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Pro Bono Projects - Europe
Community Building
Our European offices are constantly involved in projects to improve their surrounding communities. Recently, lawyers in our German offices advised on the construction and financing of a community center near Dusseldorf with estimated costs of €1.2 million. The firm assisted local organizations to set up a financing structure to fund the development of the center and advised on corporate governance issues related to the project.
International Tribunals
Since 2000, Shearman & Sterling lawyers have provided legal assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), dedicating over 20,000 hours to the cause. Attorneys from firm offices around the globe collaborate on large research projects. Additionally the Firm has organized and led several trial advocacy seminars in Arusha, Tanzania for the staff of the Office of the Prosecutor. The Firm has an externship at the tribunal, sending an attorney to the OTP each month.
Micro-Finance & Development
FINCA, one of the world's leading micro-credit organizations, receives legal advice from our London, Frankfurt, Washington, DC, Paris, San Francisco and New York offices. FINCA operates village banks that provide loans to low-income families and micro-entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia and South and Central America.
Human Rights
Shearman & Sterling attorneys have assisted with multiple human rights causes including massive, multi- jurisdictional projects. In the past year, attorneys in our New York, London, Washington, DC, Paris, Frankfurt, Menlo Park and Singapore offices assisted the Open Society Justice Initiative to file a legal brief with the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The brief concerned a landmark case involving the development of legal norms concerning racial discrimination and violence. In early July, the Grand Chamber returned a decision affirming in substantial part its first-ever findings of racial discrimination in breach of Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights.
Arts
Advice has been given to German museums related to acceptance of donations of art. Corporate governance advice is provided to an arts-related organization fostering the exchange of creative ideas between American and German artists.
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