Pro Bono Advocacy in World Politics

Amid rising authoritarianism and shrinking civic space, human rights and the rule of law depend on advocacy by actors with access and resources to navigate and address these challenges. Equipped with powerful resources, including lawyers that went to the best law schools, ever-increasing revenues, and highly influential networks, big private law firms are potentially well-positioned to take on this role.

The ERC-funded PROBONO project (2025-2029) studies the scope of private law firms’ pro bono work, the impact of autocratization on this work, and the implications for the rule of law, human rights, and democracy. The project collects quantitative and qualitative data on top private law firms’ pro bono efforts related to human rights and environmental causes in the context of authoritarian developments ‘at home’ and abroad. In her talk, Nina will present the broader aims of the project and zoom into the role of pro bono work for international politics and transnational advocacy.

Featured Speaker:

Nina Reiners is Professor of Human Rights and Social Sciences at University of Oslo's Faculty of Law. From 2025-2029, she leads the European Research Council-funded project "PROBONO - Private Law Firms as Transnational Advocates" at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. She holds research affiliations with the Graduate Institute Geneva's Global Governance Centre and the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Nina has a PhD in Political Science and publishes widely in International Relations and International Law journals. Her first monograph “Transnational lawmaking coalitions for human rights” (CUP, 2022) is the winner of the Academic Council on the United Nations book award.