Lawyers Without Borders

Lawyers Without Borders (LWOB) is an international nonprofit organization established in 2000 by Connecticut attorney Christina M. Storm. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, it works with volunteer lawyers, judges, legal institutions, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and grant-making bodies to support the rule of law and improve the functioning of justice systems. Its work is internationally oriented and is designed to assist countries and regions that are developing their legal institutions or rebuilding them after conflict. The organization’s principal operating model combines pro bono legal expertise with grant-funded and partner-supported programming. Lawyers generally participate individually or through their employers, including law firms and corporate legal departments. LWOB assesses volunteers according to their legal specialization, professional experience, availability, language skills, international background, and suitability for a particular assignment. This allows the organization to deploy specialized practitioners for judicial and legal-sector capacity building rather than relying only on general humanitarian volunteering. A central part of LWOB’s work is intensive training for judges and lawyers. Its programs use week-long exercises and mock trial scenarios covering areas such as general criminal law, trafficking in persons, inheritance and succession, and gender-based or domestic violence. Other program formats include neutral trial observation, legal-sector assessment and evaluation, technical assistance, preparation of legal roadmaps and manuals, legal research, legislative drafting, and community outreach. Community-oriented initiatives have addressed civic participation, rights-based education, and access to justice, sometimes in cooperation with local nongovernmental organizations or within micro-enterprise programs supported by LWOB. LWOB describes its operational approach as neutral and independent. Unlike advocacy organizations that publicly campaign against governments or use media exposure as a primary tool, it generally does not operate as a watchdog organization. Its programs may therefore be conducted with limited publicity, both to protect participating lawyers and to preserve the integrity of local work. This position is intended to make engagement possible with public authorities that might otherwise restrict the activities of international nongovernmental organizations. The organization has implemented or supported programs in a range of African countries, including Liberia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda. Work has also taken place or been planned in Central Asia, East Asia, Europe, and South Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, China, Albania, and India. The largest national sources of lawyer volunteers have been reported as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. LWOB also maintains a student-engagement model. By January 2021, it had 29 formally approved student divisions at universities in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. It has also used less formal collaborations with law schools and universities. The organization offers internships across fall, winter or spring, and summer terms, with some virtual opportunities and certain longer placements in countries including Kenya and Liberia and in the United Kingdom. Lawyers Without Borders has a separate United Kingdom affiliate, Lawyers Without Borders UK. The affiliate was founded in 2003 and obtained UK charity status in June 2010. The two organizations share the broader objective of engaging the legal profession in international pro bono rule-of-law work. LWOB is a trademark-protected “Without Borders” organization and states that it is not affiliated with Avocats Sans Frontières or Médecins Sans Frontières.

