Pro Bono: Supporting Victims of the Ukrainian Conflict

 by Fraser Langley

Barings Law, a Manchester-based firm, will be offering help to a select group of Ukrainian nationals, to escape the conflict, on a pro bono basis. Barings have also set up an immigration department, in order to facilitate the development of these future projects and the growth of the firm in general.

The leading solicitor within this case, Iryna O’Reilly, has said that she feels it is her ‘duty’ to help. This is as a result of the fact she feels such heartbreak viewing the homes, livelihoods and families of people that she could relate to, in places she used to visit. This suffering is a personal and familiar feeling to the family of O’Reilly, as they were forced to flee their homes, as a consequence of the ongoing, evolving conflict in Ukraine. Her passion for aiding and providing compassionate assistance to those in Ukraine has also been ignited by her own troubles and distress, resulting from the issues she experienced while cementing the foundations of her own career, some arising from the asylum system itself. While these struggles hindered her at points, she said that she felt that these experiences shaped her as a person and moulded her career to be what it is now. 

These actions prove that while the law sector is often seen to be wholly concerned and infatuated with profit margins and settlements, there is certainly room for meaningful and powerful pro bono work, aiding incredibly deserving recipients. Additionally, not only do these actions prove that there is room for pro bono work like this, but it can also improve the profile of law firms, and lay the groundwork for the expansion for firms. As, for instance, Barings, prior to the evolution of their immigration department for this pro bono project, was solely concerned with data breach claims, a very contrasting discipline. The firm has therefore expanded to accommodate this development.