Sidley Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program
The program aims to benefit poor, rural and disadvantaged communities, particularly women, by supporting local businesses that provide enhanced employment and livelihood opportunities. Sidley's holistic approach ensures both tangible and intangible gains to the beneficiaries.
By assisting market-based growth of small and medium-sized local businesses, the program helps boost local economies, increase job opportunities, raise incomes and provide other social benefits, to ultimately improve the lives and livelihoods of the world’s poorest people. Sidley provides a wide variety of legal assistance to these enterprises to expand operations, lower costs, increase profits, successfully access new markets and become attractive partners for investors. Generally, the legal services provided include corporate, transactional, financing, contract, intellectual property and international trade matters. To learn more, see How We Can Help.
Additional information on current projects, eligibility criteria and the nature of the legal work our lawyers provide assistance with can be found in our brochure in English, Spanish, or French.
The Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program harnesses the experience of hundreds of participating Sidley lawyers working with corporate and local counsel around the world by using their strategic and technical know-how for the benefit of the poorest people in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Central and South America and the Caribbean. The program facilitates social development through support to a wide range of local, social-impact driven enterprises including larger farmers’ cooperatives and smaller commercial farming operations, varied supply and processing companies, manufacturing and production entities, microfinance and insurance providers, technology and infrastructure companies, as well as market-focused non-profits and development organizations that work directly with enterprises to expand their operations and make them sustainable, successfully access new markets and become more attractive partners for investors.
In turn, the success of Sidley’s business and NGO clients contributes to increased incomes, profits, and economic stability for disadvantaged local people and local economies. Sidley’s program supports the growth and success of businesses across diverse sectors, and at all stages in various supply-chains – from agricultural growers to service exporters, mobile-app developers to women’s education providers.
Access to Sidley’s international legal experience can help clients navigate and overcome a host of finance, investment and trade challenges to assist them in growing and succeeding which in turn, plays an important role in improving income and welfare in some of the world’s poorest areas.
Legal Services Provided
Sidley provides a wide variety of legal assistance to these enterprises to expand operations, lower costs, increase profits, successfully access new markets and become attractive partners for investors. Generally, the legal services provided include corporate, transactional, financing, contract, intellectual property and international trade matters by:
- Advising on addressing and removing trade barriers for products in regional and international markets
- Advising on compliance regulatory requirements for health, safety, packaging and product standards, financial services, exports and contracts
- Increasing the value of local products in regional and international markets by registering the brand and origin, by using trademarks or by protecting local technology using intellectual property rules
- Reviewing and negotiating investment and shareholder agreements for growth and success
- Creating formal structures such as cooperatives and franchises to ease enforceable contracting throughout the supply chain, and increase bargaining leverage and prices
Additional information on current projects, eligibility criteria and the nature of the legal work our lawyers provide assistance with can be found in our brochure in English, Spanish, or French.
Conditions for Eligibility
All applications for pro bono support are reviewed on a case-by-case basis against the following priority criteria:
- Located in- or have primary operations in-a developing country in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean;
- Committed to delivering a positive social impact;
- Are unable to afford or otherwise access international legal services;
- Have established a presence in the local market place (i.e. beyond start-up phase); and
We ask our clients to secure local counsel in case local law related issues need to be addressed.
Key Contacts
News & Insights
Pro Bono Programs & Projects
- Sidley’s Capital Litigation Project ensures that people incarcerated on Alabama’s death row have access to high-quality legal representation.
- Sidley works closely with many civil rights advocacy organizations across the United States to protect and defend the constitutional rights and civil liberties of all people, especially those most vulnerable to marginalization, persecution, or profiling.
- Sidley's Political Asylum and Immigrants’ Rights Project provides legal services to asylum-seeking immigrants and refugees fleeing persecution abroad.
- Sidley provides all forms of legal assistance to nonprofit arts and cultural organizations to advance their mission.
- Sidley’s Trade for Development Initiative gives free legal and technical advice to least developed and low-income developing countries and trade associations in areas related to trade, investment, and relevant regulations.
- Sidley's Veterans Advocacy Project provides legal assistance to disabled veterans seeking fair and timely benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Armed Forces.
- Launched by Sidley in 2012, the Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program provides free legal support to eligible small- and medium-size organizations.
