Pro Bono service is an integral part of Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie’s (UUBO) firm culture. We firmly believe that we have a vital role to play in applying our legal expertise in strengthening and developing our community, and one of the ways we achieve this is through our pro bono work and particularly our partnerships with organisations like TrustLaw.
TrustLaw, the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters (the “Thomson Reuters Foundation”), empowers the global legal community to leverage its expertise in the public good and seeks to foster a vibrant and fair legal ecosystem that is accessible to all, especially marginalised communities.
As part of our ongoing partnership with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, we are thrilled that Ozofu ‘Latunde Ogiemudia, our Deputy Managing Partner and partner in the Corporate Advisory, Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Employment and Pro Bono teams was a panellist at the TrustLaw Pro Bono Index 2024 Launch Event.
Her panel session focused on the business case for pro bono work and the infrastructure that supports it, such as pro bono policies, committees, and coordinators, using Nigeria as a case study to explore areas of growth and resistance. She highlighted that measuring the amount of pro bono infrastructure of work done by Nigerian lawyers and law firms remains difficult due to limited public information and the lack of proper tracking of pro bono hours.
This underscores the need for a more structured approach to pro bono practice, including clear targets, policies, and hour tracking. Pro bono practice in Nigeria has experienced significant growth, supported by increased awareness and the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) initiatives, such as the Pro Bono Declarations in 2009 and 2015, along with the establishment of the NBA National Pro Bono Center.
We are equally pleased that our Pro Bono practice was featured in the 2024 TrustLaw Index of Pro Bono (the “Pro Bono Index”) providing essential data on pro bono hours tracking in Nigeria. The Pro Bono Index is a global benchmark report from the Thomson Reuters Foundation that highlights key trends and the scale of pro bono work worldwide. It is the first of its kind and currently the only global effort focused on measuring the worldwide impact of pro bono initiatives.
A case study conducted on pro bono hours per fee earner in Nigeria revealed that 32% of UUBO’s fee earners participate in pro bono work, contributing an average of 4.5 pro bono hours per fee earner. Additionally, the Pro Bono Index featured UUBO’s role in upholding the right to freedom of expression and challenging the unlawful arrest of journalists and citizens, notably in the wake of the #EndSARS protests in 2020, as well as the firm’s initiative to step up our pro bono practice, internally through formalising our pro bono policy, and externally through collaborating with our civil society and pro bono sector partners in our annual Pro Bono Connect Initiative to showcase ours and their pro bono work and impact.
At UUBO, we remain committed to ensuring that our pro bono initiatives reflect the diverse and dynamic communities we serve. We seek to align our contributions in the pro bono space with global agenda and international development by focusing on various sustainable development goals (“SDGs”) that align with our ethos such as SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 4 (quality education), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities), SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) and SDG 17 (strategic partnerships towards achieving SDGs).
We look forward to continuing to drive meaningful change through our pro bono efforts and contributing to positive social impact through UUBO pro bono!
