Pro Bono Practice and Opportunities in Peru

Overview

In Peru, the pro bono work of lawyers received greater attention when the Code of Ethics of Lawyers, promulgated by the Board of Deans of the Peruvian Bar Association, made reference to the social responsibility that all lawyers have in facilitating access to justice and legal representation of society.

In addition, a number of law firms have ratified the Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas, which offers greater scope with regards to the provision of pro bono legal services. However, obstacles remain including that individuals in need of legal services are unable to access them and certain organisations exist to overcome these obstacles being NGOs such as Alianza Pro Bono Perú.

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At a glance

Minimum pro bono hours requirement for lawyers? Specific pro bono licence required? May foreign lawyers practice pro bono? Insurance required for law firm pro bono? Insurance required for in-house counsel pro bono? Rules to limit advertising pro bono work? Does pro bono work count to CLE credit? Limitations for in-house lawyers to do pro bono?
No No Yes No No No No No

Pro bono practice and opportunities

1. Describe the laws or rules that regulate the provision of legal services, including any licensing required to provide legal services. Please highlight any differences for lawyers working as in-house counsel.

In relation to legal services, the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility for Lawyers (the “Code of Ethics”) regulates the provision of legal services. Within this context, the Code of Ethics regulates, among others, the freedom of sponsorship, the duties that a lawyer has with their clients, professional secrecy and conflicts of interest. Failure to comply with any of them constitutes an administrative offense under sanction. [1]

In order to provide legal services in Peru, an individual must have a university degree and be registered with the Bar Association (and every practicing lawyer must be a member of a Bar Association which applies to the region of Peru in which he / she is practicing law). In relation to foreign-qualified lawyers, degrees or similar titles granted by universities in other countries must be validated by a Peruvian university and the foreign-qualified lawyer must become a member of the relevant Bar Association.

The above also applies to an in-house lawyer – they must be a licensed attorney and a member of the relevant Bar Association.

Regulatory landscape for pro bono

2. Describe the laws or rules that regulate the provision of pro bono legal services.

The 1993 Constitution – as the fundamental and supreme law of Peru – provides for the following principles: free administration of justice
(e.g., court fees) and free defence for low-income people in specific cases. However, this (and state-sponsored legal aid provided under the 2009 Public Defender Service Act) form the basis of legal aid (rather than pro bono) and they are limited to criminal matters and only certain civil matters (mainly family-related) and labor matters and only to indigent persons.

In relation to pro bono, there are no rules that regulate the provision of pro bono legal services in Peru, except for the ethic norms or rules that apply to all attorneys in Peru (e.g. conflict of interests). There is only a reference in the Code of Ethics, which only applies to its members and it states that lawyers can offer free provision of legal services to people with low resources.[2]

The Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas (the “Declaration”), is applicable to all lawyers/entities that signed it. The Declaration provides that members of the legal profession have a responsibility to provide pro bono legal services, and pro bono legal services are those provided without a fee, or expectation of a fee, principally to benefit poor or underprivileged persons or communities or the organisations that assist them.[3]

3. Do lawyers need a licence to provide pro bono legal services (beyond the usual local qualification to practice law)?

There is no separate or additional licensing requirement to provide pro bono legal services in Peru.

4. Do foreign-qualified lawyers need any additional license to provide pro bono services (beyond their foreign qualification to practice law)?

Additional licenses are not required by the Code of Ethics for foreign lawyers to provide pro bono legal services in Peru.

5. Are lawyers required by such rules to work a minimum number of pro bono hours? If so, how many?

Lawyers in Peru are not required to work a minimum number of pro bono hours unless the firm that they work for has signed the Declaration which commits signatories to undertake more than 20 hours or three days of pro bono work per lawyer per year.

6. Are aspiring lawyers required to complete a minimum number of hours of pro bono legal services to become licensed lawyers?

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

7. Aside from mandatory targets (if any), are there aspirational pro bono hours targets for lawyers set by the local bar association, regulatory body, or other body?

There are no aspirational pro bono hour targets for lawyers set by the local bar association. See above in relation to the Declaration. [4]

8. Do lawyers receive any “Continuing Legal Education” (CLE) or equivalent credit for pro bono hours worked?

Lawyers in Peru do not receive any “Continuing
Legal Education” or equivalent credit for pro bono hours worked.

Insurance and advertising

9. Do lawyers need professional indemnity legal insurance cover for pro bono legal services they provide? Does the requirement differ for in-house lawyers? If insurance is required, can lawyers meet the requirement by working under the cover of another pro bono provider, e.g., in partnership with a private law firm or organisation working on the same pro bono project?

The Code of Ethics does not explicitly state that lawyers in Peru require professional indemnity legal insurance to cover any pro bono legal services that they provide. The same applies for in-house lawyers.

10. Are there any rules that limit or prohibit advertising of pro bono successes or soliciting new pro bono clients?

There are no rules that prohibit advertising of pro bono successes or soliciting new pro bono clients in Peru.

