ABA International Rule of Law Initiatives The American Bar Association (ABA) is the largest voluntary professional membership association in the world. Among its stated goals is to support and promote the rule of law globally. For over 15 years, the ABA has provided technical assistance on a broad range of issues, including legal education reform, constitutional law, judicial and legal profession reform, women's legal rights, criminal law reform, and commercial law reform in over 40 countries around the globe. ABA assistance takes various forms, such as placing long-term attorney-advisors and short-term experts in host countries, convening training workshops, hosting foreign study tours, and providing expert assessments of draft laws and regulations. Legal Education Reform The American Bar Association's international rule of law programs are seeking law professors interested in lending their expertise to our legal education reform efforts for both long and short-term assignments. Clinical legal educators are especially important to the ABA's programs, given our emphasis on developing strong and varied clinical programs in numerous countries where we work. The substantive areas of legal education reform on which the ABA's international programs work include: reform and expansion of legal curricula in the developing world; practical legal education including law school clinics, mock trials, moot courts and client counseling competitions; student bar association development; raising the general public's awareness of the law and its role in their lives; and development or refinement of law school accreditation procedures. For volunteer positions abroad, the ABA only considers professionals with a minimum of five years of relevant experience, a high level of energy and initiative, strong interpersonal skills, and demonstrated legal expertise in the substantive area of the position. International experience and foreign language skills are preferred, but not required. Current pro bono opportunities Legal Education Reform LONG-TERM VOLUNTEER POSITIONS Armenia (Fall 2006) Legal specialist will be responsible for implementation of legal education reform activities throughout the country. In cooperation with the resident staff, the legal specialist will assist with teaching methodology and curriculum reform at several Armenian Law Schools, as well as supporting the expansion of legal clinics and street law programs. Clinical legal education and curriculum development experience preferred. Experience teaching law and excellent staff management skills are a plus. Legal specialist will be required to travel within Armenia. Armenia (Fall 2006) ABA/CEELI seeks a legal specialist to work on Rule of Law programming in some or all of the following areas: legal profession (bar association development), legal education reform (clinical education) and judicial reform (judicial ethics). Specific duties include analyzing and commenting on existing and draft laws, assisting in organizing and conducting training seminars and working with government institutions, CEELI's local partners and other international organizations. The legal specialist will assist with program design, monitoring and evaluation, and donor report writing. Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the fields listed above is required. Prior international experience, project management and knowledge of the region or other emerging democracies are preferred but not required. Azerbaijan (Fall 2006) Legal specialist will be responsible for implementation of legal education reform activities throughout the country. In cooperation with the resident staff, the legal specialist will assist with teaching methodology and curriculum reform at several Azeri Law Schools, as well as supporting the expansion of legal clinics and street law programs. Clinical legal education, mediation and curriculum development experience preferred. Experience teaching law and excellent staff management skills a plus. Some Russian language skills preferred. Legal specialist will be required to travel within Azerbaijan. Georgia (Fall 2006) Georgia is in the process of a comprehensive reform of its education system, including legal education. CEELI has been requested to offer assistance with the following: curriculum development and teaching methodologies. The legal specialist would be expected to work with teams of administrators and professors from 2-3 law schools providing ongoing training on the process of curriculum development and then mentoring the process. The legal specialist would also work with 2-3 small groups of teachers to provide intensive training on basic skills (interactive and alternative teaching methodologies, defining course goals and objectives, developing a syllabus, preparing course materials, incorporating practical skills training, evaluation methods). Additional programs would include: technical assistance for drafting/revising existing higher education legislation, development of legal clinics and oversight of CEELI's ongoing Street Law Program. Must have teaching experience, including skills training and preferably clinical teaching as well. Experience leading a curriculum development project and/or providing training on teaching methodologies desired. Experience on international legal education reform projects would be helpful. Jordan (Fall 2006) The ABA seeks a legal education legal specialist who will be responsible for implementing the ABA's legal education reform program in Jordan. The program consists of two complementary components: faculty development through the use of practical teaching methods and use of interactive techniques in the classroom, and curriculum development in substantive areas of law as well as the introduction of practical skills in existing courses. Candidates should have experience in one or more of the following: - experience in developing teacher training programs; - developing curricula; - developing training materials and supporting training on teaching methodology; - developing TOT programs for teachers/professors; - teaching interactive techniques and practical teaching skills; - incorporating into curricula skills such as negotiation, client interviewing, debate, legal research and writing, analytical reasoning; - experience in developing clinical legal education programs and similar activities; - developing curricula in one or more of the following substantive areas: commercial law, international law (public and/or private), legal English, ADR, e-commerce, ethics. Applicants should have strong program management experience and experience working on legal education issues. Arabic speakers preferred but not required. Kazakhstan (Fall 2006) The Legal Specialist will be responsible for implementation of legal education reform activities throughout the country. Pending the outcome of final discussions with funding agencies on areas of work, the Legal Specialist will act in cooperation with resident staff to conduct a public education campaign on legal rights including awareness raising through media and media legislation; and support for expansion of the current street law style programming. Five years relevant experience required. Prior work at a management level to educate the public about basic legal rights and some experience in formal university legal instruction and/or administration strongly preferred. Russian language skills are a plus. Legal specialist will be required to travel within the country. Kosovo (Fall 2006) ABA/CEELI is recruiting a legal specialist