FAQs for organisations
UPJ Pro Bono Rechtsberatung sources legal advice on a wide range of issues. Some typical areas of law are listed on the page “Legal Advice”.
In principle, a wide range of requests and areas of law can be accepted for referral by UPJ Pro Bono Rechtsberatung. However, the following requests in particular cannot be accepted for referral:
- urgent matters;
- requests on behalf of a third party;
- requests from private individuals that do not concern establishing an organisation;
- administrative or tax law issues that are not related to a legal request;
- requests for representation in court.
In principle, there is no limit to the number of legal requests that you can submit. It is sometimes possible to bundle several legal requests into one pro bono matter. More complex requests will sometimes need to be split into several matters. UPJ will take a decision on this following a preliminary review by lawyers and will discuss the decision with you.
UPJ charges a small fee for each matter placed with a law firm. The fee reflects the sincerity of the request and the required cooperation, in order to ensure that the legal advice generates a swift result. The fee depends on the one hand on the number of full-time employees at the organisation and on the other hand on the complexity of your request, which may have to be split into several pro bono matters:
A: Small organisations and initiatives with up to 10 employees
- EUR 50 simple request
- EUR 75 more complex request
B: Medium-sized organisation with up to 30 employees
- EUR 100 simple request
- EUR 130 more complex request
C: Größere Organisation bis 100 Mitarbeiter*innen
- EUR 150 simple request
- EUR 180 more complex request
D: Large organisation with more than 100 employees
- EUR 200 simple request
- EUR 250 more complex request
UPJ’s work ends upon conclusion of a consultancy agreement with the law firm. The advice provided by the law firm is subject to professional conduct rules also with regard to the handling of matters. You should clarify any difficulties that may arise directly with the law firm. We would appreciate your feedback on the law firm’s conduct.
The law firms respond to specific requests and perform the tasks discussed with you. If you need additional or different support, please submit a new legal request to UPJ using the registration form. If no law firm has yet been sourced for your request, please let UPJ know immediately so that the description of your legal request can be amended and made known to the law firms.
In principle, yes. UPJ encourages NPOs, law firms and lawyers to build a relationship with each other. However, there is no obligation to cooperate beyond the pro bono project. UPJ recommends that you register for a new referral if you have new or additional legal requests.
UPJ publishes your request for legal advice up to three times in the newsletter to the UPJ law firm mailing list. Law firms have 10 days to respond to a request. If no law firm responds within this period following the third publication, your request for legal advice will be deemed not to have been matched. UPJ will not publish the request again. In this case, UPJ will inform you that your request has not been matched.
FAQs for law firms
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- Law firms providing legal advice in Germany
- Individual lawyers admitted to a German bar association
- Persons authorised to provide legal advice free of charge in accordance with the German Legal Services Act (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz)
Professional liability insurance is generally required for registration.
You should respond within 10 days for a matter described on the matching platform and should have completed the necessary internal clearance procedures. Matters are published up to 3 times (and allocated on a first come, first served basis from the 2nd time).
UPJ talks to each organisation in advance and endeavours, where possible, to include key deadlines in the project description. Nevertheless, you should confirm all deadlines and schedules at your first meeting. Please comply with applicable professional conduct rules in this regard.
Please note that UPJ’s services end upon conclusion of the consultancy agreement between you and the organisation. You will have to clarify any problems that may arise directly with your client. If the non-binding estimate of the advisory work involved was understated in the matter description, please feel free to report this back to UPJ.
Please note that UPJ’s services end upon conclusion of the consultancy arrangement between you and the organisation. You will have to clarify any problems that may arise directly with your client. Please note that UPJ’s services end upon conclusion of the consultancy arrangement between you and the organisation.
UPJ advises all organisations that pro bono legal advice will only be provided for the requests initially agreed with them. These requests are described on the matching platform. . Please note that UPJ’s services end upon conclusion of the consultancy agreement between you and the organisation. You will have to clarify any problems that may arise directly with your client.
Yes. UPJ encourages law firms and lawyers to build relationships with the organisations they work with. However, there is no obligation to continue working with them. This is also made clear to the organisations. UPJ recommends that organisations register a new matter if they have any new or additional legal queries.