The Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprint is a community day of action that brings together volunteers from different entities to work together on substantive pro bono projects. You will have the opportunity to work on projects under key areas that need advocacy:
- Children's rights are human rights
- Equity and opportunity for vulnerable populations
- Strengthening justice systems and communities
All work related to the Sprint is conducted during the Sprint. Volunteers are trained at the start of the session and then divided into small teams to work on specific assignments. The volunteers wrap their work after three hours, then come together to reflect on the substantive legal work.
Register below to join or email us if you'd like to be added to our distribution list.
Upcoming Sprints
Asia Pacific |
EMEA |
Americas |
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April 22 |
April 23 |
April 24 |
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Stop and Search: Focus on Real Rights of Children
(APAC, EMEA and Americas)
A young girl is walking down a road alone when a law enforcement officer stops her and starts to question her. They ask her where she is going. What is she doing? Who was she with? Where are her friends now? Young people need answers to know what they should do.
Through work on this pro bono project, volunteers will help answer key questions from young people to help children and youth understand their rights when they come in contact with law enforcement. From every country around the globe, children seek to understand whether, in societies where you are free to enjoy public spaces without being hindered by government authority, what obligations a young person has when they are stopped, questioned, frisked or investigated by law enforcement. They want to know what the law requires and how youth should respond to adult police without waving their rights. This volunteer work will contribute to a resource used by children and advocates for children, to educate and empower them to realize their own rights. This critical work will feed into the ongoing Real Rights Project being finalized for the Global Initiative on Justice With Children and the Terre des hommes Foundation.
For the benefit of Terre des hommes Foundation
Child Climate Migrants – Protecting Displaced Children of the World Crossing Borders Seeking Safety
(APAC, EMEA and Americas)
Natural disasters have become the leading cause of global displacement across the globe. In 2018, the United Nations estimates that 17.2 million people were displaced because of hurricanes, floods or other disasters. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported growth of that number to nearly 25 million people in 140 countries displaced due to weather-related incidents in 2019, and it is expected to grow to more than 200 million per year by 2050.
While the world debates how to address these crises, it is ignored that children are a huge part of this displaced population. UNICEF estimates that it includes 20,000 children displaced across the world every day. To find solutions to the challenge of children wandering across borders alone and unprotected, we need to examine what each country does when an unaccompanied child flees a climate disaster alone, what laws are there to account for their protection and care and how they can access justice. Volunteers will provide this critical work to International Children's Justice Alliance for presentation at the upcoming World Congress on Justice With Children.
For the benefit of International Children's Justice Alliance
Street Rights for Mothers: Global Laws Impacting Mothers and Kids
(EMEA and Americas)
Beatrice, a young mother living in poor conditions in Durban, struggles to provide for her two small children by selling water bottles on the street. One day, the police threaten to remove her children from her care, citing her inability to properly look after them while working.
This is a common scenario for mothers such as Beatrice in South Africa and in other countries. Young mothers risk their children being removed from their care when they take them onto the street whilst working. We are seeking to understand the legal basis which entitles the State to do this and mothers’ rights to get their children back. Pro bono volunteers on this project will focus on understanding the legal rights of children and young mothers in various challenging situations. This global research will contribute to creating resources that educate and empower children and advocates to realize their rights. The work will benefit Street Rights, a British NGO focused on redefining human rights law so they work for street children.
For the benefit of Street Rights
View more details on the event
Save the date!
Asia Pacific |
Americas |
EMEA |
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June 17 |
June 18 |
June 19 |
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Asia Pacific |
EMEA |
Americas |
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October 14 |
October 15 |
October 16 |
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December 9 |
December 10 |
December 11 |
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More details including project options will be available closer to the event date. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Justice in Action?![]()
"Justice in Action" is our name for a legal sprint - a short set of hours where volunteers work together on pro bono projects - virtually - just as they might at a live clinic. The term "sprint" just means that the event will be short and full of content. When the time is up, each volunteer's commitment is complete, even if they are not finished. We will pick up the remaining work at the next event!
Is Justice in Action a non-profit organization? Is it a registered entity for donating or volunteering platforms?![]()
Justice in Action is a pro bono project of Baker McKenzie and not a non-profit. We will inform volunteers the non-profit organization clients for whom each project is completed. If your organization uses a donating or volunteering platform to record time for pro bono, we kindly ask that you directly nominate or record your time to the organization that we will provide (not Baker McKenzie or Justice in Action).
What projects will be offered at these Justice in Action sprints?![]()
The virtual format and collection of many volunteers at one time allows us to do more than one project at each sprint. The projects we are working on in the sprints are not direct representation, but rather focused on research and analysis to create capacity-building tools for vulnerable populations and others who need to understand the law.
Is CLE credit offered?![]()
CLE credit is usually available for the substantive training (1.0 hour).
How is Justice in Action being conducted virtually?![]()
Participants work together using Zoom as a communication tool and Miro boards as a working collaboration tool. A Miro board is an online whiteboard that allows everyone to work on the same platform at the same time seeing each other's work. Everyone works on the same board during the sprint and all the materials and work product is on that board. It is easy to get a free account at www.miro.com.
Who can attend the Justice in Action sprints?![]()
All are welcome! Justice in Action is open to in-house lawyers and professionals - no experience or legal expertise is needed. Projects will cover multiple jurisdictions - folks can come from anywhere to join this virtual event.
Do participants have to stay for the entire Justice in Action session?![]()
Given the nature of the work to be completed, we ask all participants to stay for the duration. Every participant is an essential part of each project team!
Do participants need any experience, pre-work or training in advance?![]()
No. The first hour of the session will include training on the project and on the online platform we use to input the legal research findings (Miro). Volunteers need not do anything in advance of the Justice in Action session to prepare! We have run Justice in Action upwards of 100+ times and our participants consistently feel fully prepared when they complete the training!
Will participants be working in a group or alone?![]()
Everyone will work in teams. If you are coming with colleagues, please note on the Zoom registration that you are participating as a team with your colleagues and note the name of your company or individuals with whom you'd like to work. If you are coming solo or are happy to work with other organizations, please note on the Zoom registration that you are participating as an individual and we will gladly team you up with other participants.
What do participants do when the Justice in Action session is over?![]()
You are done! If your group did not finish your assigned section, others will complete it after the sprint. If you want to continue working on the project on your own time, we welcome that and can make arrangements with volunteers individually by email after the session.
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Pro Bono Institute Recognizes Baker McKenzie’s commitment to Justice in Action
We have been recognized as a 2023 Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) Partner Awardee for work undertaken through its Justice In Action initiative, alongside a host of corporate clients, who share Baker McKenzie’s commitment to social justice.