Pro Bono Report – 2025

In 2025, the Vance Center provided 193 clients with pro bono representation in 299 matters covering 87 countries, collaborating as co-counsel with 120 law firms across the world.

Through our Keep Families Together (KFT) initiative, we responded to an additional 186 immigration-related legal requests from 35 countries.

This report includes summaries of selected matters involving some of the 28 law firms represented on the Vance Center Committee, covering our four thematic program areas and KFT.

For the first time this year we are also highlighting a selection of international pro bono matters with national law firms outside the U.S.

Highlights

Environment

An amicus brief for a landmark Inter-American Court advisory opinion on climate and human rights, researching environmental impact assessments for a leading climate law center, contributing to a carbon project toolkit to guide community negotiations with project developers, and more.

Human Rights and Access to Justice

Assessing global implementation of the Bangkok Rules for the Women in Prison Network, analyzing freedom of association and assembly, contributing to a UPR submission on LGBTQI+ rights in Panama, mapping censorship laws in sub-Saharan Africa, and more.

Keep Families Together

The 186 KFT requests we handled this year included assisting with “regularization” (obtaining legal residency status) of a Cameroonian minor who was abandoned in Mexico; support in effecting service of process on the parents of unaccompanied minors in the United States who were located in countries including Chad, Colombia, and Mexico; assisting with affidavits and declarations related to criminal background certificates in El Salvador; and providing legal consultations on child custody matters across multiple countries in Latin America and Africa, among others.

Institutional Integrity

A petition to the IACHR on behalf of federal judges affected by Mexico’s judicial reform, defending beneficial ownership transparency in Guatemala, contributing to a UN submission and policy guide on integrating human rights and anti-corruption frameworks, and more.

Public Interest Reporting

Assisting an publisher in the EU with setting up a new entity to protect against repression, negotiating a publishing agreement to bring important wildlife reporting to a national audience, producing training materials for Reporters Shield members, building a Compliance Assurance Program for Lawyers for Reporters clients, and more.