Firm news | December 29, 2022
Pro bono legal work is important
Giving back to society is an essential part of being an attorney. At Roschier, we have a long tradition of working pro bono, sharing our knowledge where it is needed, and it is something we actively develop in a systematic way. We focus our pro bono work mainly to organizations working with children and youth, the environment, and entrepreneurship and innovation.
“Working pro bono means that we provide legal advice for free, for non-profit organizations. It is voluntary work for the common good”, says Senior Associate Elina Saxlin-Hautamäki. She continues:
“The work we do for our pro bono clients is equally important as work done for our other clients. As attorneys at-law, we have an important role in society, and we should use our knowledge and expertise for the common good.”
We work closely with several organizations in both Sweden and Finland. Among them is the Skill Shift Initiative (Beredskapslyftet), which recently has focused on helping fleeing Ukrainians find accommodation, work and a purpose in Sweden and Finland. Lastenklinikoiden Kummit ry (the Association of Friends of the University Children’s hospitals) is another non-profit organization that relies on us for diverse legal assistance. John Nurminen Foundation, working to preserve the Baltic Sea, Reach for Change, an organization that supports young social entrepreneurs, and Junior Achievement, an organization working to teach children and young people entrepreneurial, working life, and economic skills and to discover their strengths, are some of the other organizations we work with.
“We assist our pro bono clients with issues related to business law, since that is our specialty. They may need our assistance when entering into new agreements of any type, renewing their structure, or applying for financial aid. It is very rewarding to see the organizations we work with develop over time, and it feels good to be a small part of their success,” explains Senior Associate Vicky Kaufmann.
Those who are interested in participating in Roschier’s pro bono work can join the pro bono team, and work is allocated depending on what type of expertise our pro bono partners need.
Senior Associate John Park underlines that pro bono work isn’t just for show:
“We don’t do pro bono work just to boast about it, this is really something that reflects our values, of which one is “ethics”, and pro bono falls smoothly under this section. We also try to recruit people to Roschier who share our values and find these things important”.
Ami Paanajärvi is pro bono responsible partner in Finland and she agrees with John: “Working pro bono is important for Roschier as a firm. It is part of our DNA as attorneys, and has been so for a long time, even if the importance of giving back has grown over time. The Bar Associations expect us to contribute to society, our employees expect us to offer them this opportunity, and our clients expect us to share our legal knowledge for the greater good. We have an established process for assessing new pro bono clients and requests and are very proud of our pro bono collaborations”.
If you want to hear more about our pro bono work, listen to the Swedish and Finnish versions of our podcast A Cup of, where Elina, Vicky and John share their experiences. In the Swedish Bar Association’s podcast “Advokatsamfundspodden“, the Head of our Stockholm office Pontus Enquist participated in a discussion about business law firms and pro bono work.