In 1986, the ABA began a series of conferences sponsored by the Litigation Section, the Section of International Law and Practice, and the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities with Soviet lawyers and judges, in conjunction with the Association of Soviet Lawyers, the Collegia of Advocates, and other organizations, to address human rights, judicial independence, legal ethics, business development issues, and border disputes throughout what was then still the Soviet Union. That initiative led to another Section activity with profound impact.

Another Section activity with profound impact, the Soviet Lawyer Internship Project, funded by the Soros Foundation, provided a then unprecedented opportunity for several American legal organizations to host young Soviet lawyers in this country. While the young lawyers learned about a justice system founded on the principles of the rule of law and equal justice under the law.

The Soviet Lawyer Internship Project began in spring 1989. The broad goal of the program was to bring promising young Soviet lawyers to this country for several months of classroom instruction, "real world" law firm experience, exposure to U. S. culture, and to foster contacts and a mutual understanding of the legal systems. The young Soviet lawyers would gain practical experience regarding international and U. S. business and legal systems and exposure to American jurisprudence and legal education, while the American law firms, corporations, law schools, and public interest legal organizations that hosted the interns would have the opportunity to establish contacts with outstanding lawyers likely to become distinguished practitioners or academics in the field.

In September 1989, the first 17 lawyers ever to participate in a program outside the "Iron Curtain" began their introduction to the diverse social, political, and cultural institutions of American life. The program attracted widespread professional and public interest and considerable media attention; The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as in the Soviet publications Investia and Literary Gazette; all devoted space to it, and NBC’s "Today Show" and CBS's "Sixty Minutes" also broadcast stories on the project. Many of the program’s participants are now leaders in the Bar and society of Russia and the former Soviet Republics.

The success of this experimental program led to a similar internship program for lawyers in several Eastern European countries. These projects ended following the breakup of the Soviet Union, when Western travel, culture, law schools, and business opportunities became much more accessible to more people in the former republics. By that time, however, the ABA already had launched the Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI), an ongoing project in which American lawyers assist Central and Eastern European countries on a pro bono basis in writing constitutions and establishing and improving legal justice systems, and developing the laws and other structures necessary for developing nations. Through CEELI, the ABA continues some of the long-term goals of the Soviet Lawyer Internship Project.