Pro Bono Practices and Opportunities in Thailand

Published on 15 May 2019 This is an overview of pro bono practices and opportunities in Thailand, including key practice rules, culture, obstacles to undertaking pro bono and sources of pro bono opportunities.

Despite the country’s reputation for kindness and voluntarism, the provision of pro bono legal services in Thailand is limited to a small number of lawyers at private law firms participating in a few pro bono opportunities offered or referred to them by non-profit organizations. Foreign lawyers wishing to provide pro bono legal services in Thailand face additional obstacles such as language and cultural barriers as well as barriers to practicing law in the country.

There is still a wide gap between the need for pro bono assistance and responsibility being taken individually and collectively by legal practitioners in meeting those needs. This shortfall can be attributed to the fact that the rendering of pro bono legal services has generally been dependent on the goodwill and social conscience of a few practitioners.

With an increasing number of university students engaging in pro bono activities arranged by university pro bono clubs, there has been a steady progress in pro bono legal services in Thailand. It is expected that universities’ students will play key roles in pro bono legal services in Thailand bridging the language and culture gap between foreign lawyers and local pro bono clients.