Since we began our pro bono relationship with Save the Children in 2009, Freshfields has brought together cross-border, cross-practice and local teams to deliver over 40,000 hours of pro bono legal advice.
Over its almost 100-year history, Save the Children has been at the forefront of saving children’s lives and providing services directly to children in times of crisis. Save the Children today works in more than 120 countries with in excess of 14,000 staff. Its much-needed services to children include complicated and challenging work in conflict-affected regions.
The charity’s mission to educate, protect and care for children resonates with Freshfields’ responsible business commitments. While most of our work is undertaken for Save the Children International (SCI), we also act for several national member organisations around the world who have similar legal needs. Our work includes day-to-day institutional support as well as assistance in areas linked more closely to Save the Children’s humanitarian work. We have provided support from 22 of our offices as well as many of the StrongerTogether firms we partner with across the globe. We have also set up ‘regional hubs’ internally to build strong relationships with SCI’s legal team overseeing different regions around the world.
“Save the Children has a footprint in many countries and resulting complex legal needs,” says Clare Canning, SCI General Counsel. “Freshfields has worked with us since 2009 and knows us intimately. We can trust them to understand us.”
Florian Westphal, CEO of Save the Children Germany says: “Freshfields' legal support has significantly enhanced our resilience as an organisation. Their pro bono assistance has equipped us to address legal issues efficiently so that we can focus on our cause. For example, Freshfields recently conducted multi-jurisdictional research to ensure our photo and video policy aligns with local laws and prevents misuse by other parties.”
We commit to seconding a trainee to SCI’s legal team every six months. Freshfields’ Maya Kotwal, now a Real Estate Associate in London, said of her secondment : “I feel very fortunate to have had an in-depth experience of working within SCI’s legal team and to have contributed to the organisation’s important programmes and activities all across the world, especially in the challenging times we live in.”
We also seconded Ciara Cosgrave, Corporate Associate, to SCI’s legal team in 2024 who remarked: “I am very grateful for the experience I have had working with SCI. The legal team work tirelessly on a broad range of issues which directly impacts SCI’s ability to carry out its programming activities globally and it has been a privilege to be a part of these efforts.”
Important work
Save the Children’s global restructuring in 2010–11 saw more than 50 of our lawyers across 10 Freshfields offices contribute more than 4,500 hours of pro bono advice. The project streamlined the way the charity operates at a global level, unlocking substantial benefits for children as well as Save the Children.
In 2015 SCI asked us for legal advice on the registration process to operate in various eastern European countries to assist with the refugee crisis. SCI wanted to know about any tax obligations and employment issues as well as whether it would be able to act in a particular country pending receipt of formal registration. We also advised on various urgent legal queries in relation to Save the Children’s work tackling the Ebola crisis in 2014-15.
In 2020, we assisted SCI with legal advice to help them set up an isolation and treatment centre to help tackle the coronavirus in Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh: we provided advice around duty of care and the appropriate protocols and procedures to follow to help ensure the centre could be fully operational as quickly as possible to reduce the spread of the virus through an already vulnerable population.
In 2022, we supported SCI with the contractual negotiations around its cash and voucher assistance programme as part of its Ukraine response in Poland which helped 300 Ukrainian families receive a total of US$225,000 in cash assistance.
Holly Terry who has been involved in SCI’s Ukraine response said “Freshfields gave us invaluable advice to support Save the Children's establishment of operations in Poland and in relation to our innovative, multi-modality, cross-border cash and voucher assistance programming. This will allow us to reach displaced people with unprecedented speed as they flee Ukraine and move to and through other countries and allows us to continue to provide crucial cash assistance to children and families impacted by this conflict.”
In 2023, we advised SCI’s Türkiye country office on a contract for the supply and installation of prefabricated buildings relating to an emergency housing project to address the displacement of over 2.7 million people following the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye. The project, which involved co-operation between the Governments of Türkiye and Korea and implemented by SCI and other NGOs, provided accommodation to 500 households in the province of Hatay, as well as creating community spaces, temporary learning spaces and child-friendly social spaces.
We continue to help SCI with their commercial contracting such as updating and simplifying their template general goods and services contracts, which enables SCI to provide $400 million of essential goods and services to those in need each year such as hygiene kits, schoolbooks, tents, IT hardware, and facilities management.
A Freshfields team also recently conducted a legal review of SCI’s supply chain templates in different languages which went on to be used by SCI’s Country Offices in programmes for children across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in West and Central Africa.
Other support
We don’t just do Save the Children’s most important legal work; like any other client we also try to understand their priorities.
Some of our people have taken up positions on the boards of national Save the Children members. Saloua Ouchan, Corporate Partner in Amsterdam, says: “Acting as a Board member requires commitment, both in sharing expertise and dedicating time. Joining the Save the Children Netherlands Board has been truly rewarding, giving me the opportunity to understand the needs of a child rights organisation and doing my best to support their work outside of pro bono advice.”
In Germany, we co-organise events for our employees to inform them about Save the Children Germany’s work, and help with fundraising for the organisation through our Matched Giving Programme.
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