Through this program, PILI aims to institutionalize pro bono practice by law firms and individual lawyers in order to leverage private sector resources for the public good.

PILI's first priority has been to cultivate support for pro bono activities in Central Europe. In recent years, law firms and lawyers in private practice have become increasingly willing and able to undertake pro bono matters. Yet a significant gap still exists between NGOs, which know the legal needs of the community but lack sufficient capacity to meet them, and law firms, which possess considerable legal resources but lack a direct connection to the community.

To bridge that gap, PILI has established a Hungarian Pro Bono Clearinghouse, which places pro bono matters arising from NGOs with participating law firms and promotes the development of pro bono practice in Hungary.

PILI has also established a Global Pro Bono Clearinghouse to match needs in one country to resources in another, focusing particularly on Europe. Over 25 law firms are participating in these combined efforts.

PILI is promoting the establishment of pro bono clearinghouses in other European countries as well. In Poland, for example, PILI is partnering with the Legal Clinics Foundation and Ashoka Foundation to set up a pro bono clearinghouse.

In China, PILI is advancing the development of law firm pro bono programs by building relationships between firms and public interest organizations, laying the groundwork for an eventual pro bono clearinghouse.