Five firms and two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have teamed up to provide pro bono legal advice to refugees and asylum seekers on the Greek island of Lesbos.

White & Case, Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Dentons and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe will send teams of lawyers to Lesbos – also known as Lesvos – from the beginning of August, to offer pro bono legal advice to asylum seekers in the country in what they say is an unprecedented show of collaboration in the sector.

The firms will work alongside Greece-registered NGO European Lawyers in Lesvos (ELIL) and U.K. charity Refugee Legal Support (RLS), to help the more than 75,000 people living in refugee camps across the country.

Since the migrant crisis began in 2015, millions of refugees from countries including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have fled war and persecution in their home countries to seek safety in Europe. Significant numbers of refugees and asylum seekers are still in Greek refugee camps while they wait approval to be moved on.

The lawyers, who will go to Greece for a minimum of two weeks in cross-organisational teams of three, will work with asylum seekers to increase their access to legal services.

This will involve helping asylum seekers with their application process and to understand their rights, as well as preparation for their asylum interviews among other things.

Each law firm will donate £15,000 to the project, which will begin in Lesvos where 7,000 asylum seekers currently reside.

RLS and ELIL will provide a training package for firm lawyer volunteers, which will include written materials and in-person practice sessions, with lawyers ultimately being matched with immigration specialist volunteers to be supervised by an experienced Greek lawyer.

Orrick's head of international pro bono and community responsibility Amy Grunske told Legal Week that this was an "ambitious project", adding that the firms are "asking our lawyers to work in areas of law that are outside their day-to-day expertise, for very vulnerable clients, in an environment that is likely well outside their comfort zone".

As a result, she said, the project has taken more than a year to coordinate.

"We have had an overwhelming number of volunteer lawyers sign up from across all of the partner firms which is fantastic, over 60 already, and we expect to fill all of the volunteer slots across the year in the next few weeks."

Grunske added that if more firms and lawyers sign up to the project, another Greek lawyer can be hired to expand the initiative to include the island of Samos and other refugee hotspots.

Jacquelyn MacLennan, global pro bono practice leader at White & Case, said in a statement: "We are enthusiastic about being part of this consortium of law firms working together on such an important initiative. Our global pro bono practice has a particular focus on the rights of migrants globally, and we view this work as incredibly meaningful."

As part of the project, each law firm will also commit to offering remote psychological support for their volunteers during their time on the island and afterwards.