Pro Bono for Minority Rights Advocates
PILnet welcomed the Covington & Burling’s Brussels-based EU Public Policy team to deliver a hands-on session on legal framing for advocacy pitches during their MARIO Conference 2025 – strengthening the advocacy capacity of minority rights defenders across Central and Eastern Europe.
Building Legal Capacity for Minority Rights Advocacy
Across Central and Eastern Europe, minority-led organisations work tirelessly to protect and promote human rights – often with limited access to legal and advocacy expertise. The MARIO Project, co-led by PILnet and Minority Rights Group Europe (MRGE), was designed to change that.
Its goal: to equip grassroots civil society organisations (CSOs) from 11 EU countries with the legal tools and advocacy skills needed to uphold EU values, fight discrimination, and advance inclusion in their communities.
The Public Interest Lawyers Network: PILnet
PILnet’s mission is simple yet powerful: to make law serve the public interest. By connecting CSOs with pro bono lawyers, PILnet builds legal capacity and strengthens global networks of justice defenders.
Ahead of the MARIO Conference 2025 in Brussels, PILnet sought practical input on how to legally frame advocacy pitches. Participants needed training on soft skills – tone, focus, and timing – as well as expert guidance on the hard skills: how to root their pitches in legal frameworks, link them to EU anti-discrimination law, and present legally sound arguments to policymakers and EU institutions.
Covington’s EU Public Policy Team
Renowned for their expertise at the intersection of law and public policy, Covington & Burling LLP was the perfect fit. The Brussels team of Special Counsel Atli Stannard, Associate Pauline Agius and Trainee Charles Deberdt, under the coordination of Pro Bono Lawyer Staś Kuźmierkiewicz, volunteered to co-design and deliver the session.
Their task: to help minority rights advocates understand how legal frameworks can strengthen the persuasiveness and credibility of their advocacy pitches.
Covington’s contribution went beyond theory, delivering a presentation on how to use the correct tone, how to approach someone in space, how to build up pitches, and how to remain engaging. The team prepared practical case studies and provided live feedback as grantees practised their pitches during the session. By showing participants how to align advocacy messages with EU legal instruments and institutional processes, they helped turn abstract policy goals into concrete legal strategies.
Results and Feedback
Thanks to this collaboration, minority rights advocates left the conference better equipped to communicate their causes effectively – not only with passion, but also with legal precision.
As Laura Leila Szűcs, Legal Officer at PILnet, shared: “Covington did amazing; they really matched the content and the tone to the participants, and the feedback on the spot was overwhelmingly positive. We really appreciate your support with this!”
Pro Bono Matters
This case highlights how pro bono public policy support can bridge the gap between legal expertise and grassroots advocacy. By engaging leading law firms like Covington, and connecting them with powerful public interest initiatives like PILnet, Pro Publico helps transform legal knowledge into a tool for empowerment and social change.
When legal professionals volunteer their time to strengthen civic actors, they don’t just share expertise – they help democratize access to power.
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Thanks to @StaśKuźmierkiewicz, @AtliStannard, @PaulineAgius, @Charles Deberdt, @CovingtonBurlingLLP, @LauraLeilaSzűcs @PILnet @MinorityRightsGroupEurope, @FrancescoZatelli, @ProPublico
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