Pro Bono
At Allen & Overy, respecting and including every individual is one of our key values and one that applies as equally to the wider community as to our staff. We feel a strong ethical responsibility towards the communities in which we operate, and our pro bono and community affairs programme – Values into Community Action – helps us to fulfil this responsibility.
Our lawyers are committed to using their legal skills to benefit as wide a range of people and organisations as possible. In the last year alone, Allen & Overy lawyers across the globe recorded over 60,000 hours of pro bono and community activity, worth £19.2million. This does not include support staff time, whose hours have not traditionally been recorded.
We structure our global and local programmes around themes that are relevant to us as a business:
- Global Firm, Global Responses – seeking out opportunities to use the firm's global presence and share its skills, resources and energy with those who will benefit most.
- Access to Justice – using the firm's legal skills in a variety of contexts to bring access to justice to people and organisations who may be denied it.
- Access to Education and Employment – raising the aspirations and achievements of young people and encouraging them to reach their potential.
- Helping our Local Communities – helping the vulnerable and underserved in the communities around us.
As a trainee you could become involved in a number of pro bono initiatives such as giving free legal advice at the Battersea Legal Advice Centre evening surgery or working for human rights organisations such as INTERIGHTS, Reprieve and Advocates for International Development. With this latter organisation, trainees are involved in research on behalf of development NGOs on human rights issues, in the context of trade agreement negotiations and access to pharmaceuticals for developing nations, child protection and law reform. Pro bono work offers a high level of responsibility and the chance to develop your client-facing skills.
Supporting our local community, you could find yourself cooking and serving breakfast at The Whitechapel Mission, mentoring a young person to help them achieve their goals or helping local primary school children with their numeracy and literacy skills.
Trainees may have the opportunity to take up a secondment to The Royal Courts of Justice to work as judicial assistants or at organisations such as Liberty.
Volunteering is an important part of our culture at Allen & Overy and we encourage our trainees to get involved as much as possible.