On 18 November 2013 the Irish Times published a feature on PILA and some of the referrals it has facilitated. The article by Mark Hilliard, A matchmaker for the cause of social justice, says that PILA helps non-governmental organisations (NGOs) by pairing them with "free legal muscle".
Click here to read the article.
FLAC Director-General Noeline Blackwell describes PILA as a "bridge between organisations that are working to advance the public interest and the lawyers who are interested in advancing the public interest ...We are a broker; we are a matchmaker.”
It describes PILA's Pro Bono Lawyer Register as "a heavyweight database of barristers and solicitors prepared to answer the call of various organisations with substantial legal know-how".
The article profiles the PILA-facilitated partnership between A&L Goodbody and the Irish Refugee Council Law Centre. This involves A&L Goodbody working on a pro bono basis with the IRC Law Centre to provide legal representation to applicants in the first stage of the asylum process. In April 2013, the IRC Law Centre organised a bespoke refugee law training course for the team of 28 A&L Goodbody lawyers. This has been followed up with additional training on practice and procedure and ongoing shadowing and mentoring with the Law Centre team.
The IRC Law Centre's early legal representation service aims to ensure that applicants are facilitated in presenting their case fully and effectively at first instance with a view to ensuring the early identification of persons in need of international protection. This is a unique partnership that will help to address the unmet legal need of people in the early stages of an asylum application and demonstrate a different model of legal service in this area. The partnership, currently in its pilot phase, aims to see A&L Goodbody directly represent a small number of asylum seekers and provide a similar model of early legal representation to asylum seekers as that currently provided by the IRC Law Centre.
IRC Law Centre Managing Solicitor Jacqueline Kelly says in in the article "This is a specific unmet legal need: early intervention for vulnerable applicants”.
A&L Goodbody Partner Eamonn Conlon says "The primary reason for doing pro bono work is that we think that lawyers have a responsibility to put their skills to people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to legal services." He says this partnership with IRC Law Centre connected the firm with "an area where there was legal need and where we would be able to get our people who won’t necessarily be trained in the area to get trained and to provide an area of specialism".
The article also profiles a PILA-facilitated referral between TENI, FLAC and David Dodd BL. They worked together to draft a private member’s Bill on gender recognition, which was subsequently proposed in the Seanad by Independent Senator Katherine Zappone. The Bill, together with the ongoing FLAC-supported Dr. Lydia Foy case, and another Bill proposed by a political party, helped to pressure the Irish Government into publishing an outline of potential gender recognition legislation.
The referral was shortlisted for the 2013 PILnet European Partnership in the Public Interest Pro Bono Award. Dr Lydia Foy was also shortlisted for "Campaigner of the Year" at the European Diversity Awards in London.
David Dodd BL says about PILA, "There is a huge take-up and it’s largely because PILA are so well organised."
Please contact us today if you would like to get involved with our Pro Bono Referral Scheme!