Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice

05/12/2026

🚨Tomorrow is the last day to respond to our 2026 Pro Bono Survey with Latin Lawyer🚨

Law firms across Latin America are encouraged to participate. The annual survey helps us track how pro bono practice is evolving across the region and identify opportunities and areas for improvement. The responses also help us select our annual list of Leading Lights firms.🌟📊

We want to hear from you! Don't miss your chance to help us understand the current state of in Latin America, look ahead to where it's going next, and identify the leaders that are going to help us get there.✅

🗓️ Deadline (extended): May 13 🗓️

🔗Respond to the survey here: bit.ly/2026-Pro-Bono-Survey

05/11/2026

¿Trabajas en una organización de la sociedad civil en Guatemala? No te pierdas esta charla virtual sobre cómo el apoyo legal pro bono puede ayudar a tu organización a cumplir con los requisitos de registro y proteger sus operaciones.

🤝 Junto con el Directorio Guatemala y la Asociación Pro Bono de Guatemala, hablaremos de cómo acceder a este apoyo esencial para que quienes están en primera línea puedan seguir atendiendo las necesidades de sus comunidades.

📅 13 de mayo
🕙 10:00am hora de Guatemala / 12:00pm hora de NY

👉 Regístrate aquí: https://directorioguatemala.org/es/event/herramientas-legales-y-est%C3%A1ndares-internacionales-para-osc-en-guatemala

¿Cómo fortalecer la protección legal y el cumplimiento de tu organización?

Te invitamos a este espacio para conocer herramientas legales y estándares internacionales dirigidos a organizaciones de sociedad civil en Guatemala. Aprende sobre las opciones pro bono disponibles y cómo estas pueden ayudar a fortalecer la sostenibilidad, protección y continuidad de tu misión institucional.

🗓️ 13 de mayo
⏰ 10:00 a.m.

Con la participación de Pedro Villegas de Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice y Claudia Murga de Asociación ProBono Guatemala.

🔗 Inscríbete aquí:
https://directorioguatemala.org/es/event/herramientas-legales-y-est%C3%A1ndares-internacionales-para-osc-en-guatemala

05/08/2026

🌎Our Environment Program recently supported the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment in her amicus brief submission on States’ climate obligations before the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

We helped develop legal arguments presented in the brief, which addresses key obligations for the Court to consider, including:
▶️ Differentiating responsibilities based on States’ development needs and historical greenhouse gas emissions,
▶️ Regulating and monitoring the activities of private companies, and
▶️ Protecting present and future generations, with stronger protections for marginalized communities and environmental human rights defenders.

🌱 The brief also emphasizes States’ obligations to respect and uphold the human right to a healthy environment, a core focus of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, which we are proud to support through our Environment Program.

⚖️ This is the first time the ACtHPR has directly considered States’ human rights obligations in the context of climate change, marking its pending decision as an important addition to the growing body of global frameworks clarifying these responsibilities.

The brief was filed as part of a request by the Pan African Lawyers Union - PALU for an advisory opinion on States’ climate obligations.

🤝 We are honored to work closely with the Special Rapporteur in her mandate and look forward to the Court’s decision. For more on the submission, visit: https://www.vancecenter.org/vance-center-supports-amicus-brief-submission-in-crucial-climate-case-before-african-regional-court/

05/06/2026

Three of our Vance Center attorneys were supposed to be at RightsCon in Lusaka this week.

We had a session on the agenda: a roundtable focused on legal and practical safeguards against government surveillance of civil society organizations.

Like hundreds of our fellow attendees, we were looking forward to this historic RightsCon and the opportunity to connect with clients, colleagues, partners, and friends, especially our contacts in sub-Saharan Africa. And like thousands of others across the world, we were disappointed and alarmed by the Zambian government's last-minute decision to effectively cancel this important global event.

The New York City Bar Association stands in solidarity with Access Now and the RightsCon organizing team, the thousands of participants whose work was disrupted, and the civil society community that this forum exists to serve.

The cancellation is especially striking in the context of our scheduled session, which was to explore legal and practical safeguards against surveillance.

Unchecked government surveillance is among the most significant contemporary threats to civil society, freedom of expression, and the rule of law. It chills dissent, limits advocacy, and enables the targeting of human rights defenders, journalists, and lawyers.

Shrinking civic space, government interference in civil society gatherings, and limitations on participation are not arguments against these events; they are the very reasons events like RightsCon exist and why they must be protected.

Read the full statement from the New York City Bar Association ➡️ https://www.nycbar.org/press-releases/on-the-cancellation-of-rightscon-2026-by-the-zambian-government/

05/01/2026

🌎We're hiring a Staff Attorney/Program Advisor to join our Environment Program!

📰 THE ROLE
The Staff Attorney/Program Advisor will play a key role in supporting and strengthening the Vance Center's global environmental work. This position will engage directly on pro bono projects with clients and law firms, and will contribute to our efforts to promote and protect environmental and human rights.

Responsibilities include:
➡️Assisting in coordinating and managing pro bono projects
➡️Conducting legal research and analysis
➡️Outreach to new clients; building and maintaining relationships and consistent communication with existing partners and pro bono law firms
➡️Monitoring relevant legal developments at national and regional levels
➡️Contributing to crafting materials for grant makers and publication on the program’s activities, cases, and current events
➡️Planning, facilitating, and participating in events with the Vance Center's network
➡️Other tasks and additional responsibilities as needed

What we're looking for:
✔️Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience, including legal work in or related to international environmental law, and knowledge of international and regional legal systems, international and regional human rights mechanisms, and civil society actors.
✔️J.D. or LLM from a U.S. law school or equivalent degree from a non-U.S. law school. ➕Specialization in International Environmental Law or Public International Law is a plus.
✔️Admission to practice law in any U.S. state or another jurisdiction.
✔️Written and oral fluency in English and Spanish is required. Knowledge of French is a plus.