to post in Pristina. The legal specialist will work with the resident director and local staff to carry out CEELI's legal educations reform, legal institutional and professional development, and public awareness programs. Specific duties may include: analyzing existing laws and draft laws, conducting training seminars with lawyers on issues such as ethics, advocacy, developing CLE curriculum, and general bar and judicial association development work. Additional activities will include: working with the local Law Faculty on curriculum reform and a clinical education program, supporting CEELI's local partners to implement programs in the areas highlighted above, cooperation with international organizations, mentoring resident staff, donor report writing, and monitoring and evaluation of program implementation. International experience is a plus. Enthusiasm, initiative, cultural sensitivity, and flexibility are a must. Kyrgyzstan (Fall 2006) The Legal Specialist will be responsible for implementation of legal education reform activities throughout the country. Pending the outcome of final discussions with funding agencies on areas of work, the Legal Specialist will act in cooperation with resident staff to conduct a public education campaign on legal rights including awareness raising through media and media legislation; and support for expansion of the current street law style programming. Five years relevant experience required. Prior work at a management level to educate the public about basic legal rights and some experience in formal university legal instruction and/or administration strongly preferred. Russian language skills are a plus. Legal specialist will be required to travel within the country. Moldova (January 2007) ABA/CEELI seeks a legal specialist to work on Rule of Law programming in some or all of the following areas: legal profession and legal education reform, legal service delivery, judiciary, gender issues and possibly local elections programming. Specific duties include analyzing and commenting on existing and draft laws, assisting in organizing and conducting training seminars, enhancing relationships with and working with government institutions, CEELI's local partners and other international organizations, assisting with program design, monitoring and evaluation and donor report writing. Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the fields listed above is required, along with enthusiasm, a sense of humor, creativity and flexibility. The ideal candidate will have experience litigating on behalf of and/or providing assistance to underserved populations and will also be a team player and successfully mentor resident staff. Prior international experience and knowledge of the region or other emerging democracies are preferred but not required. Tajikistan (Fall 2006) The Legal Specialist will be responsible for implementation of legal education reform activities throughout the country. Pending the outcome of final discussions with funding agencies on areas of work, the Legal Specialist will act in cooperation with resident staff to conduct a public education campaign on legal rights, particularly in collaboration with local governments, city councils and mahallas (traditional local governance bodies); awareness raising through media and media legislation; and support for expansion of the current street law style programming. Five years relevant experience required. Prior work at a management level to educate the public about basic legal rights and some experience in formal university legal instruction and/or administration strongly preferred. Russian language skills a plus. Legal specialist will be required to travel within the country. SHORT-TERM VOLUNTEER POSITIONS (less than 12 months) Accreditation Legal Specialist Georgia (Fall 2006, 1 to 2 months) Georgia is in the process of a comprehensive reform of its education system, including legal education. CEELI has been requested to offer assistance with developing a law school accreditation process. Specialist would work with team of law school administrators, professors and attorneys to develop accreditation standards and process. Serve as consultant for initial round of accreditations as well as developing US study tour for the assessment team. Must have experience with law school accreditation. Legal Education Legal Specialist Georgia (Fall 2006, 2-6 months, depending on project) Georgia is in the process of a comprehensive reform of its education system, including legal education. CEELI has been requested to offer assistance with the following: curriculum development and teaching methodologies. Curriculum development specialist would be expected to work with teams of administrators and professors from 2-3 law schools providing training on the process of curriculum development and then mentoring the process. Teaching methodologies would work with 2-3 small groups of teachers that are teaching courses in the same area of law (e.g. criminal law) providing intensive training on basic skills (interactive and alternative teaching methodologies, defining course goals and objectives, developing a syllabus, preparing course materials, incorporating practical skills training, evaluation methods). Must have teaching experience, including skills training and preferably clinical teaching as well. Experience leading a curriculum development project and/or providing training on teaching methodologies desired. Experience on international legal education reform project would be helpful. APPLICATION PROCEDURE 1. Please go to http://www.abaceeli.org and visit the "Opportunities" section of the CEELI website accessible from the left-side menu. Click on "Liaison and Legal Specialist Positions Available" and scroll down to review current openings and position requirements. 2. To apply, visit the ABA's International Legal Reform website at http://www.abanet.org/intlegalreform and fill out the Online International Volunteer Application. You may access the form directly at http://portal.abaceeli.org/ilrp/registration.asp . 3. Once you submit the online application, you will be requested to e-mail an electronic version of your resume to intlegalreform@abanet.org <mailto:intlegalreform@abanet.org>. Please note that your registration will not be processed if you do not complete this step of the application procedure. 4. You should receive notification of our receipt of your application within 2 weeks. If you do not, please contact intlegalreform@abanet.org 5. All registered participants remain active unless we are notified that you no longer wish to be considered for positions, or until several attempts to contact you have failed. Please contact us if any of your information changes. Thank you for your interest in the International Rule of Law Initiatives of the American Bar Association. For more information, please visit our websites: http://www.abanet.org/intlegalreform http://www.abaceeli.org or contact one of the Recruitment Associates at ABA/CEELI: Paulina Rudnicka Phone: 202-662-1989 Melissa Foldvary Phone: 202-662-1959 ======== Global Human Rights Education listserv ======= Send mail intended for the list to < >. Archives of the list can be found at: http://www.hrea.org/lists/hr-education/ **You are welcome to reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this item, but please retain the original and listserv source.
[Reply to this message] [Start a new topic] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Author Index] [Subject Index] [List Home Page] [HREA Home Page]