Thomson Reuters Foundation launches pro bono legal service

TrustLaw provides a free online matching service promoting the practice of pro bono legal work. It will also become the first international information hub on anti-corruption and governance issues.

Glocer told staff in an internal message: “Here's how it works: If you are an NGO, a social entrepreneur or even a government in need, you can contact TrustLaw Connect and be put in touch with leading law firms with specialist skills in the area where you need help. They will give you some of the best legal advice available, for free. This is the essence of pro bono – offering a free service for the public good.”

TrustLaw creates a new free international marketplace for pro bono projects. “I've spoken to a number of legal managing partners and they are really getting behind TrustLaw as a way to meet their social responsibilities,” Glocer, himself a lawyer, said. “Big name law firms including Freshfields, Clifford Chance and Baker & McKenzie are among some 190 organizations signed up to TrustLaw Connect already.”

Glocer said the idea for TrustLaw first came from Thomson Reuters’ own clients. “We asked NGO members of our AlertNet humanitarian website what service they needed most that we could assist them with, and they told us it was legal advice.

“Foundation CEO Monique Villa and her team have done an outstanding job in turning this idea into a reality. It adds to the Foundation's excellent work in launching its Emergency Information Service to help the people of Haiti after January's earthquake, and to the long-established program for training journalists in developing countries.” ■