Top private law firms’ effectiveness in representing the interests of their corporate clients is well known. Less studied is their influence in the context of their pro bono activities – that is, services provided for the public good at no cost. Top law firms have significantly expanded their pro bono activities in recent decades, engaging in a broader range of advocacy strategies across a wider geography.
Amid rising populism and authoritarianism globally, even in democratic societies, human rights advocacy and the rule of law depends on actors with access and resources to navigate and address these challenges. With powerful resources, including lawyers that went to the best law schools, ever-increasing revenues, and highly influential networks, law firms are potentially well positioned to take on this role. At the same time, as recent developments in the US illustrate, authoritarian developments can also lead to politicization of pro bono work.
The ERC-funded PROBONO project will study the scope of private law firms’ pro bono work, the impact of autocratization on this work, and the implications for the rule of law, human rights, and democracy. The project will do so by collecting quantitative and qualitative data and conducting in-depth case studies on top private law firms’ pro bono efforts related to human rights and environmental causes in the context of authoritarian developments ‘at home’ and abroad.
