The recipient of the International Bar Association (IBA) Pro Bono Award for 2024 has been announced as Vineetha MG from India. She is honoured for her two decades of pro bono work, assisting individuals and communities who would otherwise lack access to legal representation.
When notified about the award, Ms MG remarked: 'I am deeply honoured and thrilled to receive the IBA Pro Bono Award. I would like to thank the IBA, LexisNexis and the Pro Bono Committee for this recognition. I accept it with gratitude, not only personally and on behalf of everyone at Samvad, but also on behalf of the inspirational legal professionals across the globe, who devote their effort and talent to ensure that equal justice is not merely an idea enshrined in constitutions, but becomes a reality for the people most in need. This recognition means more to me than what the words can convey and I look forward to continuing our collective efforts in making a positive impact through pro bono work.'
Sponsored by LexisNexis, the annual IBA Pro Bono Award seeks to honour those who have shown outstanding commitment to pro bono work over the course of their career.
Vineetha MG is co-founder and Senior Partner at Samvad Partners in Mumbai, India and is recognised as one of the leading practitioners in the field of law. She was named a 'Legal Icon' in the country and was also included in the 'A-list' of 'India's Top 100 Lawyers' by India Business Law Journal for over six years consecutively. She has been included in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame and named 'Top Female Lawyer' in India.
In her pro bono work she has partnered with multiple non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and foundations working in various areas, including in supporting of marginalised communities and on issues such as gender equality and microfinancing, gender-based violence, child sexual abuse and the abolition of child marriage, using a rights-based approach.
In addition to her professional and pro bono work, Ms MG contributes to the broader legal community by mentoring new graduates and fellow lawyers. She believes that knowledge gets maximised once shared and her efforts aim to nurture the next generation of legal minds and champion gender equality within the legal field.
In a joint statement, the judging panel outlined its reasons for selecting Ms MG as the IBA Pro Bono Award winner for 2024: 'The IBA Pro Bono Award Selection Committee awarded Vineetha MG the award in 2024 because of Vineetha's two decades of commitment to pro bono work and its reach and impact within India. Each year, the Pro Bono Committee honours a lawyer who has shown an outstanding commitment to pro bono work as part of their legal career and is helping build a pro bono culture. Vineetha has partnered with numerous non-governmental organizations in India to work on challenging issues which have included pro bono work to support gender equality and microfinance as well as work to end child marriages and gender-based violence. This has included adopting a rights-based approach and as noted by one of her nominators, "Vineetha demonstrates sensitivity in understanding issues of marginalisation and supports our requirement of legal services to ensure we work with a rights-based approach on children's issues." A second nominator highlighted Vineetha's commitment to providing assistance and noted that Vineetha's "diligent and thoughtful approach helped us to develop not only a strong institution but helped the entire country create a policy framework for microfinance, impact investing and financial inclusion." Congratulations Vineetha and thank you for your dedication to pro bono!'
The award was presented by Myra Garrett, Vice Chair of the IBA's Section on Public and Professional Interest (SPPI), and Flavia Regina de Souza Oliveira, Co-Chair of the IBA Pro Bono Committee, at the IBA Annual Conference 2024, during the SPPI breakfast on Thursday 19 September at 0800-0915.
