European Lawyers in Lesvos

What European Lawyers in Lesvos does

European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELIL) is a charitable non-profit founded in June 2016 by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) and the German Bar Association (DAV) in response to the EU-Turkey Statement crisis, and incorporated as European Lawyers in Lesvos gGmbH in Germany in December 2017. The organization provides free, independent legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in Greece and Poland — including before the decisive first asylum interview, in family reunification proceedings under the Dublin Regulation, in age assessment cases for unaccompanied children, and at the Poland-Belarus border to counter pushbacks. It is the only NGO with permanent lawyer presence at the Poland-Belarus border and assisted over 43,000 people across more than 17,000 cases between 2016 and 2025, with a 69.9% asylum grant rate in Greece in 2025 against a 44.3% national average.

ELIL delivers services through seven physical offices — Lesvos, Samos, Athens, and Thessaloniki in Greece, plus Warsaw and the Poland-Belarus border in Poland, with headquarters in Berlin — staffed by a small core team (35+ staff) and a deep bench of over 600 volunteer lawyers from across Europe placed via two structured pro bono collaboratives: the Greece Pro Bono Collaborative (eight international law firms) and the Ukraine Pro Bono Collaborative (five-plus firms, established at UNHCR's request). Its technology stack is built around Bryter (a donated German legal tech platform used for knowledge management automation) and HighQ (cloud-based file sharing), with an online volunteer interpreter network supporting multilingual intake. ELIL is ISO 9001 accredited, holds an NGOsource Equivalency Determination certificate, and has won multiple high-credibility awards including the 2019 Pax Christi International Peace Prize and the 2020 UIA/LexisNexis Rule of Law Award.

ELIL has no commercial revenue: services are provided free of charge to beneficiaries, and the organization is funded through a mix of charitable donations, grants from bar associations and institutional donors (Swiss State Secretariat for Migration, Deutsche Postcode Lotterie, EU co-funded projects such as CO.A.ST), and in-kind pro bono services from international law firms. The CO.A.ST project (2024-2026), co-funded by the EU and led by the Italian Council for Refugees, extends ELIL's child-focused work into six EU member states and signals a transition from a Greece-and-Poland operator to a pan-European legal aid platform.

Name

European Lawyers in Lesvos

Legal name

European Lawyers in Lesvos gGmbH

Website

https://europeanlawyersinlesvos.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELIL) is a charitable non-profit that provides free, independent legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in Greece and Poland, including before first asylum interviews, in family reunification cases, and at the Poland-Belarus border.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee and Asylum Legal Aid Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC), Diaspora, Family Reunification & Case Management Services (BPADAHAM), Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAG)

Keywords

• Legal aid services
• Asylum legal assistance
• Refugee rights support
• Pro bono legal aid
• Humanitarian legal services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mytilene

HQ country

Greece

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations and Grants: ELIL is a registered charity (gGmbH) funded by bar associations, foundations, institutional donors, and individual supporters. The organization does not charge for its services.
2. Government and Institutional Funding: Funding from Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Deutsche Postcode Lotterie, and EU co-funded projects like CO.A.ST.
3. Pro Bono Legal Support: International law firms provide free legal support through volunteer lawyer placements, contributing in-kind professional services rather than direct funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELIL) is a registered charity that provides free, independent legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in Greece and Poland. Its core work is preparing asylum seekers for their decisive first-instance asylum interview, supporting family reunification under the Dublin Regulation, providing specialised child protection and age-assessment support, and operating field-level legal aid at the Poland-Belarus border and for Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw. Services are delivered by staff lawyers and bar-registered volunteers from across Europe and are provided at no cost to beneficiaries.

Product overview

European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELIL) is a charitable legal aid organization offering free legal assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in Greece and Poland. The organization provides a portfolio of services including one-on-one legal consultations, specialised legal assistance to children, family reunification support under the Dublin Regulation, and group legal information sessions. ELIL operates through regional projects in Greece (with offices in Lesvos, Samos, Athens, and Thessaloniki) and Poland (Warsaw Project and Poland-Belarus Border Project). The organization also runs collaborative programs including the Greece Pro Bono Collaborative and Ukraine Pro Bono Collaborative, which partner with international law firms for volunteer placements. Additional offerings include volunteer lawyer/assistant/interpreter programs, the CO.A.ST project for unaccompanied children, and fundraising platforms. Internally, ELIL uses Bryter for knowledge management and HighQ for document collaboration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Greece Pro Bono Collaborative (GPBC): Partnership between ELIL and international law firms providing volunteer lawyer placements in Greece
• Ukraine Pro Bono Collaborative (UPBC)
• CO.A.ST (My Coming of Age Story)

Products and services

• Legal Consultations for Asylum Seekers (Greece) One-on-one legal consultations that provide legal information, practical support, and tailored advice to asylum seekers in Greece to prepare them for their first-instance asylum interview. Delivered by staff lawyers and volunteer lawyers in offices in Lesvos, Samos, Athens, and Thessaloniki.
• Legal Assistance to Children Specialised legal assistance for children travelling alone or with their families, including representation through the age assessment process for children incorrectly registered as adults and broader child protection support. Delivered in Greece in coordination with partner organisations including KIND.
• Family Reunification Assistance (Dublin Regulation) Coordination with agencies across Europe under the Dublin Regulation to help asylum seekers and refugees apply to join family members in other European countries. Provided to clients in Greece and Poland.

