Prague—As a result of the challenges caused by the global pandemic, Dentons’ Prague office increased its support to the Czech community in 2020. The Firm provided almost 1000 hours of free-of-charge legal advice to education and children’s rights organizations, and made charitable donations to help health care professionals and students impacted by COVID-19.

Pro bono legal advice

Dentons’ lawyers provided close to 1000 hours of pro bono legal advice on 24 different matters for NGOs focused on children’s rights, education and humanitarian aid, including:

• Eduzměna Foundation, which promotes systemic change in the education system in the Czech Republic
• Dobrý start – Z rodiny doletí dál (Good Start - From the Family will Fly On), which aims to reduce the placement of young children into institutional care by supporting the development of foster care and temporary foster care
• CARE Česká republika, the local branch of one of the largest international humanitarian agencies, focused on fighting poverty and providing emergency assistance around the globe. Dentons is a global partner of CARE, providing pro bono legal advice not only in the Czech Republic, but in many other countries.

Helping to provide access to distance learning

Following the closure of Czech schools due to COVID-19, many children of socially disadvantaged families could not access distance learning, as they did not have a computer at home. To support access to education, Dentons donated 62 used computers to Sbírka Učíme online (Computer Collection). The donated computers benefitted students at seven schools and two social services organizations.

Supporting nurses on the front line of the pandemic

Dentons’ Prague office and its individual partners - namely Michal Hink, Evan Lazar, Ladislav Štorek, Jiří Stržínek, Stewart Middleman, Jiří Tomola, Daniel Hurych, Petr Zákoucký, Chris Watkinson, Tomáš Bílek, Ladislav Smejkal, Markéta Tvrdá, Jan Procházka, Rainer Frank and Honorary Member  – donated CZK 250 000 to the Česká asociace sester (Czech Nurses Association). The donation will help ensure that the hardworking nurses, who have been on the front lines of the pandemic, will continue to have access to training and professional development.

“Although Dentons has always been committed to making a positive impact on the community, in this truly extraordinary year, we felt it was more important than ever to act in solidarity with those impacted by the pandemic,” said Michal Hink, Czech Managing Partner at Dentons. “As we enter the New Year with renewed hope, we will continue to stand by our clients and the community, both in these challenging times and in the better times ahead.”

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