This is a hybrid position, with 3 days in our Midtown Manhattan office. Candidates must have authorization to work in the U.S.

Find more info and apply here 👉https://newyorkcitybarassociation.applytojob.com/apply/HtJoHk2iUo/Staff-AttorneyProgram-Advisor-Environment-Program

05/01/2026

🌎 Over the last few days, we’ve been spotlighting a few of the ways our legal support strengthens access to justice for civil society.

Tomorrow marks the start of our new fiscal year, and we hope you’ll help us start it off strong by donating today. Your support will be put to immediate use, helping us continue to deliver pro bono legal services to human and environmental rights organizations, independent media and judges, and other clients from all corners of the world.

🤝 Join us in advancing justice today: vancecenter.org/donate

04/29/2026

⚖️ La independencia judicial es un pilar esencial de la democracia. Es un requisito fundamental para garantizar el acceso a la justicia y la protección de los derechos humanos.

Durante muchos años, el Vance Center ha trabajado de cerca con jueces y juezas que enfrentan ataques a su integridad.

🎙️Nuestra clienta Emilia Molina, presidenta de la Asociación Mexicana de Juzgadoras, visitó nuestra oficina para conversar sobre algunas de las principales consecuencias de la reforma judicial en México.

A medida que jueces y juezas en toda América Latina enfrentan crecientes amenazas a su independencia, necesitan nuestro apoyo más que nunca.

👉 Ayúdanos a sostener nuestros esfuerzos para proteger la independencia judicial en: http://www.vancecenter.org/donate/

04/29/2026

🚨There's only one week left to respond to our 2026 Pro Bono Survey with Latin Lawyer🚨

Law firms across Latin America are encouraged to participate. The annual survey helps us track how pro bono practice is evolving across the region and identify opportunities and areas for improvement. The responses also help us select our annual list of Leading Lights firms.🌟📊

We want to hear from you! Don't miss your chance to help us understand the current state of in Latin America, look ahead to where it's going next, and identify the leaders that are going to help us get there.✅

🗓️ Deadline: May 6 🗓️

🔗Respond to the survey here: bit.ly/2026-Pro-Bono-Survey

04/28/2026

🔎 Pro Bono Spotlight: Contributing research to a new policy report on integrating climate change considerations into environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in Asia and Latin America

🌱 Our client: Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

📑 What we did: Working with pro bono lawyers from 18 firms across 20 jurisdictions, we researched how 20 major economies across Latin America and Asia integrate climate considerations into national EIA processes.

Our Environment Program collaborated closely with the legal team and report authors to:
▶️ Analyze each country’s EIA frameworks
▶️ Review relevant climate litigation
▶️ Assess how climate impacts are considered in practice

✅ The impact: This legal research contributed to the Grantham Institute’s new policy report on EIAs, “Integrating climate considerations into environmental impact assessments: Lessons from Latin America and Asia.”

🌎 This is the first project of its kind to analyze climate laws systematically from such a large and diverse selection of countries, filling a significant research gap on EIAs in the Global South.

👉 Want to support projects like this? Help us continue delivering high-quality pro bono legal services for civil society at: www.vancecenter.org/donate

04/27/2026

Our Human Rights & Access to Justice team assisted ARC - Artists at Risk Connection, an international organization promoting the right to artistic freedom, with a mapping of censorship laws across 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Our legal research:
⚖️Provided an overview of international and regional standards on artistic expression
🔎Identified laws and policies that facilitate censorship in each country

🎯The impact? ARC used the legal mapping to inform their advocacy before the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, leading to the recent adoption of the Resolution on the Promotion and Protection of Artistic Freedom in Africa. This is a decisive step for strengthening protections for artists across the continent!

Want to support important pro bono projects like this? Visit: https://www.vancecenter.org/

04/22/2026

🌎This Earth Day, we're sharing an open position for a Staff Attorney/Program Advisor to advance the important work of our Environment Program!

📰 THE ROLE
The Staff Attorney/Program Advisor will play a key role in supporting and strengthening the Vance Center's global environmental work. This position will engage directly on pro bono projects with clients and law firms, and will contribute to our efforts to promote and protect environmental and human rights.

Responsibilities include:
➡️Assisting in coordinating and managing pro bono projects
➡️Conducting legal research and analysis
➡️Outreach to new clients; building and maintaining relationships and consistent communication with existing partners and pro bono law firms
➡️Monitoring relevant legal developments at national and regional levels
➡️Contributing to crafting materials for grant makers and publication on the program’s activities, cases, and current events
➡️Planning, facilitating, and participating in events with the Vance Center's network
➡️Other tasks and additional responsibilities as needed

What we're looking for:
✔️Minimum of 2 years of relevant experience, including legal work in or related to international environmental law, and knowledge of international and regional legal systems, international and regional human rights mechanisms, and civil society actors.
✔️J.D. or LLM from a U.S. law school or equivalent degree from a non-U.S. law school. ➕Specialization in International Environmental Law or Public International Law is a plus.
✔️Admission to practice law in any U.S. state or another jurisdiction.
✔️Written and oral fluency in English and Spanish is required. Knowledge of French is a plus.

This is a hybrid position, with 3 days in our Midtown Manhattan office. Candidates must have authorization to work in the U.S.

Find more info and apply here 👉https://newyorkcitybarassociation.applytojob.com/apply/HtJoHk2iUo/Staff-AttorneyProgram-Advisor-Environment-Program