Background and Purpose:

Many adoptees seek legal consultation to understand their birth documents or address discrepancies in their files. Unfortunately, many lawyers struggle to understand adoptees' unique legal situations and rights-violation cases. This makes it difficult for adoptees to connect with lawyers who can provide adequate support.

 

To address this gap, HRBB has secured funding for a two-part initiative: (1) providing adoptees with free initial consultations, and (2) creating a legal manual that will help lawyers better serve adoptees.

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Where does the funding come from:

The funds come from A Shared Light and Babonanum. 

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A Shared Light - During Japan's colonial rule of Korea, the Japanese government forcibly segregated Koreans with leprosy. A group of Japanese and Korean human rights lawyers filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government for these human rights violations and secured compensation for the victims. These victims then used a portion of that compensation to help fund A Shared Light, a human rights organization that now funds human rights projects, including this initiative.

 

​Babonanum -  A non‑profit public interest foundation devoted to social welfare and human dignity. It raises and distributes donations to a wide variety of social support programs. 

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What This Funding Supports:

1. Free Initial Legal Consultations: HRBB will connect adoptees with independent lawyers who have experience in adoptee rights cases for a free initial consultation.

2. Legal Manual Development: An independent Legal Advisory Committee, comprised of human rights lawyers, will create a comprehensive manual to educate and equip lawyers with the strategies needed to represent adoptees effectively. To make this manual truly useful, the committee needs to understand the real legal issues and patterns of rights violations that adoptees face, especially regarding their adoptions. 

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As a condition for receiving a free initial legal consultation, adoptees are asked to consent to their case information being reviewed (confidentially) by the independent Legal Advisory Committee.

 

If you are interested in applying, please contact us to receive a consent form. 

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​*Transparency statement: HRBB receives no financial compensation from lawyers for making referrals. Lawyers are selected based solely on their expertise and experience in human rights law and working with adoptees. HRBB's role is limited to facilitating the initial connection. 

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