Pro Bono 2016: an Overview

Through pro bono work and as members of the Pro Bono Commission of the Colegio de Abogados de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Bar Association), Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal fulfills its social responsibility remit by providing legal advice to social organizations in the third sector and individuals in particular, on a variety of subjects including minority, disability, education, gender violence, and diversity.

During 2016, we once again reached our objective of bringing the law to people and vulnerable sectors of our community so they may have access to justice thanks to the commitment of the professionals of the firm who maintained the high volume work of the year before.

Through the pro bono initiative, during 2016 we advised more than 70 foundations, associations and non-governmental organizations and accompanied dozens of people in situations of vulnerability so they were able to defend their rights and obtain advice and sponsorship from a law firm for free. We kept our commitment to the investigation and development of legal sciences in social interest matters, participating and organizing dissertations and conferences and working with over 20 law firms worldwide in overall to contribute to build a better path through social inclusion.

2016 overview

i. Familias de Esperanza

Reaffirming our commitment with the children’s home Familias de Esperanza, we continue to offer legal advice together with Bullo Law Firm and Dr. Alejandro Molina.

Driven by the conviction that children should not be reduced to mere records, we work on each one of the cases in a personalized and multidisciplinary way, continually giving support to the professionals of the institution from the moment the children arrive at the home until they find a new family or recover their own one.

During 2016, around 100 children went through this children’s home.

ii. Justicia 2020

We participated in the creation of the framework agreement between the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, and the Pro Bono Work Commission in Public Interest of the Buenos Aires Bar Association, through which a program to offer pro bono legal sponsorship was created to advise residents of the 21-24, 31 and 31 bis “villas” (shanty towns) of the City of Buenos Aires.

iii. Comunidad de las Siervas de Jesús de la Caridad

During the past four years, the firm has participated, from a legal standpoint, in the construction and creation of a care home for adults of the Comunidad de las Siervas de Jesús de la Caridad in the Balvanera neighborhood, which was finally opened last year.

Professionals from diverse areas intervened in the contractual aspects as in the conveyance of donations and the paperwork with the UIF.

The home has a capacity to host 50 adults and has first level equipment. It was inaugurated and opened its doors in 2016.

We start off 2017 taking on new challenges, in the hope that the same convictions and motivations that brought us where we are now will guide us to accomplish these objectives.