Our focus
We facilitate access to law through our leading legal services and programmes
Through TrustLaw, the world’s largest pro bono legal service, we connect civil society organisations and social enterprises on the frontlines of social or environmental change with free legal support and empower law firms and in-house legal departments to strengthen pro bono practice across the globe.
Our Legal Service for Independent Media offers tailored legal support for newsrooms and journalists to mitigate operational vulnerabilities and continue to cover public interest stories and hold power to account without fear of retribution. Additionally, as a founding member of the Legal Network for Journalists at Risk, we can refer those under direct legal threat for specialised legal counsel, including legal defence, trial monitoring and redress for rights violations.
Our customised legal programmes, deploy a suite of capacity-building initiatives, legal research, practical tools and resources to tackle critical human rights issues, such as climate change, LGBTQ+ rights and women’s rights.
Our unparalleled global reach and vast networks allow us to leverage a unique blend of media and legal interventions to address societal challenges at scale, from bolstering the rights of the most disadvantaged to building the foundations for independent media to thrive.
Our Objectives
Empowering the Legal Community
To leverage its know-how and expertise in the public interest.
Increase Access to Legal Expertise
Enabling high-impact civil society organisations, social enterprises, and journalists to build free, fair, and informed societies.
Our impact
Organisations supported
Our legal network counts over 6,500 civil society organisations, social enterprises and independent media across almost 200 countries as part of our network. Each has access to free legal support from 1,200 law firms.
Pro bono hours
Through our services, leading legal teams have contributed the equivalent of more than $271 million in legal know-how and brainpower, supporting the needs of organisations on the frontlines of social change.
Connections
To date, we have facilitated over 10,000 pro bono connections around the world. Behind each of these connections are thousands of lawyers donating their time and expertise to civil society organisations, social enterprises and independent media.
Our impact quotes
View more stories
Working with TrustLaw has helped us develop and embed in our team a passion for pro bono work. The quality of projects that we have the opportunity to work on and support is excellent, and in many cases, we have formed an enduring relationship with these clients. We are proud of the strides we make each year in our pro bono practice and this would not have been possible without the tremendous support we receive from TrustLaw.
Impact stories
All impact stories
From advocacy to change: Colombia outlaws child marriage
TrustLaw, our pro bono legal service, facilitated legal research that was used to bolster the advocacy efforts of two NGOs campaigning to end child marriage.
Read more
Conservation, Health, and Community: The Legal Lifeline Boosting Uganda’s Wetlands and Wellbeing
This impact story is part of a series to celebrate the extraordinary pro bono projects undertaken by legal teams to…
Read more
Advancing Inclusion: The Pro Bono Journey Toward Empowering Asia’s Rainbow Families
This impact story is part of a series to celebrate the extraordinary pro bono projects undertaken by legal teams to support NGOs and social…
Read more
Resources
All resources
Practical and legal tools to protect the safety of journalists
The Thomson Reuters Foundation – in collaboration with UNESCO, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) and the International News Safety Institute (INSI) – has developed a suite of…
View more
TrustLaw Index of Pro Bono 2022
The TrustLaw Index of Pro Bono is the only global survey measuring the amount of pro bono practised by law firms across the world. By highlighting features of successful pro bono programmes and providing benchmarks on pro bono participation and…
View more
Championing Pro Bono: A Guide to Assessing and Strengthening Your Pro Bono Work
TrustLaw works with legal teams, both law firms and in-house teams, globally to achieve our mission of spreading the practice of pro bono worldwide. We assess…
View moreOur Partners
TrustLaw Giving ProgrammeGiving Programme Partners
We are deeply grateful to our partners who provide ongoing support for our work through our Giving Programme. Their generosity is critical in enabling us to continue mobilising pro bono to serve the growing needs of the most vulnerable communities around the world.
Get in touch
Cross-sector collaboration is essential to closing the justice gap. We are interested to hear from organisations who share our mission of building a more just and equitable world.
Get in touch to find out more about working with us.