Quantifiable outcome

• 69.9% asylum grant rate in Greece (2025) compared to 44.3% national average
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCBE represents bars and law societies of 46 countries and more than 1 million European lawyers. CCBE was a founding shareholder of ELIL when it was established in June 2016 and acts as a liaison between EU institutions and national bars.
• German Bar Association (DAV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe independent organization of German lawyers with approximately 60,000 members. DAV observes political and confessional neutrality and places great emphasis on respect for human rights and the rule of law. DAV was a founding shareholder of ELIL in June 2016.
• French Bar Association (CNB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe national institution representing all practicing lawyers in France, with all lawyers registered in one of 161 local bars. CNB joined ELIL as a shareholder in 2019.
• Greece Pro Bono Collaborative (GPBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between ELIL and eight international law firms (Allen & Overy Shearman, Ashurst, Perkins Coie, Charles Russell Speechlys, Clyde & Co, Dentons, Orrick, Stephenson Harwood, White & Case). Firms second lawyers to ELIL for 2-week placements. More than 500 volunteer lawyers have supported since founding.
• Ukraine Pro Bono Collaborative (UPBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between ELIL and five international law firms (Dentons, Schoenherr, A&O Shearman, Norton Rose Fulbright, Taylor Wessing, with lawyers from Rödl & Partner and Addleshaw Goddard regularly assisting). Established following UNHCR request to provide legal assistance to Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNHCR refers vulnerable individuals to ELIL for legal assistance. UPBC was established following a request from UNHCR for support.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization that cooperates closely with ELIL and refers vulnerable individuals for legal assistance.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational medical humanitarian organization that refers vulnerable individuals to ELIL for legal assistance.
• Médecins du Monde (MDM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational medical organization that often refers vulnerable individuals to ELIL for legal assistance.
• Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded 2008 in the US to address gaps in legal services for unaccompanied children. KIND partnered with ELIL in 2019 to expand legal assistance work with children on the Aegean islands. As part of KIND Europe, ELIL connects frontline experience with expert NGOs to advocate for systemic change at EU level.
• La Fondation pour le Logement des DéfavorisésmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench foundation working to provide adequate housing and dignified living conditions. Since 2019, supported ELIL through 'Know Your Rights' project focusing on unaccompanied women, children incorrectly registered as adults, and asylum seekers in detention. In 2020, provided additional funding for Samos Project launch.
• BrytermajorTechnology or IntegrationGerman legal tech company that developed and donated software used daily by ELIL's legal team. The system automates and simplifies knowledge management processes, making ELIL's work more efficient and effective.
• HighQmajorTechnology or IntegrationProvides cloud-based file sharing services to governments and legal actors. Combined with Bryter, allows ELIL to store knowledge and files on a shared platform accessible to the whole team without compromising data security.
• Italian Council for Refugees (CIR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead organization for CO.A.ST project (My Coming of Age Story), a two-year EU co-funded project (2024-2026) improving legal and psychosocial support for unaccompanied children approaching adulthood.
• KIND EuropemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKids in Need of Defense Europe - project partner for CO.A.ST, working in Belgium.
• PIC SloveniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPravni center za varstvo človekovih pravic in okolja - project partner for CO.A.ST in Slovenia.
• AADH FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l'Homme - project partner for CO.A.ST in France.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves17 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society): Global Jewish nonprofit providing legal aid and resettlement services to refugees including in Greece. Operates a similar pro bono legal representation model but at much larger global scale across multiple regions.
• Danish Refugee Council (DRC): DRC is one of the largest humanitarian NGOs providing legal aid, protection, and durable solutions to refugees globally, including extensive programming in Greece. It is a broader incumbent with similar legal assistance activities but a wider mandate across shelter, livelihoods, and advocacy.

Direct peers

• Refugee Support Aegean: Greek-registered NGO operating on the same Aegean islands as ELIL, providing legal aid and protection services to asylum seekers. Comparable target population, geography, and free direct-service model.
• Refugee Rights Turkey: Independent Turkish organization providing free legal aid to asylum seekers in Turkey under the same EU-Turkey Statement context that gave rise to ELIL. Operates with comparable mission, methodology, and donor ecosystem.
• ProAsyl: German refugee rights organization that combines legal advocacy, individual case support, and policy work for asylum seekers in Germany and Europe. Operates a directly comparable legal aid and advocacy mission with overlapping donor base to ELIL.
• Italian Council for Refugees (CIR): CIR is the lead partner of ELIL on the CO.A.ST project and provides comparable legal assistance to asylum seekers in Italy. Similar service portfolio (legal representation, family reunification) under the same European legal framework.
• Kids in Need of Defense (KIND): KIND is a direct strategic partner of ELIL (KIND Europe was founded with ELIL's involvement in 2019) and operates the same model of free legal representation for unaccompanied refugee children. They co-deliver services on the Aegean islands and partner on the CO.A.ST project across EU member states.

Emerging players

• Asylum Access: International human rights organization providing legal aid and representation to refugees in multiple countries. Smaller and emerging relative to ELIL's European footprint, but operates a directly comparable free legal aid model for asylum seekers.
• European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE): ECRE is a pan-European alliance of 100+ NGOs working on refugee rights, including legal aid. While more focused on policy and advocacy than direct service, it is a key counterpart and network peer for ELIL's strategic positioning in EU asylum policy debates.

Others

• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): MSF is a key referral partner that sends vulnerable asylum seekers to ELIL for legal assistance. While medical rather than legal, MSF operates the same field-presence humanitarian model on the Greek islands and Poland-Belarus border and is functionally complementary to ELIL's mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/europeanlawyersinlesvos
• Xx.com/ELIL_LegalAid
• Facebookfacebook.com/EuropeanLawyersInLesvos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/european-lawyers-in-lesvos

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about European Lawyers in Lesvos