What’s driving pro bono growth in Europe?

Civil society across Europe is under mounting pressure. Shrinking civic space, rising inequality, and the growing complexity of regulatory and cross-border legal challenges mean that the demand for high-quality pro bono legal support has never been greater. At the same time, the infrastructure to meet that demand varies enormously from one country to the next.

A trusted resource, now with a broader reach

The Global Pro Bono Guide has been a cornerstone resource for legal professionals since 2005, when it was first published by Latham & Watkins and the Pro Bono Institute as the Global Pro Bono Survey. The 2026 edition, the sixth, spans 103 jurisdictions and marks the first time the Thomson Reuters Foundation has joined as a formal partner.

June’s European Pro Bono Week provided a natural moment to reflect on what the Guide reveals about the region. What emerged is a dynamic, evolving landscape, one with momentum, and distinct areas of opportunity.

Bar associations: the institutional backbone

The most consistent finding across Europe is the central role of bar associations. In country after country, these bodies set the ethical tone, build the infrastructure, and provide the legitimacy that makes pro bono work possible. Where that institutional foundation is strong, pro bono flourishes. Where it is absent, pro bono can struggle to take root.

Germany is a notable example, where a cautious regulatory environment has historically limited the development of a robust pro bono culture.

Positive signs are emerging; bar associations in Estonia, Finland and Lithuania are increasingly encouraging voluntary pro bono work, helping to nudge higher engagement without imposing mandatory obligations. Denmark’s Bar and Law Society recently launched a Pro Bono Charter, signalling growing institutional support for the practice.

Others are fostering participation through initiatives like legal aid days, volunteer lists, legal clinics, and direct case-matching programmes.

A growing ecosystem of connectors

Bar associations don’t work alone. There is a thriving community of pro bono associations and clearinghouses that are amplifying pro bono work across the continent, connecting law firms with NGOs, promoting a culture of giving back, and building the platforms that match legal expertise with need.

• Spain’s Fundación Pro Bono España unites law firms in a national platform.
• The Czech Republic’s Pro Bono Centrum, the Netherland’s Pro Bono Connect, Germany’s UPJ Pro Bono Deutschland e.V., and Belgium’s Pro Publico among others all link law firms with NGOs.
• Italy’s Pro Bono Italia integrates public events with an online case-matching platform.
• And operating across borders, international players like PILnet and TrustLaw open cross-border collaborative opportunities that no single national body could provide alone.

Sector-led pro bono professional networks have an influential role to play too. The UK Collaborative Plan is a particularly useful successful instance, galvanising collaborative pro bono efforts and offering peer support to help participating firms reach the Plan’s aspirational pro bono target.

Likewise, the European Pro Bono Initiative offers a useful peer network among pro bono professionals across Europe.

Building a culture: days, weeks, and targets

Frameworks matter. The Guide notes the rising trend in pro bono days, awareness weeks, and aspirational hour targets, tools that give the practice public visibility and foster a sense of shared professional identity and common purpose.

Pro bono days have taken hold from Slovenia to Italy to Germany and beyond, turning individual acts of service into a collective professional statement. European Pro Bono Week, convened annually by PILnet, has played a pivotal role in mobilising the wider community across the region, providing a focal point for national and cross-border action alike.

A small but growing number of countries have gone further, introducing aspirational hour targets such as England & Wales and Denmark. Others like the Czech Republic, and Poland have developed frameworks and initiatives expressing commitment to pro bono, even without quantifiable targets.

England and Wales lead the way with the most developed model: the UK Collaborative Plan for Pro Bono sets an aspirational average of 25 pro bono hours per fee-earner, per year, complemented by the recently launched In House Pro Bono Pledge, which uses a graduated model designed to build in-house participation incrementally.

Europe: open for cross-border pro bono

For international law firms and legal teams looking to deploy pro bono expertise across borders, Europe offers a remarkably open environment. Almost every European jurisdiction allows foreign lawyers to do pro bono work, making it one of the most accessible regions globally. Requirements vary. In Sweden and Portugal, lawyers may need to register with the national bar association. In Poland and Hungary, non-EU lawyers can provide general legal advice and opinions on international law, but the overall picture is one of openness and opportunity.

Nearly all European countries have organisations ready to connect local and foreign lawyers with pro bono opportunities. In countries like the Czech Republic and Denmark, lawyers can register with bar associations to be matched with cases. In Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, and the UK, pro bono organisations and clearinghouses serve the same function. TrustLaw, PILnet and other regional and global clearinghouses remain key resources for any legal professional looking to get involved across the region.

Recognition: making pro bono visible

These themes came into focus during this year’s European Pro Bono Week, on a panel titled “Reinforcing Pro Bono Ecosystems: Building Partnerships That Last” where expert speakers, including TrustLaw’s Head of Legal, Kathryn Beck, explored how to expand and embed recognition for pro bono work across the region.

Toby Brown, Chair of UK Pro Bono Week, highlighted the UK’s pro bono recognition list as a compelling model. Launched three years ago, the annual list recognises every lawyer who has completed 25 or more pro bono hours in the previous year.

Marion Edge, Pro Bono Counsel at Dechert, spoke to the tangible impact recognition has on lawyers and their firms. Lawyers on the list receive a badge for their email footers and bios. In 2026, over 200 LinkedIn posts from institutions celebrated their lawyers’ inclusion.

Even commercial clients are now actively seeking out firms whose lawyers appear on the list. “We feel it’s a really great way for people to feel appreciated, to feel their work is recognised,” said Edge.

What the Guide can offer for European law firms

For firms with established pro bono programmes looking to expand across jurisdictions, the Guide aims to offer practical, comparable intelligence. For those new to pro bono, or pushing for changes in the regulatory environment, it provides a useful benchmark and a source of inspiration.

As a living resource, the Guide will be revisited as pro bono practices across Europe continue to evolve. In the meantime, it gives lawyers and civil society organisations a clearer basis for comparison, and a sense of where more work remains to be done.

Check out the 2026 Global Pro Bono Guide developed in partnership with Latham & Watkins, the Pro Bono Institute and the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Created in 2010, TrustLaw connects law firms and corporate legal teams with NGOs and social enterprises to provide free legal support, research and resources. Its legal network of 120,000 lawyers spans firms and in-house legal teams from 190 countries. TrustLaw is built on a founding belief that spreading the practice of pro bono can drive social change, enabling NGOs and social enterprises to streamline operations, expand into new countries and safeguard and scale their impact, so they can focus on their mission without spending valuable resources on legal needs.

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This analysis is part of the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Insights series. Look out for more data-driven resources from our Insights and Innovation unit, incubating new ideas for the communities we serve, to strengthen free, fair and informed societies.