Pro Bono & Community Service

Participation in pro bono and community service is one of Baker & McKenzie’s core values. The following are examples of activities in our Asia Pacific region.

The Arts

• In Singapore, our lawyers help organize the annual American Association of Singapore’s Jazz Nite, an outdoor event that attracts 2,000 jazz enthusiasts. Proceeds go to Music for Good, a charity organization that operates music outreach programs for disadvantaged teens and children.
• Our Hong Kong office serves as honorary legal adviser to the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation Limited, a charity that provides non-competitive arts experiences for local youth. We provide corporate secretarial services, including annual compliance and trademark protection work.

Children

• Our Singapore office supports MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) to reach out to disadvantaged children by focusing on advocacy and fund-raising.
• Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners, our member firm in Jakarta, donates to Tolong Anak Anak’s (help the children) One More Chance Houses, a local charity that assists in the care and education of homeless children.
• Partners in our Bangkok office serve on the board of the Association of the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth, an organization established to promote friendship, mutual understanding and regional cooperation.

Education

In Australia, lawyers in our Melbourne and Sydney offices participate in a pen pal program, where they swap letters with schoolchildren in the outback. Each letter is accompanied by a new book, a gift greatly appreciated by children who are accustomed to a limited selection. Our lawyers in Australia also participate in the Reach Out and Read! (ROAR!) program, where they visit Bourke Street Primary School in Sydney on their lunch hour to help students develop their reading skills.

Employees in our Taipei office helped to raise funds for indigenous children and other disadvantaged minorities on behalf of World Vision, an organization dedicated to helping children worldwide by tracking the causes of poverty.

The Environment

• Our environmental lawyers in Sydney have advised the World Wide Fund for Nature on international fisheries law for the South Pacific.
• We have advised TRAFFIC, an international network that monitors wildlife trade, on issues related to the illegal import and export of endangered species in Australia.

Health and Wellness

• Our Melbourne office launched the world’s first pro bono legal service dedicated to helping cancer patients. Working with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation, our lawyers are providing free legal advice and representation to patients otherwise unable to afford it. We help patients access their pension funds, establish power of attorney and deal with debts and other issues that affect the critically ill.
• Our Hong Kong office participates in a job placement program with Phoenix Clubhouse, a community service program for adults in psychiatric care. We employ clubhouse members in our Hong Kong office, enabling them to return to work in a sympathetic environment. Our Tokyo office participates in a similar program.
• Lawyers in our Bangkok office support the Operation Smile Foundation, which repairs childhood facial deformities while building public and private alliances that advocate sustainable healthcare systems for children and families.

Housing and Poverty

Lawyers and staff from Quisumbing Torres, Baker & McKenzie’s member firm in Manila, support Gawad Kalinga (to give care), a nonprofit organization that builds homes and revitalizes impoverished communities in the Philippines.

Volunteer work in our Vietnam offices focuses on legal assistance to help the government improve the quality of life for all Vietnamese people. We have helped the government enact legal reforms that have, in the World Bank’s assessment, resulted in a historic reduction in poverty among the Vietnamese people. Most of our professional staff devote time and expertise to the Vietnam Business Forum, the primary channel for creating a more favorable economic and social environment.

Twice a week, lawyers and staff from our Sydney and Melbourne offices lead a Homeless Persons Legal Clinic to provide legal advice and assistance to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Immigration and Asylum

• In Sydney, our staff shares meals with participants in the Asylum Seekers Center and helps them improve their English skills as part of a specially developed literacy project.
• Our Manila member firm has helped the International Justice Mission (IJM) process immigration papers for its foreign employees. The IJM is a human rights agency that aids victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression.

Legal Systems, Legal Rights

• Our member firm in Jakarta helped the American Center for International Labor Solidarity complete a survey on labor law, with emphasis on issues of human trafficking and debt bondage.

Teaming With Clients

• Our Manila member firm has worked with clients to organize programs for children in the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, creating Nayon ng Kabataan (Children’s Village).