Pro Bono Practice and Opportunities in Italy

In Italy, the provision of legal services is primarily regulated by the “Ordinamento della Professione Forense” (Law No. 247/2012), which outlines the rules and requirements for practicing law in the country ^[5].

To practice law and represent clients in court in Italy, individuals must obtain a law degree (Laurea in Giurisprudenza) and complete an 18-month legal traineeship under the supervision of a qualified lawyer (praticantato), lastly candidates must pass the bar examination (Esame di Stato) to be admitted to the Bar (Albo degli Avvocati).

In addition, lawyers’ activities in Italy must be carried out in compliance with the provisions of the Italian Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics (as amended on June 12, 2018) (the “Professional Rules”), issued by the National Bar Association (Consiglio Nazionale Forense); the Professional Rules establish the rules of conduct that any lawyer is expected to observe in general and, specifically, in their relations with clients, with the other party, with other lawyers and with other professionals.^[6]

In-house counsel in Italy are lawyers employed by a corporation to provide legal services exclusively to their employer. They are considered employees (of the relevant company) and not independent lawyers. They may or may not be qualified lawyers and registered with a Bar Association (although, in practice, Bar admission is generally required by employers’ companies). Their role is limited to providing legal advice within the company, and they cannot represent the company in court (where an external lawyer must be appointed).

There are no specific laws which regulate the provision of pro bono legal services. However, Italian law provides specific rules of professional conduct for Italian lawyers ^[7].

In Italy, lawyers do not need a separate license to provide pro bono legal services beyond the usual qualifications required to practice law. However, they must be duly qualified and registered with a local bar association (Ordine degli Avvocati) to practice law in any capacity, including pro bono work.

Foreign lawyers must have their qualifications recognised in Italy to practice law. They need to register with a local bar association (Ordine degli Avvocati). This may require demonstrating proficiency in Italian law and language. In addition, they have to comply with professional conduct rules.

In Italy, there is no mandatory requirement for lawyers to work a minimum number of pro bono hours.

Aspiring lawyers in Italy are not required to complete a minimum number of hours of pro bono legal services to become licensed.

In Italy, there are no mandatory pro bono hour requirements for lawyers, and there are also no formal aspirational targets set by local bar associations or regulatory bodies.

In Italy, the concept of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) is known as “Formazione Continua”, and compliance is a requirement for lawyers to maintain their professional competence. However, as of now, pro bono hours are not automatically recognized for CLE credit under the standard regulations.

However, some organisers of pro bono–related training events such as Italy Pro Bono Day have successfully applied for formal recognition of training credits from the National Forensic Council (Consiglio Nazionale Forense, CNF) ^[8].

All lawyers registered with the Bar Association are required to obtain insurance policies that cover professional liability for any potential damages clients may incur during the provision of legal services^[9] . The essential criteria for these insurance policies are outlined in the Ministerial Decree dated 22 September 2016, which has been effective since 11 October 2017 ^[10].

In summary, the insurance must cover all types of damages, including gross negligence, for activities like legal representation, advice, and document custody. Coverage extends to acts by collaborators and includes joint liability.

Insurance details must be accessible online, and existing policies must comply within a year of the decree’s publication. It is important to note that this Ministerial Decree does not explicitly address whether the insurance coverage extends to pro bono legal services provided by lawyers.

Foreign lawyers who wish to practice law in Italy must also secure these insurance policies, as the Professional Rules apply to any lawyer practicing within the country.

Lawyers in Italy must adhere to ethical standards that prevent misleading or overly promotional advertising as regulated by the Professional Rules. While it is not explicitly prohibited to advertise pro bono successes, any such communication must be truthful, respectful, and not create unjustified expectations.

There are several areas of law where pro bono services are particularly needed, such as immigration and asylum, human rights, family law, and labour law ^[11]. The major unmet legal needs typically involve individuals and communities who lack the financial resources to afford legal representation.

