Written By Latham & Watkins

Pro Bono Initiatives at Latham & Watkins

Written By Latham & Watkins

Pro bono is a key part of being a lawyer, even at the largest firms. AllAboutLaw.co.uk spoke to Latham & Watkins about their pro bono initiatives.

After government cuts to legal aid, does Latham & Watkins have any initiatives in place which provide free expert advice to the vulnerable?

Since 2000, Latham & Watkins has provided more than 2.5 million pro bono hours in free legal services to the disadvantaged and the non-profit sector valued at over US$1 billion. In 2014, with more than 2,300 lawyers and staff across 14 countries participating in our program, Latham provided more than 170,000 hours of free legal services. Each year, our lawyers take on matters in nearly every area of public interest law, including civil rights, veterans’ rights, asylum and immigration, domestic violence, Holocaust reparations, anti-human trafficking, prisoners’ rights, special education, microfinance, disability rights and social entrepreneurialism. As a cornerstone of our culture, our commitment to pro bono is rooted in the belief that members of our profession are obligated and distinctively positioned to give back in this way.

Latham & Watkins is a “one-firm” firm. As is the case with our commercial work, our lawyers and professional staff share knowledge, expertise, and resources about pro bono matters across departments and offices. This cross-border, team-oriented approach helps us effectively and efficiently represent our pro bono clients and achieve the greatest impact.

Our London office maintains a robust pro bono practice, working closely with local and international charities, human rights organisations, and public interest organisations. Key partners include TrustLaw, the pro bono arm of the Thomson Reuters Foundation that works to trigger change and empower people around the world, and A4ID, which fights global poverty. The office also works closely with prominent charities in the United Kingdom, including Cancer Research UK, Open Cinema, a network of community cinemas operated by and for homeless and socially excluded people, and Christian Aid, which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty and ensure equality for all around the world.

Does Latham & Watkins work with NGOs or human rights groups? If so, what do you feel the firm gets from working with these types of organisations?

Over the decades, lawyers throughout our firm have represented hundreds of asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their homelands based on their political views, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. In recent years, our pro bono work in the area of human rights has grown to encompass human trafficking, one of the most rapidly growing criminal enterprises.

Today, there are more than 30 million slaves in the world, more than at any other point in human history. Latham is committed to fighting human trafficking and modern-day slavery in all their manifestations. Some of our matters involved prosecuting traffickers, advocating against child marriage, and securing political asylum for an individual born into slavery in Mauritania. Our lawyers are also contributing to the largest human trafficking civil action in US history. In addition, we assist organisations that share our goal of ending slavery in our lifetime, including Not for Sale, Polaris Project, International Justice Mission, Liberty Asia and Equality Now.

Does Latham & Watkins work to provide better access to education? For instance, are there opportunities for students from less privileged backgrounds to gain experience in the legal sector?

Latham & Watkins is committed to diversity and equal opportunity, and to creating an environment in which individuals, including those from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, are given the opportunity to succeed.

The Workwise Centrepoint programme is a great example of our commitment to equal access to education.

Centrepoint works with homeless young people (16 to 25 years old) from diverse backgrounds. Workwise is a 'job ready' programme that runs for four weeks. As part of the course, young people spend two weeks training and preparing for work, followed by a work placement at Latham in non-legal roles (we have offered three placements since 2011). The aim is to prepare young people for work by offering practical experience in a professional environment. The programme provides placement and employment opportunities and helps them to build on their work history. Workwise has been developed in partnership with Deloitte and the training is now accredited and young people completing the course will achieve a BTEC Level 2 in Employability Skills.

The firm also worked with Centrepoint to arrange for two employees to undertake a mentor training programme in order to provide the appropriate support to the successful candidates during their time with the firm. An interactive seminar session was arranged for all employees who were going to be involved in working with the young people. This session gave our employees some more background knowledge about Centrepoint as well as information on youth homelessness awareness, challenging young people in the workplace, and ways to offer support and foster development for the interns.

Do you partner with other organisations or provide sponsorship for any external bodies?

We work with SEO Scholars for the PRIME programme. The firm provides one week of structured work experience in October of each year to approximately ten talented, ambitious, and motivated school-age students to give them a taste of the full range of careers available within the legal sector. The goal is to offer those from less-privileged backgrounds the opportunity to access the legal profession and as a result find professionals of the future.

Our Graduate Recruitment team also works with Rare Recruitment to ensure that we are reaching a broad and diverse set of candidates. With Rare’s help, we aim to hire high-calibre candidates from under-represented backgrounds for our Vacation Schemes and Training Contract.

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