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Dr. Özgür Kahale

About

Özgür Kahale is the Pro Bono Director for Europe managing a high-volume pro bono program in 20 countries serving more than 2000 attorneys. The Firm's European Pro Bono Practice provides free legal assistance to key European NGOs, United Nations agencies, social entrepreneurs, academic institutions and disadvantaged individuals.

Özgür creates, launches and manages programs in complex legal environments to serve the unmet legal needs of the community. She leads several big projects such as Know Your Rights and focuses on migrant rights, child rights and rule of law. In order to increase law firm pro bono participation, Özgür

  • identifies new pro bono opportunities;
  • maintains relationships with pro bono clients;
  • develops and implements Europe-wide pro bono policies and best practices; and
  • coordinates knowledge management efforts with regard to substantive areas of law in which the firm has a pro bono practice. 

Özgür contributes to the development of pro bono in Europe by organizing pro bono roundtables, events, meetings and leads the discussions on pro bono and its development in Europe. She is also in charge of the Pro Bono team's technology and access to justice work stream and she organises DLA Piper's "Access to Justice and Technology Summit" every year.

EXPERIENCE

Özgür is an international lawyer and a scholar of corporate responsibility with a focus on business and human rights. She has an LL.M from Essex University in International Human Rights Law and a Ph.D. from Lancaster University in International Investment and Protection of Human Rights. She worked as a project finance lawyer in London and Paris before joining the Pro Bono team. 

Major Clients
  • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other United Nations agencies including UNICEF, UN World Food Programme, UN Global Compact, UN Women, UNAIDS, UNDP and OHCHR
  • European Network on Statelessness
  • The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
  • European Council on Refugees and Exiles
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • International Service for Human Rights
  • Action Aid
  • Diakonie
  • Save the Children
  • Defence for Children
  • ECPAT
  • TrustLaw
  • The World Bank
  • World Wildlife Fund 
Education

    Seminars

    Özgür presents at various engagements and conferences regarding pro bono legal services. She is a regular speaker at the European Pro Bono Forum organised by PILnet every year. She is regularly invited to speak at various NGO gatherings and academic events in Europe to promote pro bono. Özgür delivered a session on Human Rights Impact Assessment during the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva.

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