Justice in Action

The Justice in Action Pro Bono Sprint is a community day of action that brings together volunteers from different entities to work together on substantive pro bono projects. You will have the opportunity to work on projects under key areas that need advocacy:

• Children's rights are human rights
• Equity and opportunity for vulnerable populations
• Strengthening justice systems and communities

All work related to the Sprint is conducted during the Sprint. Volunteers are trained at the start of the session and then divided into small teams to work on specific assignments. The volunteers wrap their work after three hours, then come together to reflect on the substantive legal work.

Register below to join or email us if you'd like to be added to our distribution list.

Projects

Peacebuilding for new generations overcoming the Genocide against the Tutsi
(APAC, EMEA and Americas session)

The Ejo Youth Museum’s work is rooted in the legacy of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and the ongoing need to confront its devastating impact on individuals, families and society. By preserving memory, elevating survivor voices, and engaging young people in honest, trauma‑informed learning, the museum plays a vital role in helping communities understand the causes and consequences of violence while preventing its repetition. Its Healing and Reconciliation curriculum reflects the reality that recovery from genocide is not a single moment but an ongoing process – one that requires education, empathy, accountability and sustained dialogue across generations.

Volunteers on this project will support the Ejo Youth Museum by benchmarking its Healing and Reconciliation curriculum against leading international standards and frameworks. Lawyers and other professionals will work together to review curricular materials, summarize global instruments, and apply a legal, policy and rights‑based lens to assess its alignment, rigor, and ethical foundations. Together, volunteers will help create a Global Benchmarking Report that strengthens the museum’s ability to engage international partners, donors and institutions – and supports its long‑term mission to promote remembrance, healing and reconciliation in the aftermath of the Genocide against the Tutsi and beyond.

The beneficiary of this work will be the Ejo Museum, a project of Peace and Love Proclaimers.

Youth Advocacy: I AM HERE! Vital Documents and Identification
(APAC, EMEA and Americas session)

Without documents to prove who you are, it is difficult to function in society and gain access to school, work, transportation, buildings and much more. When a teen or young adult cannot get access to vital documents like an ID, license, birth certificate or other critical identification documents, it is debilitating. And it is shocking how challenging it can be for teens, young adults, those fending from themselves and those from vulnerable populations who often experience barriers to obtaining their own documents. It is the number one concern raised by youth who have experienced homelessness.

Volunteers in this project will help craft a global resource to empower individuals and inspire system improvement across borders to address statelessness and other consequences. We are working to analyze these crucial identification questions for the National Network for Youth.

See what has already been published at I Am Here.

For the benefit of the National Network for Youth and the International Center for Justice Alliance.

When “safety” is unsafe: Aiding LGBTQ+ youth in residential care
(EMEA and Americas session)

Sometimes youth – especially teens – are housed by a government in what is known as ‘congregate care’ because they are survivors of abuse, neglect or abandonment, and the government has no other home-like options for them. But too often, these congregate care facilities are dangerous for them and bring them harm and discrimination. Because LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionate in systems of congregate care and face harassment and abuse at higher rates than their non-LGBTQ+ peers, they need remedies for this treatment, often in emergency circumstances. Examples are rampant:

• A 16-year-old is suicidal due to being bullied by the other youth in a facility while staff does nothing
• A 14-year-old is being barred from meals and other activities because other youth are threatening them
• A 15-year-old is being beaten by other youth or even staff at a facility due to their identity and expression

Where do young people, their lawyers or their advocates outside the facility turn for help? How can youth fight for themselves when they cannot escape state care that is causing them to suffer these indignities and even physical harm?

Volunteers will help create a resource to capture the regulations that exist to protect youth from harm and discrimination in congregate care in the local jurisdiction at the municipal, state, province or country level. Volunteers will craft a step-by-step practical guide on how to quickly access remedies in emergencies. The result will be a first-ever online resource young people and their champions can access real time to stop harm that is happening in places that were intended to keep them safe but are falling short.

For the benefit of Lambda Legal.

View full invitation

2026 Sprints

We have been recognized as a 2023 Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO) Partner Awardee for work undertaken through its Justice In Action initiative, alongside a host of corporate clients, who share Baker McKenzie’s commitment to social justice.