Lawyers Without Borders was founded in 2000 by Christina M. Storm, a Connecticut attorney, as an organization intended to channel the skills and professional networks of lawyers into international rule-of-law work. Rather than primarily delivering direct humanitarian relief or acting as a public advocacy watchdog, LWOB developed a model centered on legal capacity building, institutional support, and access to justice. Its target environments included developing justice systems and countries or regions emerging from conflict. The organization’s distinctive resource model combines donated professional labor with external financial support. Lawyers participate as pro bono volunteers, either individually or through law firms and in-house legal departments. LWOB evaluates their expertise, experience, language abilities, availability, travel background, and orientation before assigning them to projects. Programs are commonly supported by foundations and grant-making agencies and may include cost-sharing arrangements that recognize the value of donated legal work and other in-kind contributions. Training became a major component of the organization’s international activity. LWOB uses concentrated, practical exercises, including mock scenarios and trial-advocacy sessions, to help judges and lawyers develop skills in criminal proceedings and other legally sensitive areas. Its subject areas have included trafficking in persons, inheritance and succession, and gender-based and domestic violence. Alongside training, the organization has undertaken neutral trial observation and broader assessment work, technical assistance, legal research, legislative drafting, and the preparation of legal manuals and institutional roadmaps. LWOB has also expanded beyond professional training to community-level work. Its outreach has addressed civic participation, rights-based education, and access-to-justice concerns, often in partnership with local organizations. Some rights-based education has been connected with micro-enterprise initiatives supported or managed by the organization. The combination of institutional and community activity reflects its stated mission of improving justice systems while serving underserved and disadvantaged groups. The organization’s neutrality has shaped its operating style. LWOB does not present itself as a media-driven campaign or public pressure organization and generally avoids drawing attention to its activities in the countries where it works. It argues that a lower-profile approach can protect lawyers, preserve the independence of local engagements, and facilitate cooperation with governments and judicial authorities. This distinguishes it from organizations whose primary role is public reporting or advocacy. Its geographic work has included numerous African countries, among them Liberia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Uganda. The organization has also conducted or planned work in countries outside Africa, including Kyrgyzstan, China, Albania, India, and Kyrgyzstan. Volunteers have come especially from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. An affiliated organization, Lawyers Without Borders UK, was created in 2003. It is headquartered in London and received UK charity status in June 2010. The United States organization and its UK affiliate share the goal of mobilizing members of the legal profession for internationally oriented pro bono rule-of-law work. Student engagement became another established part of the organization’s structure. By January 2021, 29 formally approved student divisions existed at universities in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. LWOB has also worked through less formal university collaborations and offers internships during multiple academic terms. Some placements are virtual, while longer in-country opportunities have been available in locations including Kenya and Liberia and through the UK organization. LWOB operates under the Lawyers Without Borders name as a trademark-protected “Without Borders” organization. It states that it has no affiliation with Avocats Sans Frontières or Médecins Sans Frontières. Its continuing identity is defined by neutrality, professional volunteering, international legal cooperation, and practical support for justice-sector development.

• 2021

  Student-division network documented

  [1]Lawyers Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  By January 2021, 29 formally approved Lawyers Without Borders student divisions were reported across universities in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia.

• 2010

  UK affiliate obtains charity status

  [1]Lawyers Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  Lawyers Without Borders UK acquired formal UK charity status in June 2010.

• 2003

  Lawyers Without Borders UK established

  [1]Lawyers Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  The organization’s UK affiliate was founded in London to advance the shared goal of internationally oriented pro bono legal work.

• 2000

  Lawyers Without Borders founded

  [1]Lawyers Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org

  Connecticut attorney Christina M. Storm established Lawyers Without Borders as an international nonprofit focused on pro bono legal support and rule-of-law development.

A neutral, independent, internationally focused pro bono legal organization that strengthens justice-sector institutions and expands access to justice through volunteer lawyers and locally engaged partnerships.

• Legal capacity building

  Trial-advocacy and judicial training

  Intensive, generally week-long training programs use mock scenarios to develop practical skills among judges and lawyers. Subject areas include general criminal law, trafficking in persons, inheritance and succession, and gender-based and domestic violence. The programs are designed for justice sectors in developing countries and places affected by conflict.

• Monitoring and evaluation

  Neutral trial observation and justice-sector assessment

  LWOB deploys legal professionals to observe trials and assess aspects of judicial and legal systems. The work is presented as neutral and independent, with the aim of identifying institutional needs and supporting the integrity and effectiveness of justice processes rather than conducting public watchdog advocacy.

• Legal research and institutional support

  Technical legal assistance

  Technical assistance can include legal analysis, research, legislative drafting, legal manuals, and institutional roadmaps. These services draw on volunteer lawyers’ specialist knowledge and are intended to help local justice institutions and partners develop practical legal and administrative capacity.

• Access to justice

  Community outreach and rights-based education

  Community programs address access-to-justice issues through civic participation, engagement, and rights-based education. LWOB has worked with local nongovernmental organizations and has incorporated rights education into some micro-enterprise initiatives supported or managed by the organization.

• Professional and educational engagement

  Student divisions and internships

  The organization engages law students through formally approved university divisions, internships, and occasional informal collaborations. Opportunities have included virtual work and longer placements in countries such as Kenya and Liberia, as well as in the United Kingdom.

1. 1Lawyers Without Bordersen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Lawyers Without Borders official websitelwob.org