"A Fantastic Diversity of People, Thoughts, and Experiences"

The European Pro Bono Forum is a major international conference on pro bono legal practice organized annually by the Public Interest Law Institute (PILI). Held in Budapest from 5-7 November, the Forum was a unique gathering of lawyers, NGO staff and academics, brought together by their common commitment to ensuring greater legal assistance to those who need it most.

The central focus of the 2008 Forum was to forge longlasting partnerships between NGOs and law firms, leveraging the resources for the private legal sector for the good of all of society.

One such partnership highlighted at the Forum was that of Allen & Overy and the Hungarian organization Chance for Children Foundation (CFCF).

In October of 2007, the Public Interest Law Institute convened the first-of-its-kind, European Pro Bono Forum in Budapest, Hungary. One-hundred and thirty-three lawyers, NGO leaders and academics from 21 countries met for two days of discussion on how to establish and maintain successful pro bono programs across Europe, and how to build linkages between them. 

"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,...