Services for NGOs

The Human Rights Commission of the Geneva Bar Association has set up a Pro Bono Platform aimed at putting in contact, on the one hand, NGOs established in Geneva that meet a certain number of criteria and, on the other hand, lawyers willing to provide them with free legal support in their areas of expertise.
The application form as well as the information on the admission criteria and the procedure to allocate grants can be found on the website of the Geneva Bar Association.

CAGI has partnered with TrustLaw to facilitate free legal assistance to International Geneva NGOs. TrustLaw is a global programme of the Thomson Reuters Foundation that connects the world’s leading legal teams to provide free legal assistance to organizations working for social and environmental change, according to certain eligibility criteria. This service is completely free.

Be sure to indicate in your application that your organization is supported by CAGI. Since CAGI is an official referral partner of TrustLaw, your application will be fast tracked.

How can you benefit from this programme ?

To access this pro bono support, you must create an account and start your application (applicants are encouraged to provide as much information as possible on the application form to facilitate its processing).

Impact and ressources

Trust Law provides assistance and legal advice, including in human resources, contract drafting, and advice on the legal structure of organizations (some examples of their recent projects). Trust Law also publishes resources analyzing and comparing national and international legal frameworks on issues such as digital rights related to AI, data protection, and human rights.

Process of finding free legal assistance

On average, it takes approximately one month to find free legal assistance through TrustLaw. The process is as follows (described in the FAQ under the question “what is the process to submit an offer of assistance”):

• Organisations can apply for TrustLaw membership via Register – TrustLaw.
• The membership application will be vetted by the TrustLaw team. You will be notified within two weeks of the outcome.
• If approved for membership, you can use your login details for the TrustLaw web portal to submit a request for legal assistance. If you are a for-profit newsroom you will not have access to the TrustLaw web portal, and you will be contacted via email to support with facilitating legal assistance.
• The TrustLaw legal team will set up a call with you to discuss the legal request.
• Following the call, the request for assistance will be edited, with your approval, and then posted on our secure website. Our network of law firm members will be able to see your project and make offers of assistance.
• After one week of the project being posted, TrustLaw will advise if you have had any offers of assistance from a legal team.
• There is no need to log in to your account to check for offers – you will be notified if you have received an offer. If you do not hear from us, it means that you have not yet received any offers.
• If you have received one offer or more, please select which legal team you would like to work with within 48 hours. We will introduce you to the legal team by email and you will then start working with the legal team on the project.
• If you have not had any offers of assistance after one week, TrustLaw will continue to seek free legal assistance for up to three months. TrustLaw cannot guarantee that you will receive an offer.
• Following the introduction to the legal team, TrustLaw will check in with you and the legal team to ensure the legal project is progressing and provide support if required.
• At the end of the project you will be asked to provide feedback to TrustLaw about using the TrustLaw service.
• Please also refer to this guide  which outlines your responsibilities throughout the duration of the project.