Michael Gillespie, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, started the talk with Oscar Vilhena Vieira, director do Conectas Human Rights. Vieira discussed the importance Instituto Pro Bono’s work in Brazil. The organization was created in 2001 by a group of 36 lawyers from São Paulo. In five years, IPB has given legal advice and services to hundreds of non-profit organizations that defend the rights of children, teenagers, women, African-Brazilians, people with special needs, as well as the environment and other causes.

The institute is one of three initiatives Conectas Human Rights promotes. The organization also supports Artigo 1, an entity that promotes strategic legal counsel with the goal of changing institutional practices that systemically violate human rights, and SUR, the university human rights network, which disseminates knowledge of human rights, creating channels for dialogue among academics, human rights activists, and the United Nations.

Encontro na Debevoise & Plimpton Law Firm in NY.

Vieira commented that the founders of IPB had overcome several obstacles to create the organization, from hurdles put up by legal associations and even an accusation of unfair competition from some of the projects opponents. Vieira also presented the context for volunteer legal services in Brazil, highlighting its influence in the defense of human rights and the results already obtained by society.

Ellen P. Chapnick, dean for social justice initiatives at Columbia Law School, and a participant at the round table, gave an example of how volunteer lawyers are gaining importance: Columbia has included a course on pro bono law in its curriculum.

More than 30 people participated in the event, among them Márcio Mello Silva Baptista, one of the organizers; the two lawyers Vanessa Simone Pereira and Marcello Hallake, who are directors of BrazilFoundation; Leona Forman, president of BrazilFoundation; Malak Poppovic, co-founder of Conectas; Lena Sinha, an advisor to the United Nations; Roberto Fuchs, executive director of Instituto Pro Bono; Paul G. Chevigny, a professor at New York University; S.Todd Crider, a partner of Simpson Thacher, among others.

- By Carolina Widmer

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Roger Agnelli and Leona Forman.

BrazilFoundation in partnership with J. P. Morgan Chase sponsored a lecture from the series Breakfast with Executives. This time, Roger Agnelli, president and chief executive officer of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD), spoke about what the company, which is the largest producer of iron in the world, has been doing to reconcile the need to produce profits for shareholders and to act with social responsibility.

According to Agnelli, CVRD makes an effort to be seen as a partner of the communities where it works. “We need to pay attention. We need to bring development to these communities,” he said. The executive explained that the best way to reach this goal is to invest in education. “With investments in education we can develop better professionals,” he said.

Agnelli, who was in New York to receive the “Person of the Year” award given by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, introduced the audience to Olinta Cardoso, superintendent of Vale do Rio Doce Foundation . The foundation works to restore the communities where the company’s mines are located.

Aparecida Simmensato and Andrea Agnelli

According to the director, part of the mission of Vale do Rio Doce Foundation is to use its resources wisely to support each city’s economy, environment and society. For this, the foundation concentrates its investments in projects of education culture and the preservation of nature reserves.

The breakfast was concluded by Andréa Agnelli, the wife of CVRD’s president, who spoke about her involvement with the projects of Institute Jutta Batista da Silva, which works to improve the quality of life in 11 municipalities in Venda Nova do Imigrante, Espírito Santo. She emphasized the work of volunteers pointing out that “Brazil’s greatest asset is its people, and the heart of each Brazilian.”