in partnership with
for their partnership to provide holistic legal services
to underserved residents of the Heliópolis favela
Meta Legal Department, TozziniFreire Advogados, and UNAS – União de Núcleos, Associações dos Moradores de Heliópolis e Região have built a pro bono partnership over the past six years to provide pro bono legal services to residents of the Heliópolis favela, an underserved neighborhood of 200,000 residents, in São Paulo, Brazil. Through the partnership, pro bono volunteers from Meta and TozziniFreire provide legal guidance to residents on a wide range of topics, including family law, consumer law, social security, labor law, and criminal law. The pro bono partners’ legal consultations are informed by a critical analysis of each client’s circumstances, providing accessible and feasible solutions.
This project exemplifies how corporate legal teams can make a meaningful impact in their communities. By taking a holistic approach, the team directs those in need to appropriate resources, ensuring that information is delivered clearly and accessibly so individuals receive the guidance they require. Given the challenging circumstances faced by the residents of Heliópolis, the partnership offers sensitive, culturally aware, empathetic assistance.
Additionally, the project helps alleviate the demand for services directed at UNAS, the association that enables services and disciplinary activities to defend and promote the rights of Heliópolis’ residents, assisting an average of 6,000 people monthly. This joint approach fosters trust between the partnership and the community, as evidenced by a remarkable fivefold increase in criminal law consultations.
Since the partnership’s inception in 2019, more than 300 volunteers have dedicated almost 4,700 hours to conduct more than 1,000 consultations. In 2024, the partnership mobilized 110 volunteers who dedicated more than 1,500 hours to providing essential assistance in four different locations of the Heliópolis territory. Among 300 consultations, 33% of cases are related to social security law, indicating a high demand for guidance regarding retirement, disability benefits, and families facing extreme financial vulnerability. Given that over 80% of families in Heliópolis are composed of single mothers and their children, the partnership has primarily supported women, who represent almost 53% of the individuals assisted. Many of these clients have legal needs such as divorce, child support, and custody arrangements, in addition to more urgent matters like domestic violence.
The partnership serves as a valuable access to justice resource in Brazil, where significant disparities exist in legal representation for low-income populations, such as Heliópolis. By facilitating access to legal advice and education, the partnership demystifies the legal process and empowers community members to engage with the justice system to address their legal challenges. This proactive approach not only enhances individual outcomes but also contributes to broader social change, fostering an environment where justice is more accessible and ultimately working to reduce systemic inequalities within the Brazilian legal system.
About Meta Legal Department
Meta is a global company building the future of human connection and technology that makes it possible through brands, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The Meta Legal Department is responsible for handling all legal matters for the company, including security, compliance, litigation, privacy and regulatory. The department plays a crucial role in navigating the legal landscape surrounding Meta’s platforms and products.
About TozziniFreire Advogados
TozziniFreire is one of the leading legal services organizations in Latin America, operating in all areas of business law and with a significant track record in serving national and foreign companies from a wide range of sectors. In 2020, TozziniFreire officially launched its Business and Human Rights practice, as the first Brazilian law firm to have an area exclusively dedicated to the topic, becoming a national and international benchmark. With its own offices in several cities in Brazil and a strong international presence, TozziniFreire ensures a unique standard of quality and service.
TozziniFreire’s collaborative culture, with integrity, social responsibility, and respect for diversity, makes us more than a law firm. We are a strategic partner for our clients, delivering legal and business solutions with innovation, agility, and creativity.
About UNAS – União de Núcleos, Associações dos Moradores de Heliópolis e Região
UNAS – União de Núcleos, Associações dos Moradores de Heliópolis e Região is a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 as a committee formed by residents of the Heliópolis favela, mobilized by the fight for the right to housing and land ownership.
We believe that every person has rights, regardless of age, and we work to strengthen their autonomy in building citizenship. We seek to break down the invisible barriers that separate the outskirts of the city from other neighborhoods, ensuring that our community has access to opportunities and rights. To this end, we establish partnerships with the government, the private sector, and social organizations, enabling the implementation of projects, programs, and services in various areas such as: education, culture, social assistance, sports, health, work, women’s rights, youth, the LGBTQIAP+ population, housing, and grassroots social movements.
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About the CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award
Corporate Pro Bono (CPBO), a project of Pro Bono Institute, created the CPBO Pro Bono Partner Award to recognize innovative pro bono collaborations of in-house legal departments with law firms and public interest organizations. Pro bono partnerships that include at least one in-house legal department with one or more law firms and/or public interest organizations are eligible. The CPBO Advisory Board selects the award recipients.
The award honors legal departments and the organizations with which they partner in the provision of legal services to those in need. The award recipients are departments, law firms, and public interest organizations that have demonstrated an impact in their community through their partnership project, shown substantial involvement in the project by in-house lawyers, made tangible steps toward sustaining the relationship among the partners, developed innovative substantive or structural approaches in support of the partnership’s effort, and addressed a critical legal need or assisted a particularly vulnerable community or target population.
* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® signatory
** denotes a Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® signatory
† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project® member
