In many transitioning countries, continuing legal education and training in trial skills are usually nonexistent or substandard. To help meet this need, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative coordinates training in adult learning techniques and trail advocacy skills for practitioners, often using a train-the-trainers approach, like in Sierra Leone.

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative enhances the competence and expertise of legal practitioners by providing technical assistance on core legal skills, professional ethics, and substantive areas of the law. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative also provides assistance to lawyer associations through institution building activities, legislative drafting assistance, the provision of continuing legal education, and the implementation of standardized bar examinations. Finally, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative works to increase access to justice among vulnerable members of the population by establishing public defender and legal aid centers.

Legal profession reform faces shared yet distinct challenges in different regions of the world. In Eastern Europe and Eurasia, advocates (criminal defense attorneys), prosecutors, and judges continue to view themselves as belonging to distinctly different and unequal professions, with prosecutors at the top of the hierarchy. Unlike their counterparts in the procuracy and, to a lesser degree the judiciary, advocates are generally not well respected within or outside the legal community. This ultimately weakens their ability to render high quality legal services to their clients or to advocate on behalf of their own profession.

In Africa, the development of legal systems and the legal profession was greatly influenced by European or Islamic legal traditions during the period of European colonization and the spread of Islam across Africa. As a result, traditional or indigenous legal systems and modes of dispute settlement were either replaced wholesale by foreign legal frameworks or, to a lesser extent, blended with foreign legal practices. Depending on the country, the legal system in place may be an amalgam of various legal traditions. Most African states, however, have adopted the British style common law system, a civil law system modeled on the French or German systems, or Islamic/Sharia law.

In Central and South America, legal systems and the legal profession have also been heavily influenced by European models. Although indigenous legal traditions, such as the Incan and Aztec traditions, existed prior to the arrival of Europeans, these systems were eventually eliminated and European models were imposed. The legal systems in place today are chiefly civil law systems based on the Spanish and French systems. Common law systems based on the British model, however, also exist in certain regions.

Legal systems in Asia differ greatly. Their evolution has been influenced by many sources, including, most notably, colonialism. In many Asian countries, the rule of law is a relatively new concept and legal professionals in many countries are only now beginning to establish ties with legal professionals in other countries, in part to enhance their participation in the international arena, including international trade and commerce. Like elsewhere, corruption and lack of resources have slowed the transformation of the legal profession in many Asian countries.

Bar Association Development

In Armenia, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative assisted in creation and administration of the first bar exam since 2001.

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative works to develop effective and sustainable bar associations capable of providing a core set of services that are crucial to the advancement of the legal profession. For example, to promote bar association development in Bulgaria, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative contributed to reforms that made the bar examination more rigorous and comprehensive. The revised exam was successfully administered in June 2005. In Armenia, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative facilitated the creation of a unified bar association, convening a meeting at which Armenian lawyers adopted a charter, passed a code of ethics, and elected officers for the new organization. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative has worked with the bar association to create and administer the first bar exam in Armenia since 2001. In Georgia, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative also assisted with the creation of the newly formed Georgia Bar Association. With technical assistance from the ABA Rule of Law Initiative, the Georgia Bar Association's Ethics Commission created a code of ethics and regulations for disciplinary proceedings.

In China, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative is working with the All China Lawyers Association in support of its efforts to build capacity among the Chinese bar to engage in advocacy activities in the public interest. Areas of collaboration have included children's rights and enforcement of environmental laws. In the Philippines, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative supports the Supreme Court's Committee on Legal Education and Bar Matters (CLEBM), which is developing reforms to the bar exam. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative has provided technical assistance to local officials in bar exam methodology, including calibration, question writing, and organization. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative is helping implement the Resolution on Reforms in the Bar Examination (passed in June 2004), which will improve the quality of candidates admitted to bar, reduce the number of unfit candidates, and assist the Philippine Supreme Court in reducing enormous administrative burdens in conducting the exams.