Pro bono practice and culture

11. What are the main areas of law that require or present opportunities for pro bono? What are the major unmet legal needs?

At least one in three Peruvians still live in poverty [5] and there are parts of the population who are vulnerable (e.g. children, the elderly, women, people with disabilities and members of indigenous communities). Peruvians without sufficient financial resources or who are vulnerable find it difficult to obtain legal assistance .[6]

The Ministry of Justice has implemented Free-Legal Assistance Centres (“ALEGRAs”) provide free legal assistance services but these are aimed at people who cannot afford to pay for legal services without risking their subsistence or their family and/or the vulnerable [7] and there is a gap in relation to people who are not so economically deprived and/or vulnerable but still require legal assistance. Pro bono can help fill this gap but not all people are aware of the services available to them (e.g. because they live in a remote part of Peru) and pro bono resources are limited.[8] Based on the foregoing, the major unmet legal needs are the needs of Peruvians who are unable to pay for legal assistance or unable to access them and/or are vulnerable but in addition to such people, there are Peruvians who do not satisfy the criteria of the legal assistance provided by ALEGRAs but who nonetheless require legal assistance.

Areas of law which require legal assistance on a pro bono basis vary and the spectrum is open to different legal needs but the legal areas that have the most opportunities to provide pro bono legal services in Peru are procedural law, constitutional law, civil law and the law that governs the use of natural resources.

12. Who are the main providers of pro bono legal services?

As state channels do not provide sufficient pro bono legal services, the population must turn to NGOs.

One Peruvian-based NGO is the Alianza Pro Bono Perú which was founded in 2013 by a number of law firms in Peru with a mandate to promote pro bono services among lawyers.[9] The Peruvian Bar Association also provides pro bono services; however, there do not appear to be any cases of when it acted as a legal defender or provided pro bono or even legal aid .[10] As further described in (d)(1) above, ALEGRAs also provide free legal assistance services to people with limited financial means or belong to a vulnerable population.

International NGOs like the World Bank also provide opportunities for pro bono legal services .[11]

13. Are there any noteworthy examples of how innovative technology or artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to enable access to pro bono or otherwise as part of pro bono cases or matters?

Artificial intelligence is under evaluation by individuals and companies, and the legal sector has not reported pro bono cases being solved by artificial intelligence. The public sector is trying to simplify some information through website filings related to tax, customs, labour, among other themes.

Sources of pro bono opportunities and key contacts

14. Describe notable sources of pro bono matters or resources in your jurisdiction.

• Alianza Pro Bono Perú, which acts as a link between NGOs or law firms and people in a state of vulnerability [12]

• Other NGOs like the World Bank

• TrustLaw, being the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono legal programme and which works with law firms to facilitate free legal support [13]

• ALEGRAs

The Vance Center [14]
• The Peruvian Bar Association [15]
• Law firm international legal networks

15. Is there any public or private organisation with which a local or foreign lawyer can register to be made aware of pro bono opportunities?

Lawyers can register with the Alianza Pro Bono Perú.

16. Are there any awards, lists, or rankings related to pro bono work?

Latin Lawyer awards the Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year annually, and recognizes noteworthy contributions towards strengthening the culture of pro bono in Latin America on the list of Leading Lights. [16]

References

  1. International Bar Association, “The IBA Global Cross Border Legal Services in Latin America and the Caribbean Report 2019”, at https://www.ibanet.org/document?id=ITILS-Latin-America-and-Caribbean-2019 (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  2. See http://www.cal.org.pe/pdf/etica/2012/codigo_etica_abogado.pdf (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  3. Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas, at https://www.vancecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/english.pdf (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  4. Pro Bono Declaration for the Americas, at https://www.vancecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/english.pdf (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  5. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/peru/overview (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  6. OECD, “OECD Justice Review of Peru: Towards Effective and Transparent Justice Institutions for Inclusive Growth” at https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2024/07/oecd-justice-review-of-peru_de9fb54d/bb556518-en.pdf (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  7. Ibid.
  8. Ibid.
  9. https://plataforma.alianzaprobono.pe/ (last visited on 13 February 2025).
  10. OECD, “OECD Justice Review of Peru: Towards Effective and Transparent Justice Institutions for Inclusive Growth” at https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2024/07/oecd-justice-review-of-peru_de9fb54d/bb556518-en.pdf (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  11. See https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/766551468339680786/for-the-public-good-pro-bono-work-of-private-sector-advisors-advances-corporate-governance-initiatives (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  12. See http://www.alianzaprobono.pe/ (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  13. See http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/ (last visited on 12 February 2025).
  14. See https://www.vancecenter.org/ (last visited on 13 February 2025).
  15. See https://www.cal.org.pe/v1/ (last visited on 13 February 2025).
  16. Latin Lawyers, Pro bono: Leading Lights, at https://latinlawyer.com/survey/pro-bono/2024/article/pro-bono-leading-lights (last visited on 12 February 2025).

Acknowledgements

Name of Local Counsel: Estudio Olaechea
Name of Individual at Local Counsel: José Antonio Olaechea

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