It is widely recognized that the majority of indigent persons in Nigeria and across the world lack access to lawyers in civil matters, even when threatened with the loss of their residences, widows applying for probate grants with respect to their husbands estate, or when seeking divorces, recompense for violations of their civil rights be it in cases of domestic violence or breach of their fundamental rights.
Our pro bono commitment is key to who we are and we believe that all lawyers have a moral obligation to do pro bono work.
We encourage our lawyers to devote some percentage of their time to pro bono work and we make clear to all lawyers that we expect them to do this work. We pride ourselves in a long history of public service, embodied today in our unparalleled pro bono program. Every lawyer at the firm is active in pro bono work.
Our lawyers participate in pro bono projects every year. By partnering with the Nigeria Bar Association, we take up 20 pro bono cases every year. At the heart of our pro bono program is a deep commitment to bringing the best possible legal representation to the most under-served and frequently overlooked populace.
We are extremely proud of the work we do. Our attorneys work with individual clients daily to resolve legal issues that could otherwise leave them and their families devastated. While these matters are not always widely publicized, our work enables basic necessities of life to be provided to our clients. We are committed to the defense of fundamental rights.
Our pro bono work includes the defense of prisoners on death row and accused persons awaiting trials. In fostering our pro bono work, the firm has also partnered with Trustlaw. TrustLaw is the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono legal programme and it connects high-impact NGOs and social enterprises working to create social and environmental change with the best law firms and corporate legal teams to provide them with free legal assistance. We are proud to be affiliated to this worldwide network.
Once corruption sets in, you can never distinguish between who is right and who is wrong. - Oputa JSC. (Rtd)