International Lawyers Project

Since 2005, ILP has supported communities, civil society and governments in more than 80 countries. For every £1 we receive, we provide at least £8 worth of pro bono legal assistance. We have a core staff team, based in the UK, Russia, and Kenya, with deep experience across Europe, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and we achieve our outsized impact thanks to our worldwide network of more than 2,000 expert legal volunteers.

 

We operate a client-led pro bono model, extending and expertly coordinating an immediate network in times of need for these organisations and individuals, without which the reform impact of their work might fail to reach its full potential. We advise our client partners on the legal avenues, and the implications and risks of their work, without imposing our view. In this way, we ensure that we support those with lived experiences to make informed decisions about the best route to achieving their advocacy goals based on the advice we give them.

 

We seek to achieve change by:

 

• Using legal mechanisms: to help civil society organisations and governments access, understand and deploy useful legal tools such as sanctions, civil remedies, negotiations, international standards and other legal avenues in their work.

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• Providing expert analysis: of who has benefited from corrupt activities, illicit financial flows and tax evasion, how undermining legal structures allow these economic injustices to take place and what can be done about it; including analysing legislation, contracts and treaties in the context of local and international standards.

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• Increasing accountability: by combining legal expertise, networks of lawyers, and a core staff team with a deep understanding of economic justice issues, we enable our client partners to hold powerful economic actors to account for their actions, including setting novel judicial precedents, including through strategic litigation, against corrupt financial institutions and multinational companies.

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• Educating and capacity building: by connecting ILP volunteer lawyers with law societies, civil society organisations and government departments, to share knowledge and skills through training and project collaboration, we enable those closest to the issues to face the legal and economic challenges they encounter. This balances the scales of power, ensuring they are equipped to sustain their knowledge and further build their skills.