Alberto Alemanno and The Good Lobby Team: The Good Lobby

 

I’ve recently established The Good Lobby, a skill-based volunteering network that makes academics, legal professionals (in-house lawyers and lawyers), and students available on a pro bono basis to support non-governmental organisations working on key social and political issues at the European level and beyond. The Good Lobby does not engage in any actual lobby. We support legal and policy advocacy carried out by NGOs across Europe, we foster pro bono collaborations, we carry out advocacy training, and we connect communities of public interest actors.

My team and I are launching several key actions in Spring and Summer 2017 in which you are hereby kindly invited to partake:

• The European Pro Bono Masterclass: This half-day training, whose first edition will take place on Friday 24 March, in Brussels, aims at instilling a culture of pro bono in a new generation of EU public interest lawyers. Through interactive, skill-based sessions covering both the theoretical and practical foundations of pro bono and public interest lawyering, participants will have a unique opportunity to learn how to provide and receive pro bono advice in the EU (more information and registration here).
• The Good Lobby Inaugural Event & Launch of the EU Pro Bono Awards: Our inaugural event will take place on Thursday 22 June 2017, in Brussels and will be opened by a key note by the EU Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly. The aim is to bring together EU officials, legal professionals, civil society actors and academics to publicly build a case for pro bono in Europe. On this occasion, The Good Lobby, its partners and sponsors will also officially launch the European Pro Bono Awards to acknowledge the most successful instances of pro bono co-operation between citizen experts and civil society organizations that have been carried out within the past twelve months.
• The Good Lobby Advocacy School: The Advocacy School which is scheduled on Friday 23 June 2017, in Brussels will provide junior lawyers, young academics, and activists from all over Europe the opportunity to receive a one-day training on EU advocacy and pro bono. Through workshops, discussions and role-plays, participants will have the possibility to share their experience and gain some practical skills on how to receive and provide advocacy advice at the EU level.

We believe that these initiatives represent an exciting opportunity for you, whether you are a lawyer, an academic, professional or a student, and will show your commitment in supporting public interest works at the EU level.

Please consider joining our community of pro bono experts by registering here and do not hesitate to contact me at alemanno@hec.fr or our team at alexandre@thegoodlobby.eu
You can also browse The Good Lobby website and join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.

Kind regards,

Alberto Alemanno and The Good Lobby Team