Equipping the World's Scientists with the Tools, Training, and Connections to be on the Cutting Edge of Global Discovery

Client: Seeding Labs
Member Firm: Foley Hoag LLP
Sector: Science & Technology
Legal Area: Labor & Employment, Contracts, Immigration

Seeding Labs is a Massachusetts nonprofit working to transform the map of scientific innovation by addressing the critical lack of startup capital for scientists in developing countries. By repurposing surplus laboratory equipment from local research institutions and providing it to researchers abroad, the organization reduces waste at home, ensures that talented scientists abroad can address critical health and environmental problems facing their communities, and bridges the scientific communities across international borders.

Since its inception in 2007, Seeding Labs has shipped 152 tons of equipment to talented scientists overseas, provided more than $5.3 million of donated lab equipment and supplies, and helped researchers and students at 51 universities and institutions around the globe.

Founder and CEO Nina Dudnik began the effort to build Seeding Labs as a PhD student in molecular biology at Harvard Medical School in 2003. She was a finalist in the 2006 MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and was awarded an Echoing Green fellowship in 2007 to formally launch and expand Seeding Labs.

Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation collaborator Echoing Green introduced the Foundation to Nina in 2008. The Foundation sourced legal assistance from Lex Mundi member law firm Foley Hoag LLP which has been supporting Seeding Labs ever since (for nearly ten years!).

Through two different teams at Foley Hoag, Seeding Labs has received crucial assistance with employment law, international visa issues, and with contracts that have helped secure millions of dollars in funding and in-kind support from global corporations.

“I am grateful to the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation.” Dudnik recently said. “As an Echoing Green Fellow, you connected me to Foley Hoag in 2008 and I’m proud to say they are still supporting us with pro bono counsel 9 years later! I know that Seeding Labs’ success has been furthered by the help from Foley Hoag through the Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation.”

“Foley Hoag has a long history of providing pro bono legal services to nonprofit groups on a local and national scale,” said Foley Hoag partner Mark Haddad, who co-chairs the firm’s Business Department. “The fact that Seeding Labs is also based in Massachusetts and benefits developing countries has made our work with them all the more meaningful. We are proud to help this unique organization in many capacities as it delivers significant scientific impact with global reach.”

 

News on Purpose August 2024

In This Issue:

  • Addressing the Need to Create a Single Market for Philanthropy in the EU
  • Budgeting for Equity and Economic Mobility
  • 2024 Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation Awardees
  • Mayora & Mayora, a Leading Light in Latin America

Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation Announces New Appointments to its Board of Directors

During the Lex Mundi Annual Connect & Collaborate Conference in London on May 10, 2024, Carlos Velázquez De León was elected as the new Chair of Lex Mundi and Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation’s Board of Directors. The Foundation’s Board of Directors also elected Aniekan Ukpanah, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie (Nigeria), to the position of Chair-Elect and Christel Van den Eynden, Liedekerke (Belgium), as a new director. The three new members join the Foundation’s current directors in seeking to embody the highest ideals of the legal profession. By promoting and facilitating the delivery of pro bono legal services, they support those positively improving lives worldwide.

2024 Pro Bono Foundation Annual Award Winners

The Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation (the “Foundation”) was proud to recognize the following 2024 award recipients:

  • Day Pitney LLP, Lex Mundi member for USA, New Jersey
  • Deacons, Lex Mundi member for Hong Kong
  • Dudley Newman Feuerzeig LLP, Lex Mundi member for U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Shalakany Law Office, Lex Mundi member for Egypt
  • Wardyński & Partners, Lex Mundi member for Poland

 

News on Purpose

In This Issue:

  • Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation Leading the Way in Support for Social Entrepreneurs: The Rise Ahead Pledge and Corporate Social Innovation Compass
  • Increasing Access to Assistive Technology
  • Arthur Cox, a Pro Bono Champion in Ireland

News On Purpose

In This Issue

  • Another Banner Year, 2023 in Review
  • Activating Humanitarian Resources Near Rafah
  • Bringing Safe Water to Schools
  • New Canadian Bar Association President Leading By Example

Legal Resources to Support those Responding to Humanitarian Needs Near Rafah

In light of the ongoing humanitarian crisis near Rafah, our Lex Mundi member for Egypt, Shalakany, has generously provided high-level guidance for NGOs seeking to activate resources in the area.

Find answers to the following questions:

  1. What is the regulatory framework for incorporating a foreign NGO in Egypt?
  2. What are the challenges associated with the incorporation of a foreign NGO in Egypt?
  3. What are the available alternative forms of registration?