Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance chooses BarefootLaw as the winner of its £50,000 Sustainable Development Goals award 2024

Global law firm Clifford Chance has named not for profit organisation BarefootLaw as the winner of its United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) award 2024. BarefootLaw's work involves leveraging digital technology and legal expertise to promote accessible, inclusive, and effective access to justice, particularly among underserved and marginalized communities in Africa. The charity will receive a £50,000 donation and 500 hours of pro bono support over an 18-month period which will support BarefootLaw to expand its operations in its next phase of development, specifically extending activities to additional countries.

This year's UN SDG Award was focused on UN SDG 16. The charity works to remove physical and economic barriers to accessing lawyers via online services, its hubs, BarefootLawBox offices, and mediation centres. Using existing digital technology, from radio to AI systems, BarefootLaw can provide free, accessible and simplified legal information both in person and virtually, empowering people to develop legal solutions for their justice needs. Additionally, the organisation assists environmental entrepreneurs with microfinancing agreements for sustainable solutions.

Adrian Cartwright, Clifford Chance's Global Senior Partner said: "The work BarefootLaw is doing simply cannot be underestimated. To have reached almost 1 million people across East Africa while adapting to specific community needs in countries, as well as continuing to innovate, is a great feat. The organisation's momentum, combined with highly effective use of technology to widen access to their services made it clear to us that Gerard and the team have an incredibly promising future of continued growth ahead."

Gerald Abila Founder of BarefootLaw added: “Innovation is critical to changing the justice status quo for underserved groups and for us, this has always started with a focus on community led solutions, with technology at the core of our progress. This bottom-up approach has helped us to build accountable and inclusive institutions by involving community leaders, law enforcement and cultural authorities. This next phase with the support of Clifford Chance will strengthen our legal and marketing capacity, to advance into new jurisdictions, as well as build a strong diverse, and inclusive team."
Read more about Clifford Chance's approach to responsible business.

Read more about Clifford Chance's approach to responsible business.