At Baker McKenzie, we believe that the provision of pro bono legal services is a fundamental professional responsibility. As lawyers, we have a particular skill set and the best way to assist those in need is to utilise those skills.
The Firm is committed to providing pro bono legal services to marginalised and/or disadvantaged individuals and the not-for-profit organisations that support them. We have a Pro Bono Practice Group with two lawyers who work solely on pro bono matters and all of our lawyers are expected to undertake pro bono legal work each year. The Firm is a signatory to the National Pro Bono Target of 35 pro bono hours per FTE per year. We also have our own Firm Target of 50 pro bono hours per FTE per year.
In FY19 our Australian lawyers contributed more than 14,500 pro bono hours for pro bono clients. This equates to an average of more than 55 hours of pro bono work per FTE over the year.
The nature of our work is vast and varied. Our lawyers undertake pro bono work which falls within their own areas of expertise, as well as work in new areas of law (with appropriate training and supervision, precedents and resources organised by the Pro Bono Practice Group).
Our traditional focus areas include youth, poverty, health, the environment and the Arts. Our pro bono programs are designed to meet unmet legal need including providing assistance to survivors of domestic violence; the elderly; asylum seekers and refugees; youth; and people with disabilities.
We are currently focused on developing our practice in a number of areas including assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery; regional, rural and remote clients; and the LGBTI community.