---

Letters to the Editor

 

• PO Box 36626, Menlo Park 0102  

• Docex 82, Pretoria 

• E-mail: derebus@derebus.org.za 

• Fax (012) 362 0969

 

Letters are not published under noms de plume. However, letters from practising attorneys who make their identities and addresses known to the editor may be considered for publication anonymously.

 

Increased opportunities for attorneys to do pro bono work: Options and flexibility to aid those in need

 

ProBono.Org strongly supports the recent announcement by Legal Aid South Africa that they will be launching a national pro bono scheme, as well as the recent press release issued by the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) encouraging attorneys to contact their local law societies to be assigned pro bono work.

 

It is opportune in the context of these two developments by the organised legal profession, to distinguish the work of ProBono.Org from that of Legal Aid South Africa and the law societies by highlighting its modus operandi.

 

Legal Aid South Africa employs thousands of lawyers in hundreds of offices across the country, providing free legal aid for mainly criminal offenders. The announcement of its newly developed pro bono scheme allows lawyers who are in private practice to offer their time for pro bono cases, particularly civil matters.

 

The LSSA, through the statutory provincial law societies, instituted a scheme that requires practising attorneys to work a minimum of 24 pro bono legal hours per year. Attorneys can contact their provincial law societies, which will refer pro bono matters to them.

 

ProBono.Org has been running a slightly different model of pro bono legal work since 2006.

 

It was the first organisation to develop this particular model in South Africa – which has its origins in the United States civil rights movements in the 1960s, and has gained traction in Australia and Southeast Asia – and ProBono.Org continues to be the only organisation in the country that functions purely as a legal clearing house for pro bono cases.

 

Unlike Legal Aid South Africa that is state funded, and the law societies which are subscription funded, ProBono.Org is privately funded (mainly by large international donors) and relies on voluntarism. The model offers lawyers a range of choices regarding the pro bono legal work they want to do. This model can be distinguished from a model where cases are assigned to attorneys, regardless of the nature of the case or the skill or time constraints of the attorney. Where Legal Aid South Africa and the law society-initiated pro bono cases serve only individuals, ProBono.Org also serves the interests of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), small, medium and micro-sized enterprises (SMME), start-ups and community-based organisations.

 

ProBono.Org is a recognised structure with the KwaZulu-Natal Law Society and the Law Society of the Northern Provinces – which means that it reports any pro bono hours done by attorneys to the relevant law societies for recognition. ProBono.Org also runs a range of specialist clinics, from housing law and family law clinics, to refugee and consumer law, giving attorneys the opportunity to staff these legal clinics and provide consultation and advice for up to 90 minutes per client.

 

Partnering with ProBono.Org gives attorneys the opportunity to give back to the community in a flexible, yet structured manner, allowing them a range of projects, clinics and opportunities and a choice of cases. Additionally, it provides free education on specific areas of the law, and equips volunteer attorneys to assist in pro bono matters that they may not have expertise in, but are interested in exploring.

 

Many attorneys do not know that by providing legal education, for example to community organisations (such as Families South Africa (FAMSA)), they may also be given recognition for pro bono hours.

 

ProBono.Org succeeds and thrives because of its incredibly simple user-friendly process for attorneys. Cases that have been screened by ProBono.Org are e-mailed out to the database of attorneys (or advocates in certain situations), according to their speciality, and the lawyers volunteer to take on cases of their choice rather than be randomly assigned matters. Almost all cases sent out in this manner, are taken on by lawyers in private practice. This incredible response has been heartening, indicating as it does, how committed the legal profession is becoming to offering up its time to help those who would otherwise not be able to afford this expert service. ProBono.Org has nothing but praise for these attorneys and advocates for their pro bono efforts. It works on a continual basis to attract new legal professionals to join its panel of volunteers, and offers free legal workshops to lawyers on various subjects connected to its cases. In this way, the group of pro bono attorneys and advocates continues to grow.

 

ProBono.Org has been operating for eight years, building a highly committed network of attorneys and advocates to do pro bono work for its clients – people, communities and non-profits that cannot afford private legal fees. In 2013 it was able to open over 7 000 client files indicating a massive increase in the service it offers, as in 2007, the first year of operation, it opened only 150 files.

 

Erica Emdon, Director, ProBono.Org

 

Would you like to write for De Rebus? De Rebus welcomes article contributions. Upcoming deadlines for article submissions – • 21 July; • 18 August; and • 22 September 2014.

 

---