Vance Center Events
November 2012
November 15-16
Inter-American Human Rights Pro Bono Representation Project (Washington, DC)
Conference information and materials
September 2012
Thursday, September 27
Strengthening the Inter-American System of Human Rights: Dialogue and Engagement
Address by H.E. José Miguel Insulza, Secretary-General of the Organization of American States
Time: Reception at 6:00 p.m., Remarks at 7:00 p.m.
Location: NYC Bar Association, 42 W 44th Street, New York, NY 10036
June 2012
Vance Center hosted an event at the law offices of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP to commemorate the June 16, 1976, student uprising in Soweto and 18 years of democracy in South Africa. The program included a keynote address by Tseliso Thipanyane, Former Chief Executive Officer of the South African Human Rights Commission and a panel discussion on what democracy has meant for the legal profession in South Africa by three participants in the Vance Center’s South African Visiting Lawyer Program.
April 2012
Vance Center hosted a reception for LL.M. candidates from Latin America at the law offices of Chadbourne Parke to discuss the work the Vance Center has done in Latin America and opportunities for LL.M. candidates to partner with the organization.
March 2012
Vance Center co-convened conferences in Bogota, Colombia on Pro Bono and Women in the Law.
July 2011
Vance Center hosted a discussion in New York with Gerardo Bello, Executive Director of Fundacion Pro Venezuela, on the state of civil rights in Venezuela.
June 2011
Vance Center hosted an event with United Nations Under-Secretary General & Executive Director of UN Women, Michelle Bachelet, on The Future of UN Women.
Vance Center Co-Convenes Conferences in Bogota, Colombia on Pro Bono and Women in the Law
The Vance Center co-hosted several conferences during the week of March 12 in Bogota, Colombia.
The first of these events, held on March 13, was a conference on women in the legal profession in Colombia and presented the results of a survey of Colombian law firms on issues that affect the advancement of women lawyers in that country. To read the full survey, click here. The conference was co-hosted by the Vance Center, Camara de Servicios Legales (ANDI), Latin Lawyer and Universidad de los Andes. Panelists included Claudia Barrero of Prieto Carrizosa (Colombia); Carmen Corrales of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton (US); Patricia López Au Franc of Marval O’Farrell & Mairal (Argentina); Esther Núñez of Pinheiro Neto (Brazil); and Antonia Stolper of Shearman & Sterling (US). Other presenters included Consuelo Cardenas de Sanz de Santamaria and Isabel Cristina Jaramillo Universidad de los Andes. The conference was attended by more than 75 legal professionals from across the Americas. Colombian law firms that underwrote the event are: Gómez Pinzón Zuleta; Prieto Carrizosa; Posse Herrera & Ruiz; Lloreda Camacho; Brigard & Urrutia; Baker & McKenzie; Contexto Legal; CavelierAbogados; and Cardenas & Cardenas. Following the conference, a networking reception was hosted by Latin Lawyer.
On March 14th, the Vance Center and Latin Lawyer co-hosted a conference on the same topic which provided a platform for dialogue among more than 60 women associates at Colombian law firms. In addition to the panelists who appeared at the event of March 13th, this panel also included Alex Papachristou, Executive Director of the Vance Center; Carrie Cohen of the Vance Center Committee and former chair of the New York City Bar’s Committee on Women in the Legal Profession; Cecilia Mairal of Marval O’Farrell & Mairal (Argentina); Veronica Raffo of Ferrere (Uruguay); Corina Bove from Guyer & Regules (Uruguay); Cathleen McClaughlin of Allen & Overy; and Barbara Mendelson of Morrison & Foerster. At both events, Rosie Cresswell from Latin Lawyer announced the joint Vance Center-Latin Lawyer project on women in the law (hyperlink), described below.
Both of these events are a continuation of the Vance Center’s effort to promote the advancement of women in the legal profession in Latin America, and constitute the fifth such convocation in the region, following similar conferences in Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Lima.
