International Legal Evangelism: Intelligence, Reconnaissance & Missions

these projects come from all disciplines, a diverse array of practice sectors and from law
firms, public interest organizations, universities and the private practice.
Unlike many other organizations working with pro bono components, the LWOB model
is not a linking, matching agency or clearinghouse. LWOB designs and manages project
collaboratives working side-by-side with lawyers and law firms. Law firm collaborations
launch with detailed Task Descriptions or Terms of Reference). LWOB’s own in-house
lawyers, provide personal program oversight and management from start to finish. Our
in-house teams stand at the ready to complete any task that our law firm partners, for
any reason, may not be able to complete or deliver on time. The tasking of work for pro
bono lawyers is tailored to ensure that the demands of their practice do not compromise
their pro bono work and vice versa. LWOB has determined that the key is to integrate
and configure the pro bono elements in a way that will not risk program delivery or
program quality. This ensures program stability and addresses any concerns some may
have about programs that utilize substantial pro bono cost-share components.
Ultimately, LWOB designs its projects with mechanisms to ensure it can deliver the
product completely and on time. LWOB selects its partners carefully, ensuring that they
are all mindful of the seriousness of the LWOB commitments to project funders, project
budgets, deliverables, and timetables. LWOB collaborative partners treat LWOB and its
projects with the same level of attention and commitment that they apply to their feepaying
clients.
LWOB develops the programming typically supported by grants that cover the hard
costs of producing the pro bono work product or deliverable. We commit to our pro bono
partners that their work “will never end up in a file drawer.” Where 3rd party financial
underwriting is not available, LWOB will often tap into an array of in-kind supporters to
self-fund and implement worthwhile programs. The ongoing Liberia Digest Project (now
10 years old) is one such project that launched with 3rd party funding in 2008, but
continues now with generous pro bono and in-kind support from Linklaters and
Thomson Reuters.
While our work is apolitical and neutrally oriented, security issues that have arisen
around the world prevent us from disclosing the location and timetables of our work in
real time. We hope you will appreciate that our effort to keep our volunteers safe and
out of harm’s way is paramount and essential to the long-term sustainability of our pro
bono model.
Africa
LWOB programming and capacity building efforts (includes trial observation) and
collaborations in Africa have included the following: Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda,
Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra
Leone and Namibia. LWOB is actively engaged in programming in one or more of those
regions at any given time.
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