The Thomson Reuters Foundation’s TrustLaw Connect is the global ‘pro bono’ [legal assistance provided to people of limited means or to organizations that have a social, environmental, humanitarian or community focus (including certain government agencies and entities) without expectation of payment] service of Thomson Reuters Foundation that connects NGOs and social enterprises with the best law firms around the world.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation provides free legal assistance, media development and in-depth coverage of the world’s under-reported stories to trigger change and empower people. The foundation stands for human rights, women’s empowerment, better governance, greater transparency, and for the rule of law; provide concrete solutions and achieve real impact. Areas of focus are- women’s rights, anti-corruption and governance, free legal assistance, humanitarian news, human impact of climate change, polls, social innovation, and media development.
The TrustLaw Connect is the global hub connecting law firms and in house corporate legal teams with high impact NGOs and social enterprises working to address humanitarian, environmental and social challenges. The organizations with need of legal resources to run their programs scale their business, expand into new countries, or obtain a deeper understanding of the legal and policy frameworks within which they operate are supported with pro bono services. Outstanding lawyers willing to provide free legal assistance all around the world support these organizations make impact in the projects they conduct. The legal services include helping organizations run and expand their operations, understand legal frameworks, and conduct advocacy and reform efforts, to large cross-border research programs on issues spanning human rights, women’s rights, transparency, and many other topics.
By now, TrustLaw Connect has over 1,120 members in 120 countries. There are 280 teams of lawyers working in the field. The mission of TrustLaw is to spread the practice of pro bono worldwide to drive social change.