Substantive Legal Training

To address the widespread lack of resources and opportunities for continuing legal education, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative provides training and technical expertise on trial advocacy skills, law practice management, and court procedures. Other substantive legal trainings include topics such as ethics standards for the legal profession, alternative dispute resolution, civil and criminal procedure code reforms, property and housing law, and international human rights. These programs strengthen the practical skills of legal professionals while increasing their substantive knowledge of the law.

For example, in Moldova, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative conducted a joint trial advocacy skills training for both prosecutors and defense lawyers in 2005. It utilized interactive methods similar to those developed by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and materials adapted to Moldovan criminal law, criminal procedure, and judicial practice. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative's alternative dispute resolution program in Azerbaijan conducted a series of seminars to introduce the concept of mediation in both professional business and other more informal situations.

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative's mediation project in Mexico, which originally envisioned doing a pilot project in one state, has come to encompass 22 out of the 32 Mexican states. The project trained over 400 Mexican mediators and then trained 24 of those mediators to be trainers themselves so that they can provide future trainings. The project also has provided technical assistance in the opening of 18 mediation centers, on rewriting legislation to allow court annexed mediation, on mediation center design, and, beyond the many basic trainings, on specialized trainings in family mediation.

At the request of the Ministry of Justice in Rwanda, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative developed a program to support institutional capacity building and coordinated integrated training and support for legal institutions in order to increase access to justice.

Access to Justice

The absence of effective bar associations, along with the lack of financial support and political will on the part of governments, contributes to an environment in which significant portions of the general public cannot obtain legal advice or equal access to the legal system. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative addresses this problem by supporting legal aid and indigent defense services and the adoption of laws that commit the state to provide such services. For example, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative provided expert commentary on the Ukrainian draft Law On Legal Aid to establish firm, defined legal space for legal aid in that country. In Azerbaijan, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative has established a Legal Advocacy Center to provide pro bono legal services for citizens with a particular focus on human rights cases and to train and professionalize young lawyers.

In Russia, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative has implemented an access to justice project that involves establishing legal services offices to provide no cost legal assistance in both criminal and civil cases. In Armenia, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative supports "Forum," a domestic impact litigation clinic that seeks to protect human rights by representing clients before the European Court of Human Rights. In Moldova, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative issues subgrants to several new public interest nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) capable of rendering legal assistance in the fields of consumer protection, medical malpractice, human rights of citizens affected by the conflict in the Transnistrian region, environmental law, and disability rights.

In Cambodia, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative supports a legal consultation office (LCO) within the Cambodian Bar's Lawyer Training Center. The LCO provides free legal services to clients who would otherwise lack access to the justice system, while at the same time giving lawyer-trainees an opportunity to develop legal skills. Also in Cambodia, the Rule of Law Initiative supports the Public Interest Legal Advocacy Program, an NGO that engages in impact litigation and other advocacy on behalf of underrepresented client groups. In Liberia, the Rule of Law Initiative provided a subgrant to one of its NGO partners to establish mediation centers and provide legal aid throughout the country.

Legal Profession Reform Index

The Legal Profession Reform Index (LPRI) is one of the many assessment tools that the ABA Rule of Law Initiative has produced. It provides an empirical basis for examining the independence of legal professionals and the environment in which they practice law in emerging democracies and transitioning states. The LPRI relies on comparative legal traditions and international standards established by the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and other organizations on professional freedoms and guarantees, legal education and training, admission to the legal profession, conditions and standards of law practice and legal services, and the role of professional associations of lawyers in legal reform. Not only does the LPRI guide the ABA Rule of Law Initiative in the development of more informed and targeted programming, but it also empowers legal professionals to take a more active role in promoting legal reforms and the rule of law. In addition, the LPRI offers colleague organizations, technical assistance providers, policymakers, and the diplomatic community invaluable information on legal reform and the legal profession in a variety of countries.