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Pro Bono and the Sustainable Development Goals – home and abroad – LawWorks & A4ID
November 4, 2020 @ 10:00 am - 11:30 am
In 2015, the United Nations Member States adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, underpinned by 17 key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goals represent targeted areas for global improvement and broadly relate to areas such as health, education, equality and environmental sustainability – with ambitious goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030.
Law firms and legal practitioners both in the UK and internationally undertake a substantial amount of pro bono work aimed at reducing poverty which can contribute to the realisation of these goals; whilst the SDGs are often seen as benchmarks for international development work, many of the SDG’s – for example SDGs 10, 11 and 16 – ‘reduced inequalities’, ‘sustainable cities and communities’ and ‘justice and strong institutions’ – are equally relevant to domestic pro bono in the UK and the challenges we face in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
This panel session which will take place in Pro Bono Week will discuss the crossover and relevance of the SDG’s to pro bono work both in the UK and internationally, including pro bono work supporting NGOs from small charities to wider global civil society alliances. Law firms as business entities also have important responsibilities to ensure that their own operations can further the SDGs, particularly with respect to diversity and inclusion, the environment, supply-chain awareness, and community engagement. From volunteering through legal advice clinics which serve vulnerable communities and support access to justice – to using legal skills to build capacity in civil society, pro bono has an role to play both in the UK and globally to strengthen commitments to achieving these goals.
Chair, Baroness Scotland QC, Secretary General of the Commonwealth.
Panellists
- Tom Dunn, Pro Bono Director, Clifford Chance
- Sung-Hyui Park, Senior Associate, Bates Wells
- Naina Patel, Barrister Blackstone Chambers
- Yasmin Batliwala, Chief Executive, Advocates for International Development (A4ID)
- James Sandbach, Director of Policy, LawWorks
- Tom Tugendhat MP, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
This is a joint event put together by LawWorks and A4ID.
All those with an interest in pro bono and the SDG, or if you want to find out more about the SDGs and their application to pro bono, are encouraged to attend.