A legal nonprofit established nearly 30 years ago in the U.S. to provide legal services pro bono is growing increasingly active in Mexico, where access to justice can be elusive and the culture of pro bono legal work has not taken root as it has in the U.S. and U.K.

“We need to show [Mexican law firms] that pro bono work is key to closing the gap in inequities,” says Maru Cortazar, executive director of The Appleseed Network in Mexico. “We need to show them the benefits and the social responsibility of law firms.”