Pro Bono Deutschland e.V. – Your portal on pro bono legal advice in Germany

Welcome to Pro Bono Deutschland e.V.

Pro Bono Deutschland e.V. was founded in February 2011. Our members are law firms and lawyers practising law in Germany. Our statutory objective is to support corporate citizenship in the area of pro bono (gratuitous) legal advice for the common good, especially for charitable purposes.

Pro Bono Deutschland e.V. is committed to social justice, democracy and the rule of law and to the recognition of human rights in particular. As a matter of principle, our pro bono activities are non-political.

Pro Bono Week 2023

20.-24.11.2023

Pro Bono Day Deutschland 2023

21.11.2023

Pro Bono Week traditionally recognises the role of pro bono lawyers in Europe in supporting civil society and promoting access to justice. The aim of Pro Bono Week is to bring together the various pro bono actors – lawyers, students and civil society organisations – to discuss important issues relating to the need for justice and the importance of pro bono.

Agenda 2023 PDF

2021 European Pro Bono Week from PILnet on Vimeo.

10 Year Anniversary Pro Bono Deutschland e.V.

>> Anniversary Video

Press Release

This is what Pro Bono Deutschland e.V. offers….

Informing our members on pro bono issues and the wider field of Corporate Social Responsibility

Members are hosting pro bono roundtables in Frankfurt approximately every six weeks to discuss pro bono and wider CSR issues. Dial-in is provided for those who cannot join in person or are located outside of Frankfurt. Meeting minutes are provided as a follow-up to every roundtable.

Our annual pro bono event is another important element of our offering for members. A new, topical theme is chosen each year by the members.

Liaising with legal professional institutions

We are regularly liaising with the German Lawyers‘ Association (Deutscher Anwaltverein, DAV), the German Bar Association (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer, BRAK), local lawyers‘ assocations (Anwaltvereine) and local bar associations (Rechtsanwaltskammern).
The German Lawyers‘ Association has emerged as an important contact for pro bono issues and CSR. Several meetings on joint initiatives with the German Lawyers’ Association to further integrate pro bono legal advice in the German legal sector have taken place in the past.

Supporting pro bono for law students

We liaise with law clinics and law student initiatives to support pro bono in legal education in Germany. We also support networking between those organisations mainly by financial contributions to their annual networking events.

In 2016 and 2017, we additionally sponsored a legal internship for the CCBE/German Lawyers‘ Association’s project „European Lawyers in Lesvos“ (ELiL).

Supporting pro bono infrastructure

To build pro bono infrastructure in Germany, our association, together with some of our member firms, sponsors the German pro bono clearinghouse run by UPJ e.V.

We also sponsor the annual PILnet Pro Bono Forum to network and share best practice on a global and European level. The Forum brings together hundreds of representatives from NGOs, law firms, legal professional institutions and the political sector each year.

This is what Pro Bono Deutschland e.V. DOESN’T offer

Pro bono legal advice

Distribution of pro bono requests to members, law firms or lawyers

Pro Bono Rechtsberatung - Rechtsprechung

More information on pro bono legal advice and Pro Bono Deutschland e.V.

Legal advice for individuals

Pro bono legal advice for organisations

Articles of Association (German)