DLA Piper strengthens social commitment with pro bono roundtable

DLA Piper, together with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, organised a Pro Bono Roundtable at Haus am Schottentor on November 22, 2023. The event kicked-off a new initiative aiming to bring lawyers and non-profit organizations together to discuss pro bono projects, find effective solutions and create valuable collaborations.

DLA Piper's Vienna office, together with its global network, has been successfully implementing pro bono projects for many years, supporting charitable institutions and organizations with free legal advice. At the recent roundtable event, the pro bono team from DLA Piper Vienna, alongside Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, discussed possible joint pro bono initiatives with representatives from Binder Grösswang, Cerha Hempel, FSM, HSP, KWR Karasek Wietrzyk and Diakonie and shared best practice examples from their practice. In addition to an exchange of experiences, the agenda also included the presentation of potential joint pro bono measures and discussions on current legal challenges in the social sector. The kick-off event was organized together with Freshfields' pro bono team and marks the beginning of a cooperation between several law firms with the aim of doing pro bono work together. In future, regular meetings will be held for this purpose.

DLA Piper partner and head of the pro bono practice at the firm’s Vienna office, Claudine Vartian, along with DLA Piper lawyers Armin Redl, Alexander Schultmeyer and Junior Associate Naomi McDuffie helped organise the event and were delighted with the lively exchange and hopes that this will encourage other firms to increase their pro bono activities:

Claudine Vartian, DLA Head of the pro bono practice at the firm’s Vienna office, commented: "The Pro Bono Roundtable not only promotes meaningful work, but is a great initiative to share many years of expertise and provide impetus, mobilize resources and work together to solve social problems."

Susanna Paulweber, Head of Social and Tenancy Law and Child Protection Officer at Diakonie Flüchtlingsdienst, thanked DLA Piper for its long-standing cooperation and adds: "We deeply welcome DLA Piper's initiative to promote voluntary advice. This commitment enables a stronger connection between the legal sector and non-profit organisations, which ultimately helps to use legal resources more effectively and help deliver it where it is needed most."