«Often people don’t access justice because of the unaffordable costs, so it happens that they either do nothing or undergo real blackmail and mediation that is to their disadvantage. We believe that doing pro bono work makes us better lawyers, increasing our motivation, our skills and our standards of professional conduct.»
From Il Giornale, edition of 25 January 2021, by Maria Sorbi:
[…]
In order to meet the needs of those who cannot access justice, pro bono lawyers’ offices are being set up (finally in Italy as well), as has been the case for some time in the United States and in the Anglo-Saxon culture. They guarantee free legal assistance to those excluded from Legal aid.
«We have realized that the inefficient state of justice increases the level of mistrust among those who cannot assert their rights. Even those that are everyone’s rights sometimes seem inaccessible», explains Giovanni Carotenuto. The lawyer chairs the Pro Bono association, a network that brings together about thirty law firms scattered throughout Italy, each with its own specialization, dedicated to following even those clients who cannot pay.
«Often people don’t access justice because of the unaffordable costs, so it happens that they either do nothing or undergo real blackmail and mediation that is to their disadvantage. We believe that doing pro bono work makes us better lawyers, increasing our motivation, our skills and our standards of professional conduct.»
To identify pro bono clients, the network relies on two “legal clinics” within universities and a number of NGOs and associations that operate in the most fragile situations (prisoners, immigrants) and report cases of alleged injustice.
Click here to read the full article.