Arnold & Porter Receives TrustLaw Collaboration Award for Its Pro Bono Research Into HIV Self Testing in Africa

LONDON, December 12, 2014 -- Arnold & Porter LLP and nine other law firms from Botswana, France, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe have been honored with the TrustLaw Collaboration Award for their pro bono work for the Southern African AIDS Trust (SAT) on the legal frameworks and human rights implications of HIV self testing.

Ian Dodds-Smith and Catherine Young represented the firm’s London office at the presentation ceremony hosted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation at London’s St. Pancras Hotel.

The legal teams conducted research to enable and encourage governments in Southern Africa to explore the possibilities that HIV self-testing kits can offer in their fight against HIV. Arnold & Porter utilized its cross-Atlantic capabilities to identify the precedents set by legislation in the US and UK and coordinated and collected comparable analyses from law firms in various EU and African jurisdictions. This research will help Southern African governments as they consider the steps they need to take in order to incorporate self-testing kits into the framework of their overall HIV policies.

Ian Dodds-Smith, Head of EU Life Sciences in the London office, said: “Although we regularly advise on regulatory issues concerning medical devices, such as HIV self-testing kits, we are rarely able to advise pro bono clients in this area. This project presented us with a unique opportunity to apply our interest and expertise in the life sciences field for the benefit of the wider community and in relation to the African continent where regulation is not yet so developed.”