Project Descriptions

The person who carries out the Access to Justice Practicum in the Comision Pro Bono of the Bar Association of the City of Buenos Aires will be in charge of receiving, advising and monitoring cases of civil society organizations that work with vulnerable populations, especially in the province of Buenos Aires. They will also have the opportunity to participate in the creation of a new line of work to care for digital environments for children and adolescents that deepens past practice that focused on the prevention and protection of cases of sexual abuse against children. The objective of this effort is to reduce gaps in access to justice, raise awareness about the importance of pro bono practice in coordination with legal firms and departments within the framework of our work as a clearinghouse, and provide a professional learning experience for the Practitioner.

Why is it necessary to develop this pro bono project in Argentina?

Mainly because the socioeconomic context that Argentina has gone through for years has notably intensified the legal needs of the most vulnerable sectors with the need for civil society to get involved so that someone can provide answers. At the same time, the increase in exposure of children and adolescents to electronic devices with social networks calls us to get involved in a new topic. In this scenario, civil society organizations have become fundamental pillars to support the most disadvantaged communities in all types of issues. Therefore, the work of pro bono lawyers who work associatively around the Comision, focused on strengthening these intermediate organizations, is of vital importance. Strengthening the capacity of the clearinghouse to expand the impact and operation of the network of professionals is a priority.

What will the project entail, and how will it be implemented?

This program seeks to expand the technical and logistical support capacity that the clearinghouse provides to lawyers who perform pro bono work, which includes expanding the network of partner organizations, identifying their needs and opportunities, and strengthening responses, and legal services offered. Whoever carries out the Practicum will acquire experience in the identification and management of cases, the execution of workshops and training activities, the production of rights dissemination material, and involvement in the preparation of reports and investigations. Focus areas will include health, corporate law, childhood and family, women’s entrepreneurship in popular neighborhoods (new), institutional quality, migration, grooming, and cybercrimes.

Why is the Comision Pro Bono an ideal space to carry out this work?

The Comision Pro Bono of the Bar Association of the City of Buenos Aires has more than 20 years of experience in providing free legal services for the most vulnerable sectors. Its network of specialized lawyers and its commitment to causes of public interest make it an ideal entity to carry out this type of project. Bringing together more than 40 law firms and legal departments of highly relevant companies in the country. The Comision has a wide and varied professional capacity, which allows it to address cases on multiple topics and offer effective support to civil society organizations.

Likewise, in response to the growing increase in work, in 2016 the Federal Pro Bono Network was established, which currently brings together more than 3,000 lawyers from all over the country, who collaboratively work for free on issues of public interest.

In the project “Access to Justice Practicum” in Mexico, the law practitioner on issues of public interest will manage a project to promote the Manual for lawyers for addressing gender-based violence. Likewise, it will carry out a mapping of collaborative actors for the promotion, dissemination and training of the manual. Finally, training will be managed and scheduled for legal professionals who voluntarily want to serve the sector of women and girls in situations of violence to provide them with guidance and legal advice.

Why is there a need for this pro bono project in Mexico?

Gender-based violence in Mexico is a highly relevant phenomenon. According to the latest report from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) in 2023, gender violence in Mexico presents the following notable statistics:

Prevalence of violence: 70.1% of women aged 15 years and older have experienced at least one incident of violence throughout their lives. The most common types of violence are: 70.1% of women aged 15 years and older have experienced at least one incident of violence throughout their lives. The most common types of violence are:

• Psychological: 51.6%
• Sexual: 49.7%
• Physical: 34.7%
• Economic, patrimonial and/or discrimination: 27.4%

Between October 2020 and October 2021, 42.8% of women ages 15 and older experienced some type of violence. Psychological violence was the most prevalent in this period, with 29.4%.

On average in terms of feminicide, 10 women are murdered daily in Mexico. Furthermore, 7 out of 10 have experienced at least one situation of violence throughout their lives.

41.8% of women aged 15 years and older stated that they had experienced some situation of violence in their childhood (before turning 15 years old).

On the other hand, access to justice is linked to economic power, leaving many women and girls without the possibility of adequate advice and defense that allows them to guarantee the exercise of their rights and access to a life free of violence. Therefore, pro bono legal services are a great tool to serve this vulnerable sector of Mexican society.

What will the project entail and how will it be implemented?

As background, it is worth mentioning that in the first “Access to Justice Practicum” project, a tool was developed aimed at pro bono lawyers with the intention of providing guidance and legal advice to women and girls victims of violence.

Project 2025 would focus on promoting, disseminating, and delivering this tool to lawyers throughout Mexico to expand the scope of pro bono care for women and girls in situations of violence.

Likewise, it will involve the generation of links, alliances, and collaborations with different national and state bar associations to achieve its application, as well as approaching Mexican civil society organizations that serve this sector.

Finally, the development of legal training materials online or e-learning, or through the use of technology that allows detonating the professionalization of this topic to those legal professionals who intend to train and educate themselves to provide pro bono legal services to this sector in a situation of violence.

Why is the Centro Mexicano Pro Bono well-positioned to carry out this work?

Centro Mexicano Pro Bono, is a pro bono institution with almost 10 years of experience in the administration and management of pro bono legal work in the country that brings together more than 30 legal firms, with the clear commitment to influencing a positive change in Mexican society. Additionally, the organization has an important network of collaborations with civil society organizations that address support for women and girls in situations of violence.