On January 22, 2008, the Cyrus R. Vance for International Justice will host the North American launch the Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas (PBDA) in an event co-sponsored by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas. The event will be held at the Council of the Americas building in Manhattan and will gather members of the New York legal community, including: New York City Bar Association; managing partners and Latin American practice partners from major New York law firms as well as in house lawyers of major companies and investment banks. The event will also be attended by partners of several law firms throughout the Americas which have also signed the Declaration.

The PBDA is the first collaborative effort among private lawyers in the Americas to articulate the lawyer’s professional responsibility to promote access to justice and provide pro bono legal asssitance on behalf of the poor. It is the culmination off initiatives that have been developing in Latin America since 2001.

To view the list of signatories,

http://www.nycbar.org/vancecenter/declaration.pdf