Nigeria’s Premier Corporate Pro Bono Organisation Hosts its First Webinar on Transactional and Corporate Pro Bono for Lawyers in Africa
The GreenRidge Foundation, a Community Economic Development (CED) based non-profit organisation was created to drive Africa’s economic transformation by empowering Africa’s entrepreneurs through access to quality pro bono legal support, leveraging technology. The Foundation provides a web-based software that helps connect vision-driven entrepreneurs and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with leading corporate law firms/ lawyers in Africa, who offer to assist these small businesses for free, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The Foundation is set to host the first of its series of events, with the theme “Community Economic Development: The Place for Corporate and Transactional Pro Bono Lawyers in Africa”. The event which is scheduled to hold virtually on Friday, 27th November 2020 at 12:00 pm (WAT), draws speakers from notable international and African law firms with substantial experience in Corporate and Transactional Pro Bono work.
Speaking about the event, the Foundation’s Director of Programmes and Policy, Ms. Goziem Onugha mentioned that the event is organized to stimulate conversations on transactional and corporate pro bono legal services in Nigeria and its role in assisting the continent achieve wealth creation, reduction in unemployment, economic growth and general stimulation of the economy. Citing reports from Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the International Trade Centre (ITC), and the World Bank , Ms. Onugha noted that MSMEs drive the African economy and most of them struggle with legal and compliance issues which also affect their ability to attract investment and grow sustainably.
She added that lawyers play a crucial role in assisting these MSMEs to succeed and would in turn benefit when the economy is viable as more legal work would be generated from improved economic activities.
Corporate Pro Bono work offers a lot more value to the lawyers and law firms, which is why the Foundation is aggregating leading lawyers from international law firms such as Hogan Lovells LLP, Sidley Austin LLP, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Ugandan based firm, KTA Advocates and the Nigerian firm – Templars, with substantial experience in Pro Bono legal services, to share insights on the potentials and value pro bono holds for lawyers in Nigeria and how it can facilitate economic development.
The Foundation invites Lawyers, Practice managers, start-ups/entrepreneurs and the general public to join the discourse.
To attend, register at http://bit.ly/GreenRidgeWebinar
