Vance Center-Latin Lawyer Pro Bono Survey Identifies Regional Trends, Celebrates Leading Law Firms in Latin America

Every year, we partner with Latin Lawyer to conduct a survey to measure the progress of pro bono development across the region’s legal markets. The resulting articles and analysis offer a look at the state of pro bono practice across Latin America, and an opportunity to share best practices and celebrate the achievements of the practitioners leading the way.

The 2024 survey highlights effective approaches to institutionalizing and investing in pro bono practice within firms, and tips to encourage more lawyers to take on pro bono work. It also includes features on successful pro bono projects in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Peru and the annual list of Leading Lights, the firms making noteworthy contributions to strengthening the culture of pro bono across the region. For the first time, this year’s survey also included a data-driven comparative analysis of results from the six largest jurisdictions and Central America.

Read on for more detailed survey results and see the full analysis on Latin Lawyer’s website.

Jurisdictional Overview

For the first time in its history, our joint pro bono survey provides a comprehensive comparison of the results from Latin America’s six largest jurisdictions and Central America.

Key findings include:

• Two-thirds of firms across Latin America are signatories of the Pro Bono Declaration of the Americas, up from 61% last year and 55% in 2022. In 2024, the share of firms that have signed the Declaration increased across all jurisdictions except Argentina, which noted a small decline. Chile, up by 24 percentage points, saw the greatest increase, while Peru continued to lead in participation, with all responding law firms reporting that they have already signed the PBDA.

Firms pointed to the Pro Bono Declaration of the Americas as one of the best mechanisms to ensure they continue actively contributing to the development and evolution of pro bono in the region. Established by the Vance Center in 2008, the PBDA commits signatories to an average of at least 20 hours of pro bono work per lawyer every year.

• Ninety percent of responding firms have a pro bono coordinator. This is an encouraging sign, as designated pro bono coordinators are critically important to an effective pro bono practice. The high number of firms with a dedicated pro bono coordinator is another strong indicator of the growing institutionalization of pro bono practice across the region.

However, only 11% of firms in the region have a full-time pro bono coordinator. This is an increase from last year’s result of just 8%, but shows there is still a long way to go toward a future where law firms have full-time professionals dedicated solely to pro bono practice.

The survey showcases different options for firms to structure their pro bono programs. These include a full-time pro bono coordinator, as at Gómez-Pinzón in Colombia and Mexico’s Greenberg Traurig SC, or a team of lawyers led by a partner who split time between pro bono work and billable hours, as at Brazil’s Mattos Filho.

• Across Latin America, 78% of firms are members of a pro bono foundation, institute or clearinghouse. Mexico and Peru lead the largest jurisdictions, with 100% of responding law firms reporting membership in at least one of these institutions, followed closely by Colombia at 95% and Chile at 89%. Brazil had the lowest rate of membership, with just 58% of firms reporting they are members of Instituto Pro Bono, the national clearinghouse.

Leading Lights 2024

Participation in the survey remained strong, with 185 firms from 18 countries submitting responses this year. The Vance Center and Latin Lawyer recognized 60 of the respondents as “Leading Lights,” firms making a noteworthy contribution to strengthening a culture of pro bono in Latin America.

This year’s group of Leading Lights includes firms from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and five regional firms working in Central America.

Motivating Lawyers to Work on Pro Bono

While pro bono practices and committees are now regularly found at Latin American law firms, making sure that lawyers dedicate their time to providing free legal services can be a challenge. The survey identifies five top tips to encourage lawyers to take on pro bono work.

Tips include:

• Treating pro bono like billable hours
• Getting partners involved
• Using pro bono as a career development tool

See all the tips and insights from legal professionals across the region.

Case Studies

Latin Lawyer reporters spoke with lawyers at firms in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru about three especially significant, impactful pro bono projects.

• Indigenous land rights in Costa Rica. Lawyers from Costa Rican firm Alta Batalla tell Latin Lawyer about their efforts to seek justice for Jehry Rivera, an Indigenous leader and land defender who was shot and killed in February 2020 amid escalating tensions over land rights in the Térraba community.
• Sustainable solar power in Mexico. Von Wobeser y Sierra S.C. partner Edmond Grieger shares how the firm provided pro bono legal advice to local NGO Amigos de Sian Ka’an for the installation of a solar project in a Mayan community in Mexico. The project helped the community access a sustainable power source and improve quality of life and resilience against environmental degradation.
• Carbon credits and climate change in Peru. Lawyers from Peruvian firm Hernández & Cía speak about providing pro bono advice relating to carbon credits as a means of combating climate change, contributing to protecting and improving the lives of Indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon.

The 2024 survey results, all analysis and Leading Lights are available here.