Annual IBA Pro Bono Award
Application details
Each year, the IBA Pro Bono Committee honour a lawyer who has shown an outstanding commitment to pro bono work as part of their legal career.
Applications are now closed for the Pro Bono Award. If you have any questions, please contact divisions@int-bar.org
The IBA Pro Bono Committee’s mission is to support the IBA in promoting pro bono work globally through implementation of the IBA Pro Bono Declaration and the exchange of information and the promotion of best practice. Pro bono work is a cornerstone of the legal profession, and the IBA Pro Bono Committee wants to help build a culture of pro bono work by lawyers, law firms and organisations of lawyers as a vehicle for access to justice where that right is not fully supported by legal aid.
LexisNexis is honoured to support the Annual IBA Pro Bono Award
Shortlisted candidates for the Annual IBA Pro Bono Award 2025 were:
- Mahesh Rai
- Ben Keith
- Rhys Davies
- Arfat Selvam
- Sam Cottman
- Jose Ugaz Sanchez-Moreno
- Saira Lakhan
Supported by LexisNexis
The IBA Pro Bono Committee annually presents an award to a lawyer who is leading our profession in building a pro bono culture. The award is free to enter and it is open to all lawyers, whether or not they are members of the IBA.
2025 Recipient
The recipient of the IBA Pro Bono Award for 2025 has been announced as Arfat Selvam from Singapore. She is honoured for her extraordinary dedication to pro bono service and access to justice. Her unwavering commitment to pro bono work is demonstrated by 17 years of continuous leadership in the Law Society of Singapore’s pro bono initiatives.
When notified about the award, Mrs Selvam remarked: 'It is an incredible honour to receive the International Bar Association Pro Bono Award for this year. The world today is a challenging place, but we are capable of meeting that challenge and we should do it. I am most grateful to the IBA and to its Pro Bono Committee for this recognition. I am also humbled to be in the company of so many distinguished lawyers before me who have used their professional skills to make this world a better place. This award to me is a renewed commitment for me to continue this work for positive change. I would like to end by encouraging every lawyer to embrace pro bono.'
Read morePrevious Recipients
Congratulations to Vineetha MG, the 2024 winner of the Annual IBA Pro Bono Award.
Congratulations to María Fernanda Mierez, the 2023 winner of the Annual IBA Pro Bono Award.
Congratulations to Elba Gutiérrez, the 2022 winner of the Annual IBA Pro Bono Award.
Congratulations to Geoff Budlender, the 2021 winner of the Annual IBA Pro Bono Award.
- Congratulations to Marcos Fuchs, winner of the 2015 Annual IBA Pro Bono Award!
- Congratulations to Nick Paul, winner of the 2014 Annual IBA Pro Bono Award!
- Congratulations to Susan Finegan, winner of the 2013 Annual IBA Pro Bono Award!
- Congratulations to Tong Lihua, winner of the 2012 Annual IBA Pro Bono Award!
- Congratulations to Flavia Regina de Souza Oliveira, winner of the 2011 Annual IBA Pro Bono Award!
- Congratulations to Angeline Welsh, winner of the 2010 Annual IBA Pro Bono Award!