help Recycla Chile Revolutionize Chile’s Approach to Electronic Waste

The rapid pace of technological change has made appliances for homes, offices and personal use more affordable and therefore more widely used. As a result, a large quantity of electrical and electronic equipment is being added to the world’s waste stream. This electronic waste often contains highly toxic substances, including carcinogens such as lead, mercury, cadmium and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Recycla Chile (“Recycla”) was the first social entrepreneur organization in Latin America to develop a sustainable business model to properly recycle the growing amount of electronic waste. Recycla is a “triple bottom line” organization that incorporates environmental innovation with management strategies based on social, economic and environmental sustainability.  While working to improve the environment, Recycla also seeks to have a social impact in Chile by employing marginalized populations of individuals who were previously incarcerated and are seeking opportunities to reenter the workplace and society. (For more information about Recycla, visit www.recycla.cl.)

With a successful and sustainable model in place, the Founder and CEO of Recycla, Fernando Nilo, is taking on a massive campaign to raise awareness of electronic waste recycling on a national level in Chile and on an international level. Mr. Nilo’s innovative work has been recognized by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship (2008 Global Social Entrepreneur) and The World Economic Forum at Davos (2009 Technology Pioneer, the first from Latin America). Recycla was introduced to the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation by the Schwab Foundation, one of the Foundation’s collaborators.

Nicolás Eyzaguirre and José Domingo Ilharreborde of Claro y Cia, Lex Mundi’s member firm for Chile, have been critical in providing Recycla with much needed pro bono support on a number of legal matters, including:

• Assisting the company with its corporate records and books;
• Registering the company’s brand and logo;
• Helping provide critical guidance with environmental and sanitary regulations, including helping Recycla file a special application before the environmental authorities to obtain the necessary authorizations to increase their current capacity and facilities;
• Advising the company in connection with proceedings initiated by the Chilean health authorities; and
• Drafting a form agreement that Recycla can use with their clients who purchase the processed electronic waste.

Mr. Eyzaguirre noted, “It has been a terrific experience working with Recycla. They are not only doing a great job in our country but they are doing something that, to date, is new for our society – they are in fact changing the way we behave in regards to electronic waste. This work has also provided a great opportunity for us to investigate and better understand how developed countries treat and regulate electronic waste. It is also important to mention that Fernando Nilo is an amazing social entrepreneur, with a very positive and innovative way of thinking.”

Recycla has also worked with Charles Abraham of Day Pitney LLP, Lex Mundi’s member firm for New Jersey, to explore the possibility of establishing a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to help with Recycla’s fundraising goals and awareness campaign to address the world’s electronic waste challenges.

Finally, Mr. S.I. Park of Hwang Mok Park, P.C., Lex Mundi’s member firm for Korea, was instrumental in working with Mr. Nilo to resolve a contract dispute for non-payment with one of Recycla’s purchasers of processed electronic waste based in Korea.

Commenting on the valuable pro bono legal support provided by Lex Mundi’s global network of law firms to Recycla Chile, Fernando Nilo stated, “Our dreams of social and environmental change would not be possible without the support of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation and the Lex Mundi member firms. With a partner like Lex Mundi, we can scale up and make progress in Chile and throughout Latin America.”

 

Recycla Chile is the first social entrepreneur organization to develop a business model to address the growing amount of electronic waste in Chile.

 

Over the past six months, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation participated in several other important events:

• In June 2008, the Foundation participated in the Aspen Institute’s “Fourth Sector Legal Strategy Roundtable”, which brought together leading lawyers and academics to explore the feasibility and desirability of creating new forms of organization for “hybrid’ social enterprises.
• In August 2008, the Foundation participated in the Global Social Benefit Incubator, a signature program of Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology and Society. At this annual program, leading social entrepreneurs present their business plans for critique by a panel of Silicon Valley venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.
• At the 2008 Lex Mundi Europe/Middle East/Africa Regional Conference, held in Istanbul in September, the Foundation organized a presentation by Ibrahim Betil, Senior Ashoka Fellow, who spoke about his award-winning work enlisting Turkish university students in community social change projects.
• In September 2008, the Foundation participated in the World Bank Development Marketplace, a forum that encourages cooperation within the development community in the search for solutions to reduce poverty. The Foundation met with small groups of Marketplace finalists to learn about their projects and educate them on the pro bono legal resources available through the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation.
• At the 2008 Lex Mundi Latin America/Caribbean Regional Conference, held in Buenos Aires in October, the Foundation organized a presentation by Mary Anne Muller, a Schwab Foundation Awardee, who spoke about her organization, the Fundación Origen. This organization runs an innovative and highly acclaimed school for vulnerable youth in Chile.
• In November 2008, The Foundation was an active participant at the Public Interest Law Institute’s 2nd Annual European Pro Bono Conference in Budapest. The purpose of the conference was to forge partnerships between leading law firms and NGOs and other social sector organizations operating primarily in Eastern Europe. Also in attendance was Stefan Jacyno, Managing Partner of Wardyński & Partners, Lex Mundi’s member firm for Poland, and Iván Janitsáry of Nagy és Trócsányi, Lex Mundi’s member firm for Hungary.
• At the 2008 Tech Museum Awards, held in San Jose, California, in November, the Foundation hosted a legal panel in conjunction with Morrison & Foerster LLP, Lex Mundi’s member firm for California. The Tech Museum Awards is an international awards program that honors social innovators around the world who are applying technology to benefit humanity.

To view a complete list of recent news events and announcements, please visit the “News and Events” web page at http://www.lexmundiprobono.org/lexmundiprobono/News.asp.

The Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms.  (For more information about Lex Mundi, please visit www.lexmundi.com.)  Utilizing the talents and resources of Lex Mundi’s powerful network of 160 top-tier commercial law firms in 100 countries around the globe, representing approximately 21,000 lawyers, the Foundation matches experienced lawyers who provide first-class legal services to social entrepreneurs on a pro bono basis, enabling them to carry out their missions of positive social change and to improve the lives of the poor and disenfranchised. 

The Foundation defines social entrepreneurs as “transformative change makers”, individuals and organizations that use entrepreneurial and innovative ideas to improve communities and the lives of the poor and disenfranchised.  Because Lex Mundi member firms are leading, full-service law firms, they have the experience and expertise to provide critically important assistance to social entrepreneurs, thus helping them become successful agents of positive social change.

The Foundation is a “matchmaker” and does not practice law. Rather, it identifies effective social entrepreneurs through referrals by its partners/collaborators.  These organizations include the Skoll Foundation, Ashoka Innovators for the Public, Acumen Fund, Draper Richards Foundation, Global Fund for Children, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Echoing Green, Lemelson Foundation and Mercy Corps.  For a complete list of the Foundation’s collaborators, please visit http://www.lexmundiprobono.org/lexmundiprobono/Our_Collaborators.asp.  The Foundation is constantly exploring additional collaborative relationships with potential partners that support innovative and entrepreneurial social change makers.

The Foundation is unique in that there is no other global organization that is focused exclusively on providing pro bono legal services to social entrepreneurs.  The Foundation aspires to become one of the world’s premier pro bono legal service organizations and to reach many more social entrepreneurs.  It is off to a great start and continues to build capacity and expand the volume, value and impact of the pro bono services provided. 

To learn more about the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation and its current projects, please visit http://www.lexmundiprobono.org.  For all inquiries, please contact Chloe Holderness at Tel: 1.202.429.1630.

On behalf of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, we would like to thank everyone who has been part of our success to date.

Carl Anduri, President
Chloe Holderness, Managing Director
David Roll, Associate Director
Ben Greer, Vice President