PAGE 6 COVID-19 AND THE PLEDGE The Covid-19 pandemic caused immeasurable harm on a global scale throughout 2020 but it also created space for fast-paced innovation and the adoption of new ways of working. The first year of the implementation of the Pledge reflects this reality. Refugees and others forcibly displaced often faced extreme hardship and uncertainty brought on by the pandemic and were frequently excluded from the medical, financial, and other assistance programs designed to address its impacts. This is especially true for those undocumented, who often lived with the burden of the fear of arrest, detention and deportation if they were to seek such assistance. Lockdown measures and other restrictions on movement and association caused delays in the registration and consideration of asylum claims, the renewal of identity documents and the processing of resettlement applications and, at least initially, prevented asylum-seekers and refugees from accessing, sometimes life-saving, legal assistance. Within this context, both NGO and private sector pledgers mobilized quickly to develop new ways of delivering legal assistance programs to minimize the impact of disruptions and maximize the opportunities created by the pandemic. Once established, new remote legal counseling practices put in place by pledgers allowed staff and volunteer lawyers to continue to reach many of their refugee and other forcibly displaced clients. In some instances remote services enabled pledgers to expand the scope of their activities and reach clients they would otherwise not have been able to meet in person. This quick adoption of remote working modalities contributed to the ability of the private sector pledgers not only to meet, but to exceed, the number of pro bono hours pledged, even in the midst of the pandemic. © Brian Barbour