On Wednesday, 10 June, the 9th Italy Pro Bono Day was held at Hogan Lovells Italy in Rome, as part of European Pro Bono Week.
We explored the role of legal pro bono as a tool for training, professional growth and shared social responsibility for lawyers, in- house counsel, bar associations and civil society organisations.
Opening the seminar “The role of pro bono in the training and growth of lawyers and in- ouse counsel” was Avv. Claudio Visco, President of the International Bar Association, who recalled that, in times of global crises, access to justice remains difficult to achieve for entire communities of people in need and vulnerable individuals.
A powerful message, invoking a shared responsibility: recourse to legal remedies is a powerful instrument that must – thanks to pro bono – be made available also to those who cannot afford remunerated legal assistance: “Protect the rule of law: the rule of law will protect you”.
Avv. Alessandro Graziani, President of the Rome Bar Council, recalled the social value of the legal profession, illustrating the solidarity safeguards enshrined in our Constitution, while Avv. Giorgio Martellino, President of AIGI, highlighted the growing role of in-house counsel within the Working Groups established by our Association and the potential of pro bono within companies’ ESG strategies.
Finally, our President, Avv. Giovanni Carotenuto, recalled how pro bono represents an instrument for giving effect to the social function of the legal profession and cited, by way of example, last November’s European Commission Communication on civil strategy, expressing the hope that it may act as a driver for the growth, also in Italy, of a pro bono culture capable of strengthening access to justice and the protection of the rule of law.
During the 57th Italian Pro Bono Roundtable we gave space and voice to new non-profit organisations that have joined our network (Italian Federation for Human Rights – Italian Helsinki Committee (FIDU), presented by Eleonora Mongelli and A Sud, with Annalisa Cavallini). Elena Esposito then illustrated the annual reports of our Clearinghouse, which highlight the growth in the number of requests, especially individual requests, and the need to broaden the pool of volunteer professionals.
The day’s proceedings then concluded with the presentation of the position paper “Entry and mobility of foreign workers in Europe” by Mariateresa Veltri, Piergianna Manga, Tommaso Marilli and Stefania Guida, and of the programme (currently under implementation) CSOs’ Legal Health Check, by Giuseppe Izzo and Viola Molteni, which aims to prevent risks and support the resilience and structural strengthening of the participating civil society organisations.
The atmosphere was full of positive energy and a real desire to take action, as demonstrated by the broad participation both in person and via streaming: 50 people who contributed from the room and in the chat, with reflections, comments and ideas for new initiatives.
This is vital energy for advancing our cultural challenge: affirming pro bono in our country, which still lacks its own legal framework.
Our thanks go to Hogan Lovells, represented by Carlo Massini, Marco Berliri and Emanuela Cocco, for hosting us, and to PILnet, represented by Giulia Patanè, for recalling the important role played by the European Pro Bono Alliance (of which our Association is a member) as an interlocutor of EU institutions in defending Europe’s democracies from the shrinking of civic space pursued by autocratic regimes.
