Abstract
In this article I examine the origins, structure and dynamics of the pro bono legal work done by lawyers in Brazil. In particular, I offer the following three arguments. First, I argue that Brazil's pro bono discourse and practices are a legal transplant that has not yet experienced variations in the context of reception. Second, I argue that this legal transplant has not yet taken root in the Brazilian legal culture despite the contributions it has made to the realization of the right to access to justice in the country. This weakness of pro bono discourse and practices is explained, I argue, both by causes of the Brazilian cultural, political and legal context and by causes related to the institutions and individuals that provide pro bono work in Brazil. Third, and last, I argue that the contribution it makes to the realization of the right to access to justice is still incipient. However, I also argue that the contributions that pro bono work has made in Brazil are one of the bases on which lawyers can build both to increase the levels of protection of the right to access to justice and for the recognition and realization of lawyer’s social obligations in a democracy in process of consolidation like the Brazilian.
Keywords:
Pro bono work; Legal transplants; Lawyer’s social obligations; Latin American lawyers