Introduction to the Blog Symposium - Building a Pro Bono Ecosystem in India

by TP Janani

Background

Pro Bono legal services refer to legal services provided by lawyers, law firms, etc., free of cost to those who cannot afford paid legal services. 

With only one lawyer available for every 18,609 individuals or a ratio of five lawyers per 100,000 people, the issue of access to legal services in India presents a substantial challenge. About 70% of prisoners in India are under trials, with many from marginalized communities often spending more time in jail than the actual punishment prescribed for the crimes they have been accused of (143rd report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice).

In India, normally, those who are unable to afford legal services can approach District / State Legal Services Authorities (LSAs), which have been established based on the Constitutional  mandate (Article 39A) to the State to provide free legal aid to ensure access to justice for all. LSAs are required to provide legal representation & related services free of cost to such individuals. However, owing to several institutional & implementation challenges, this framework falls short and there is a long way to go in terms of reach and impact. About 80% of India’s population (approx 110 crore in 2019) is eligible for free legal aid, but only a total of 1.5 crore persons (about 1.08%) have benefited during the period 1995-2019 through LSAs (India Justice Report 2019). 

Alternatively, those unable to afford legal services can also avail pro bono legal services voluntarily provided by lawyers, law firms, etc. In India, there is no mandatory requirement to provide such pro bono legal services and the ecosystem for such services is ad hoc and fragmented.

Further, legal aid clinics in law schools (required to be mandatorily set-up) provide legal aid support, including related services like:

• client counseling and follow-up para-legal assistance,

• assisting legal professionals providing pro bono services of district / state LSAs or social service organizations,

• carrying out field surveys,

• conducting legal awareness or legal literacy programs,

• facilitating mediation and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, etc.

However, Law School Clinics face critical barriers, including overworked faculty, lack of infrastructure and limited professional support. According to a recent report, out of 83 law school clinics, 37 clinics have engaged lawyers to assist in legal matters and 24 clinics have not engaged pro bono services of any lawyer or alumni.

Why this blog symposium?

In our mission to contribute to access to justice, we have been exploring ways in which the pro bono ecosystem in India can be strengthened and more structured, including the role that legal aid clinics in law schools can play in this process. 

We are interested in developing structures, tools and processes and promoting practices that are collaborative and empowering for those in need of legal aid, those providing such services and those who support / facilitate the ecosystem, like law school clinics. 

Key issues and questions the blog symposium would deal with

The blog symposium seeks to understand practices which have evolved over time and constraints faced by law school clinics in the process of providing / supporting pro bono services. 

It aims to focus on and understand the various practices which have evolved over time in the pro bono ecosystem, along with the concerns / challenges / shortcomings / needs of law school clinics, development sector individuals / organisations and lawyers / law firms involved in providing pro bono legal services.

This may include issues ranging from availability of bona fide pro bono service providers (on a timely basis), incentivising student and faculty members of law school clinics, lack of / limited support and lack of locally relevant and simplified material for awareness campaigns.

In addition to the above, below is an indicative list of other aspects the blog might touch upon:

• objectives with which the respective organisation / clinic was set up,

• the organisation / clinic’s composition,

• physical location or community in which the pro bono work is carried out,

• different kinds of pro bono services provided,

• other functions the organisation / clinic may be engaged in,

• method of functioning / dealing with pro bono work and the various tasks involved in the process,

• how the organisation / clinic reaches out to and works with lawyers / law firms for legal advice, legal representation, etc.,

• experience-sharing, including observations, patterns, future opportunities, what processes / methods / tools have worked well (and what has not).

This blog symposium aims to bring together a diverse set of reflections from law school clinics, development sector individuals / organisations and academicians, who will explore more useful and usable ways of engaging with the Indian pro bono ecosystem. We are keen to be able to build a community of practice, and learn and share ideas and approaches on how to make the pro bono ecosystem work for everyone who cannot afford legal services. 

This symposium is aimed to be an ongoing set of reflections over the coming months. It will continue publishing blogs on an ongoing basis and will be available as a freely accessible resource on the Justice Adda website.

Submission details 

In case you are interested in contributing to this blog symposium, please write to addaconnect@justiceadda.com, along with an abstract of the proposed blog submission (not more than 200 words). If your blog abstract is selected, you will be informed of the same and you can send us your final blog submission (not more than 1500 words) within 2 months of intimation.

(Janani is Operations Co-ordinator at Justice Adda.)