It should also be noted that certain inefficiencies of the Italian judicial system, in particular, the excessive length of court proceedings and the number of bureaucratic formalities related thereto, affect the effectiveness of pro bono legal assistance and produce delays and inefficiencies that affect the possibility of pro bono clients receiving prompt satisfaction of their rights.^[12]

The main providers of pro bono legal services are:

1. State-Funded Legal Aid (“Patrocinio a spese dello Stato”) provides free legal representation to people whose income falls below a statutory threshold. This is managed by local Bar Associations under the supervision of courts. Individuals with low income, certain vulnerable groups, and specific cases (civil, criminal, administrative) are eligible for assistance.^[13]
2. Local Bar Associations, such as the Milan Bar Association, encourage and support voluntary pro bono work through joint events.^[14]
3. NGOs sometimes work in collaboration with law firms and create collaborative initiatives such as the Rule 39 Pro Bono Initiative. This initiative is led by the Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights (CILD), with the assistance of international law firms who provide pro bono legal assistance to support cases before the European Court of Human Rights.^[15]
4. Another example is the KIND Italy Project where KIND worked with the Italian Refugee Council (CIR) and the pro bono legal community to establish a pro bono initiative to provide children and guardians with essential information about their rights and legal assistance to regularize their status and reunify with family.^[16]
5. University Legal Clinics such as the International Humanitarian Law Legal Clinic that engages in pro bono support activities for relevant international and national institutions operating in the area of international humanitarian law.^[17]
6. Private law firms.

AI and technology tools have the potential to greatly enhance legal pro bono work across Europe by utilizing the framework set by the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689). This regulation requires transparency, risk assessments, and human oversight for high-risk AI systems, while prohibiting certain “unacceptable risk” uses. AI and innovative legal technologies can make pro bono work more efficient by automating routine tasks like document drafting, intake, and legal research, allowing lawyers to concentrate on more complex client needs.

Furthermore, these technologies could increase access to justice by providing scalable, low-cost tools such as multilingual chatbots and rights checkers, which could help empower vulnerable groups to understand and assert their legal rights.

The Piattaforma Pro Bono Italia is a digital system to collect, examine, distribute, and manage requests for free legal assistance from NGOs or individuals who cannot afford legal help. This platform uses digital tools to streamline matching lawyers with cases^[18]. At the 7th Italy Pro Bono Day, speakers emphasized AI’s promise to streamline NGOs’ intake and filtering of large volumes of pro bono requests, reflecting growing recognition that AI can boost efficiency and expand legal access across Italy’s Third Sector.^[19] The TuTeLa project seeks to establish the EU’s first research center dedicated to AI-powered legal tech for social good by simplifying legal language and improving information retrieval to enhance access to justice for vulnerable people.^[20]

The most relevant governmental sources of pro bono work are:

• Italian Bar Association
• Notaries’ website^[21]
• Ministry of Justice

The most relevant non-governmental sources of pro bono work are:

• Avvocato di strada Onlus ^[22].
• Naga^[23]
• CILD (Coalizione Italiana Libertà e Diritti Civili)^[24]
• CSVnet (Coordinamento Nazionale dei Centri di Servizio per il Volontariato)^[25]

There are also global pro bono clearinghouses and legal services, such as TrustLaw and PILnet ^[26], which offer pro bono matters.

Several initiatives are being undertaken to enable local and foreign lawyers to register their interest in pro bono opportunities in Italy. The most notable organisation through which lawyers can be made aware of pro bono opportunities is Pro Bono Italia^[27]

Pro Bono Italia is a non-profit association of lawyers, law firms and forensic associations created for the promotion and spread of the culture of pro bono throughout Italy. It partners with two clearinghouses, established within the Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights and the Italian National Association of Service Centres for Volunteering. Requests are evaluated and filtered before being transferred to the network of pro bono lawyers, who offer their legal assistance on a first-come-first-served basis.^[28] Lawyers can register with them on their website.^[29]

There is also a collaborative network of European clearinghouses and pro bono initiatives with the goal of supporting and promoting the work of its members and strengthening, championing, and informing the European pro bono movement.^[30]

There are no relevant awards, lists or rankings directly related to pro bono work in Italy. However, there are global pro bono awards offered by TrustLaw, PILnet, LawWorks and the International Bar Association, and Italian matters have featured and won at these.^[31]