A network of specialist pro bono lawyers has facilitated the merger between the children’s charities, Action for Brazil’s Children Trust (ABC Trust) and Childreach International. ABC Trust – an organisation which supports grassroot projects that transform the lives of more than 3000 disadvantaged young people in Brazil each year – will now become a subsidiary of the global charity, Childreach International. The move will enable both organisations to share resources and expertise to enable them to reach and empower more vulnerable children throughout the world.
ABC Trust, a small charity with no budget for legal advice and representation, approached iProbono, a global non-profit network of lawyers, to assist with the merger last year. iProbono strengthens civil society by engaging the global legal community in social sector projects and has a long association with ABC Trust, having provided continual support to the charity over the last five years on a variety of projects in the UK and in Brazil, ranging from real estate rental contracts to event sponsorship agreements.
iProbono connected ABC Trust with a specialist charity lawyer at Bates Well Braithwaite, the leading charity law firm in the UK, and a team of commercial lawyers from the corporate global law firm, Linklaters. The network of pro bono professionals with different expertise and knowledge were able to provide advice in charity law and governance, corporate M&A, employment, IP and data protection law, which enabled the merger to be completed on schedule.
Tiffany Garside, CEO of ABC Trust: The merger has ensured the future of ABC Trust. It simply wouldn’t have happened without the support of iProbono and the lawyers who gave us pro bono legal advice. Their determination to get the best result for ABC Trust whilst keeping to our timelines was inspiring. It was a large piece of work and iProbono were alongside us all the way, bringing in the right people at the right time.
Nadia Davies, Associate at Linklaters: ABC Trust is an organisation who is passionately engaged in what they do and were a real pleasure to work with. We were delighted to be able to assist them in completing a mutually beneficial transaction for ABC and Childreach International, together with the excellent contribution of lawyers at Bates Wells Braithwaite. At Linklaters, we believe it is crucial that we share the legal and professional skills we have for the good of our local and global communities.
Philippa Garland, Solicitor at Bates Well Braithwaite: Using my skills on a pro bono basis to enable ABC Trust to continue to grow and thrive allows me to make a unique contribution to a cause I care about. The dynamic between me and the Linklaters lawyers worked very well, allowing me to feed in my specialist charity law knowledge to Linklater’s corporate experience. It was a manageable commitment and working with such appreciative clients is always a bonus.
Shireen Irani, Founder and Director of iProbono: ABC Trust deliver vital services to the poorest children in Brazil and conducts their day-to-day businesses as professionally as any for-profit counterpart. It is fitting to put a world-class legal team behind them. This project is a wonderful example of how lawyers can contribute their expertise and collaborate to create a real impact in the social sector. Harnessing the experience and knowledge of committed lawyers from different legal sectors enabled this mutually beneficial merger to be successfully completed.
