News & Events
Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation e-letter (January 2008)
LEX MUNDI PRO BONO CELEBRATES TWO YEARS OF GROWTH AND SUCCESS
Thanks to the generosity of Lex Mundi member law firms and their lawyers, as well as the Kellogg, Packard and Shell foundations, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation proudly marks its second anniversary of helping social entrepreneurs improve the lives of the poor and disenfranchised.
Through the work of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation during the past two years, lawyers in 65 Lex Mundi firms located in 38 countries and 27 states in the U.S. provided free legal services to social entrepreneurs on 235 separate projects.
One of these projects illustrates the impact of these services on the lives of the poor. First Book, an award-winning and internationally acclaimed social entrepreneur that distributes millions of books to impoverished children throughout the world, needed experienced lawyers to negotiate the terms of a large, complicated loan that would enable it to greatly expand the volume of books distributed. The Foundation introduced First Book to a team of experienced lawyers from Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Lex Mundi’s member firm for Washington, DC, who successfully closed the loan transaction in late December of 2007. Here are First Book’s own words to the team of lawyers:
So, I’m sitting here looking at the final, signed loan agreement and at a 2008 where we will be building the volume of books distributed to kids in need. You have given us a tremendous gift. It’s not just the time and professionalism and intelligence that you brought to the process. It’s also the camaraderie, the cheering, the utter support.…We leave you with this drawing we received just yesterday and look forward to stopping by early in the new year to shake your hands.
The Lex Mundi Network
Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms, consists of 160 top-tier commercial law firms — one in almost every state in the U.S., one in each province in Canada and one in most countries in the rest of the world. See www.lexmundi.com. Together, the Lex Mundi member firms are comprised of 20,000+ lawyers working in 560 offices. This network constitutes a unique and profoundly powerful vehicle for the delivery of pro bono legal services to every corner of the globe.
The Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation is a non-profit affiliate of Lex Mundi. Calling upon the Lex Mundi network, the Foundation finds lawyers in Lex Mundi firms that have the requisite expertise and are willing and available to provide pro bono advice and assistance to social entrepreneurs. See www.lexmundiprobono.org. Seeking to be the finest firms in their respective jurisdictions and to exemplify the very best traditions of the legal profession, Lex Mundi member firms almost never turn down a request by the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation to provide pro bono services to an eligible social entrepreneur.
Finding Social Entrepreneur Clients
Clients and their legal projects come to the Foundation through a growing number of outstanding organizations that support, vet and endorse social entrepreneurs. Over the two years of its existence, the Foundation has entered into collaborative arrangements with the following 21 organizations who encourage their social entrepreneur awardees or grantees to contact the Lex Mundi Pro Foundation when they need legal help:
Acumen, Ashoka, Avina, Draper Richards, Echoing Green, European Venture Philanthropy Association, Global Fund for Children, Global Social Benefit Incubator, Grameen Foundation, Lemelson Foundation, Mercy Corps, New Zealand Social Entrepreneur Fellowship, NYU Stern School of Business, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Skoll Foundation, Social Capital Partners, Social Enterprise Alliance, Summerbridge Breakthrough Alumni Network, UN Commission for Legal Empowerment of the Poor, Venture Philanthropy Partners and World Bank Development Marketplace
Building Capacity and Long-Term Sustainability
With the help of a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation has been working with consultants from Fieldstone Alliance and Michael J. Worth & Associates to develop strategic plans to build capacity, improve efficiency and insure long-term financial sustainability. At the Lex Mundi North America Regional Conference in Miami on January 31 - February 2, 2008, these plans will be vetted and discussed with the distinguished Board of Advisors of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation. The Board of Advisors will also meet with the Board of Directors of Lex Mundi to provide advice on improving the effectiveness of the Foundation.
The Board of Advisors of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation consists of the following individuals:
Brizio Biondi-Morra — President, Avina, and President of the Board of INCAE
Charlie Brown — Executive Director, Ashoka’s Changemakers
Mary Chaffin — General Counsel, Mercy Corps
Cheryl Dorsey — President, Echoing Green
Pamela Hartigan — Managing Director, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
Kurt Hoffman — Director, Shell Foundation
Melissa Johns — Senior Private Sector Development Specialist, World Bank
Jacqueline Novogratz — Chief Executive Officer, Acumen Fund
Laura Stein — Senior VP and General Counsel, The Clorox Corporation, and Chair, Association of Corporate Counsel
Barry White — Partner, Foley Hoag LLP, and former Chair of Lex Mundi
Pro Bono Committee
As a complement to the work of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, Lex Mundi has formed a Pro Bono Committee. The mission of the Committee is to encourage and enhance the delivery of pro bono services by providing strategic guidance, advice and resources to Lex Mundi member firms in order to help them develop and implement pro bono policies and programs of the highest quality, and to provide a liaison between member firms and the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation.
Under the leadership of Paul Schabas, partner in the Toronto office of Lex Mundi member firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, a working group of Lex Mundi lawyers drawn from all continents has prepared a draft “Guide for Pro Bono Services”. The objective of the Guide is to provide member firms with a framework for developing pro bono work, programs and a “pro bono culture.” It is intended to provide guidance and advice regarding the reasons to do pro bono legal work, how to define it and how to establish and implement effective pro bono programs and practices. This draft will be reviewed and possibly approved at the Lex Mundi Conference in Miami on February 1, 2008.
On behalf of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, we wish you happiness and success in 2008.
Carl Anduri, President
David Roll, Managing Director
Ben Greer, Vice President
Chloe Holderness, Deputy Managing Director
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