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Pro bono crusaders

Group takes the concept of free legal aid in the Czech Republic and runs with it

July 30th, 2008 issue

By Kateřina Kobylka

JAN PŘEROVSKÝ/THE PRAGUE POST
Pro Bono Centrum founder Vítězslav Dohnal says so far seven law firms have signed on to help.
Pro Bono Centrum


Senovážné nám. 24
Prague 1
Tel.: 776 834 534
E-mail: vdohnal@pilaw.cz
Web: www.probonocentrum.cz
FOR THE POST
The newly opened Pro Bono Centrum off náměstí Republiky may not give the ideal first impression: The office is small, cramped and quite messy. But, in this case, looks don’t mean much. Rather, it’s the center’s unique goals that make it a standout here in the Czech Republic, where the idea of “free” legal aid is still an evolving concept.
Started by the Public Interest Lawyers Association (PILA), the Pro Bono Centrum, which officially opened June 25, is one of the few places in the country that helps facilitate open communication — and mutual cooperation — between nongovernmental organizations, law firms and individual lawyers.
“In working with law students, judges and attorneys in cooperation with other NGOs, we found that there is a big gap in access to legal help. Attorneys are expensive, and there is no state system of free legal help [in this country],” said Vítězslav Dohnal, head of PILA and founder of the Pro Bono Centrum.
After only a month, the center seems to be flourishing.
Dohnal says he and his colleagues have already begun working on a few cases, including ones involving the mentally disabled and property rights.
The main goal of the project is to simply “help some NGOs and people with their legal problems,” Dohnal said. “We do not know how many cases we will be handling in the first year. The Hungarian International NGO center, [which has provided soft support to the Prague center], said we might get fewer than 50 cases. Of course, it’s not going to solve the legal problems in the Czech Republic. But still, it is good to help 50 people.”
Advocates agree: Any assistance is better than nothing at all.
“Pro bono is only just beginning to emerge here, and I hope it is just a matter of time [before that changes],” said Kateřina Hrubá from Zvůle Práva, one of the NGOs signed on to work with the Prague pro bono center.
So far, seven law firms have signed on to help, and Dohnal said he is confident that number will soon rise to 10. So far, the pro-bono group has reached out to about 20 different law firms, all of whom, according to Dohnal, have expressed extreme interest in the project.
“In our project, we have a majority of international law firms. In our interviews, we found that the concept of pro bono is more known by international firms,” Dohnal said. And yet, the need for free legal aid is a constant presence here.  
The center’s structure and motto — “access to the law is everyone’s right” — was influenced by what similar centers are doing around the world. The International Hungarian NGO center, for example, started in Budapest three years ago and supports pro bono development in Central and Eastern Europe.
Of course, being a new project, clients won’t materialize out of thin air, and the Prague-based center has been tirelessly working to get its name out to the public.
Becoming a client is a straightforward process.
As Dohnal explained, people looking for free legal help have to sign a general cooperation contract and a confidentiality agreement. The request must be filed through an NGO three weeks before any official court date or deadline for submitting a lawsuit or formal interview with the police.
The time requirement is not merely a formality.
“We need to go through the request to make sure it is well prepared and ask a lawyer to take on the case,” Dohnal said.  
After researching pro bono systems in other countries, including Hungary, Poland and the United States, Dohnal and his colleagues at PILA decided to set up the Pro Bono Centrum as a systematic approach to dealing with pro bono cases in the Czech Republic.
The group’s effort seems to be turning heads all over the capital.  
“I believe the opening of the Pro Bono clearinghouse will contribute to expanding the practice of pro bono work here, generating important benefits for the legal community and to Czech society at large,” noted U.S. Ambassador Richard Graber.
There has also been overwhelming support from the NGO community as well. Dohnal said that many well-known organizations immediately posted information about the Prague-based pro bono center on their Web sites shortly after it opened. The group also received signed contracts from NGOs it had never heard of before, Dohnal said.  
“If you speak with any NGO that provides some legal services, counseling for citizens, other NGOs or communities,” Dohnal noted, “they will tell you they are overloaded with requests for legal help, which means there is a really big need” for a pro bono center here.
The center is sponsored by the Open Society Fund Praha for the next two years. Looking down the road, however, “it would be nice to get financial support from law firms for the services we will provide for them,” Dohnal said.
More than anything, Dohnal said, the Pro Bono Centrum wants to instill cooperation between NGOs and law firms so they will know and understand each other and hopefully be able to cooperate outside of the program in the future.
“It seems it will work this way. We also hope and believe that Czech lawyers and law firms in the Czech Republic will be more sensitive to human rights and public interest protection,” Dohnal said.
Kateřina Kobylka can be reached at specialsection@praguepost.com


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