As part of its Responsible Business Programme, A4ID in partnership with EALS (East Africa Law Society) is organising a series of webinars that aims at building the capacity of lawyers in East Africa to support businesses in upholding responsible business practices. Working in collaboration with national bar associations, global leading law firms and other stakeholders from East Africa, A4ID seeks to create awareness among commercial lawyers and in-house counsel on the international legal framework they can rely on.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring challenges to justice around the world, an event that took place, despite challenges is the Asia Pro Bono Conference in September 2020. Now in its ninth year the Conference launched as the Inaugural Asia Pro Bono Virtual Conference (APBVC) and Access to Justice Exchange. The Conference hosted 40 sessions across a vast variety of topics including the immigrant crisis, the state of vulnerable populations, xenophobia, human rights and labour laws. The 5-day Conference was attended by over 1,000 people, with more than 212,000 individual session accesses through social media.
Saturday 25 January 2020 saw the launch of A4ID’s Law and Development Training Programme with the opening module: ‘Harnessing the Law to Eradicate Poverty’.
An interview with Commissioner Jedidah Wakonyo Waruhiu of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.
On the 28th November 2019, Yasmin Batliwala joined an illustrious panel of political, business and legal leaders at the CMS Office in London to discuss how the further inclusion of people with disabilities could be achieved across all industries.
Yasmin Batliwala, A4ID’s Chief Executive, joined Lady Hale of Richmond, President of the Supreme Court of the UK, and a panel of experts at Chatham House on 28 October 2019 to mark the launch of the Lancet-O’Neil Institute Commission on Global Health and Law’s report on ‘The legal determinants of health: harnessing the power of law for global health and sustainable development’.
During September 2019, A4ID launched the first of a regular series of Global Development Legal Clinics* in partnership with Latham & Watkins LLP.
A4ID recently held two legal trainings on compliance issues that are currently very pertinent to the development sector: ‘Bribery and Corruption’ and ‘Sanctions, Risks and Compliance for NGOs’.
Based on the assumption that trade is an engine for economic growth and development, SDG 17 calls for a deeper integration of developing countries into global trade. But is the multilateral trading system really favourable to developing countries? And how can the law and lawyers help developing countries defend their interests to ensure that increased trade benefits all fairly?
When lawyers and judges deliver legal training internationally, the outcome of these assignments does not only derive from the legal and technical expertise provided. Success and impact are also a result of the ability of legal experts to understand their audience and adapt to the different legal, cultural and social environments that surround them. International legal experts should focus on the development of soft skills such as adaptability and communication to provide more effective training.
Whilst such skills may seem obvious, putting them into practice is challenging. This article draws on interviews with UK judges who deliver international legal training; but the lessons learned can apply to all legal experts undertaking international pro bono technical assistance. We intend this short article to prompt readers to consider how they can develop their soft skills and adapt to local contexts, and thereby improve their international legal technical assistance.