On March 15th the Vance Center co-hosted a roundtable with Latin Lawyer, Fundación Pro BonoColombia and Fundación Pro Bono Chile on the International Pro Bono Network (www.ipbnetwork.org) in collaboration with the following organizations: Appleseed (Mexico), Fundación Barra Mexicana (Mexico), CIDSEP (Paraguay), Alianza Pro Bono (Peru), Comisión de Trabajo Pro Bono e Interés Público (Argentina), Comisión de Trabajo Pro Bono e Interés Público (Costa Rica), Instituto Pro Bono (Brazil), Poder Ciudadano (Argentina), Pro Bono Law Alberta (Canada), ProBonoRD (Dominican Republic), ProVene (Venezuela), Public Counsel (US) and Venezuela Sin Limites (Venezuela). Panelists outlined the Network’s objectives for 2012, including conducting a training program on the Inter-American human rights system for US and Latin American private bar lawyers and implementing several regional access to justice projects on topics ranging from disability rights and elder law to access to public information and freedom of information. Participants came from all across the region and provided updates on the statue of pro bono implementation in their respective countries. At the end of the discussion, Rosie Cresswell of Latin Lawyer announced the joint Vance Center-Latin Lawyer project on surveying pro bono implementation in Latin America (hyperlink), described below.
On March 16, a roundtable was co-hosted by the Vance Center, Fundación Pro Bono Colombia, Fundación Pro Bono Chile and Latin Lawyer with NGOs from Colombia and other countries in Latin America to discuss how NGOs can use pro bono lawyers to advance their missions. In addition to the co-hosts, participants included Venezuela Sin Limites, ProVene, Public Counsel Law Center and several local Colombian NGOs.
Vance Center Participates in Pro Bono Conference in Spain
On February 24, 2012, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett partner and Vance Center Committee vice-chair Todd Crider, and Davis, Polk & Wardwell partner Andres Gil, spoke at the first pro bono conference held in Spain. The event, convened by the leading corporate law firms in Spain, was the product of 18 months of collaboration between the Spanish law firms and the Vance Center. The objective of the meeting was to discuss a private-bar led initiative to provide pro bono legal services to the underderved in Spain. Read two related articles: article 1 and article 2.
Vance Center Co-Sponsors Roundtable in Mombasa, Kenya
The Vance Center co-sponsored and participated in a roundtable in Mombasa, Kenya, on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights October 20-21. The other co-sponsors were the Coalition for an Effective African Court and the International Commission of Jurists-Kenya. The Vance Center arranged for two people knowledgeable about the Inter-American human rights system, Judge Margarette Macaulay of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Professor Francisco Rivera of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico Law School, to attend and participate as well. Read the Coalition's report on the conference here.
Vance Center and Fundacion ProAcceso launch International Pro Bono Network in Washington and New York
The Vance Center and Fundacion Pro Bono Chile gathered with members of the Washington and New York legal communities to unveil their new project to strengthen human rights in the Americas by promoting the participation of pro bono lawyers in the Inter-American human rights system. Dean Claudio Grossman, American University Washington College of Law, a key partner of the project, hosted the event in Washintgon, which took place at the offices of Mayer Brown. In New York, Vance Center Committee members and supporters joined by video conference at the offices of Dewey LeBoeuf. More information about the project is available at www.redprobono.org and www.ipbnetwork.org.
Hemispheric Conference on Access to Justice
Over 250 attorneys from across the hemisphere gathered in Santiago on April 7-8 to attend an informative and thought-provoking conference entitled Pro Bono and the Legal Profession: Strengthening Access to Justice, organized by The Vance Center in collaboration with Fundación Pro Bono Chile (FPB). All segments of the legal profession, including firms, bar associations, pro bono clearinghouses, law schools, corporate legal departments, judiciaries and public interest institutions, were well represented. The 18 countries sending participants were Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. Download Report >>
The Vance Center wishes to thank ACE Rule of Law Fund, Citigroup, Latin Lawyer and Thomson Reuters for their generous support of the April 2011 Access to Justice Conference.
