May 2009

The legal aid clinic will allow students to help their community as they enhance their practical legal skills.

On April 29, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) launched its first legal aid clinic in Tiraspol at the Moscow Academy of Law & Economics. ABA ROLI funds the clinic’s operations, while the academy provides space and facilities.

The clinic’s attorney and law faculty supervisors will train law students in practical skills, including interviewing, consultation and representation of clients, as well as methods of alternative dispute resolution. Under supervision, law students will work with real cases and clients, enhancing their practical skills while providing free legal assistance to those who need it. In the Transnistrian region, the lecture-dominated legal training does not provide students with the practical skills required to adequately represent clients upon graduation. The clinic will help produce more experienced and confident lawyers who are better able to promote the rule of law in their communities.

Noting that ABA ROLI is one of the few implementers in the region, the rector of the academy welcomed this first collaboration between the institution and a western donor. He said that although the Transnistrian region is not seeking European Union integration, it is still advantageous for the students to learn and familiarize themselves with the teaching methods their counterparts experience abroad.

To learn more about our work in Moldova, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at <rol@staff.abanet.org>.