FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation Marks 20 Years: Independent Assessment Values Network’s Pro Bono Work at $90 Million

First impact report in a decade shows 138 member firms supporting 1,400+ organizations in 120 countries

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 30, 2026) – In celebration of Pro Bono Week, the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation has released 20 Years of Impact, its first impact report since 2016 and the first independent assessment of its work since the Foundation was established in 2006. Conducted by Common Good Marketplace, the assessment estimates that Lex Mundi member firms have delivered approximately $90 million in pro bono legal services through the Foundation, valued at current market rates.

The $90 million estimate was built from the ground up, combining survey data from clients, law firms, and referral partners on how matters are staffed and how long they take, with published market-rate benchmarks. The full methodology and sensitivity analysis are included in the report.

“When I first saw that figure, it stopped me cold,” said Isis Bous, Managing Director of the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation. “Not because I doubted this network, but because $90 million brings into focus the scale of what has been built over two decades. This report took a full year to pull together, and we are humbled by the results. It belongs to every lawyer who said yes, and to the social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders doing extraordinary work every day.”

For two decades, the Foundation has matched social entrepreneurs and nonprofits with leading independent law firms in the Lex Mundi network at the moments when legal expertise matters most: entering a new market, protecting intellectual property, securing investment, and building governance structures that last. The report finds that since 2006:

• Lex Mundi member firms have handled more than 3,000 legal matters across 120 countries
• Firms have contributed an estimated 150,000+ hours of pro bono legal work through the Foundation
• 92% of clients say equivalent legal support would have been inaccessible, difficult to obtain, or only available at significant cost
• Clients rate the Foundation 9.4 out of 10, and referral partners rate it 9.7 out of 10, with zero detractors
• 93% of participating law firms report benefits beyond the matters themselves, including lawyer training, cross-border experience, and stronger in-house pro bono practices

Beyond the numbers, 20 Years of Impact highlights the organizations whose work has been strengthened by access to pro bono legal expertise. The report features in-depth case studies on five organizations, along with snapshots of dozens more working across all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and every region of the world:

• Mountain Hazelnuts restructured its corporate framework with help from two member firms, and in 2025 secured a $7.9 million equity investment to scale its climate-resilient farming, building on its work with more than 8,000 farmers in Bhutan.
• EarthEnable has completed more than 35,000 housing projects across Africa with support from seven member firms over a decade.
• Tatum Robotics, maker of the world’s first tactile fingerspelling robot for the DeafBlind community, has been supported by four member firms since 2024 on matters ranging from intellectual property protection to its application to become a federally funded Video Relay Service provider.
• Thaki has expanded access to education for 62,000 refugee and underserved students across Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt, with pro bono support since 2020 helping it navigate legal challenges as it grows.
• Health Care Without Harm has drawn on expertise from 13 member firms across 13 jurisdictions for 17 projects supporting its global work to make health care greener.

For Mountain Hazelnuts, getting the legal structure right was a turning point. “[The firms’] guidance through a highly complex corporate and shareholder restructuring gave investors the confidence they needed and enabled us to secure critical investment,” said Dr. Sean Watson, CEO of Mountain Hazelnuts. “Having advisers who understood both the legal complexity and our long-term vision made a decisive difference for the organization.”

The Foundation’s impact also reaches the incubators, accelerators, and other programs that refer social entrepreneurs to it. “I wish we had an equivalent to the Foundation for every professional service — vetted network, smooth onboarding, wide set of available services,” said Alexander Dale, Director of Global Programs at MIT Solve. “The Foundation is an amazing gem of a network that enables our global portfolios of impact innovators to prepare for scale.”

As the Foundation enters its third decade, the findings underscore both the reach of the Lex Mundi network and the continued importance of making high-quality legal expertise accessible to organizations driving social and environmental change.

Alongside the report, the Foundation released two 20th anniversary videos this week: a short film on the Foundation’s work and a celebration video featuring congratulations from Lex Mundi member firm lawyers around the world.

The full report is available at lexmundiprobono.org/20-year-impact.

About the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation

The Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation connects social entrepreneurs and nonprofits with free or deeply discounted transactional legal services from Lex Mundi member firms, the leading independent law firms in their respective countries and regions. Since 2006, the Foundation has facilitated more than 3,000 legal matters for 1,400+ organizations in 120 countries. It also produces legal research and thought leadership with partners including the World Economic Forum, the OECD, the World Bank, WIPO, and the United Nations. Learn more at lexmundiprobono.org.

About Lex Mundi

Lex Mundi is a global network of independent law firms, with more than 20,000 lawyers in member firms around the world. Learn more at lexmundi.com.