In a joint effort, Fordham Law School, the African Centre on Law & Ethics (ACLE), White & Case, and GIMPA Law School, launched the fourth annual Legal Ethics Training Program. Taking place in Rwanda, this year’s program included 71 law students from 12 African countries.
The four-day interactive course covered the principles and rules central to professional legal practice – in Rwanda as well as other jurisdictions. The program’s innovative format made use of practical exercises in small group sessions to discuss issues relating to the legal codes of ethics, regulation and enforcement, the relationship between attorneys and judges, confidentiality and avoiding conflicts of interest.
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White & Case partner and general counsel, Jennifer Paradise, who helped design the program’s curriculum, said, “Instilling a strong sense of legal ethics in the lawyers of the future could not be more important – in Rwanda or anywhere else. It is good to see the program move to a new region in Africa, teaching law students from 12 countries who will take this important information home with them as they begin their legal careers.”Interim director of the ACLE and clinical professor of law at Fordham Law School, Professor Paolo Galizzi recognized the essential role played by Dr. Fructuose Bigirimana of INES-Ruhengeri Law Faculty and White & Case in making the events possible. Professor Galizzi said, “we are proud of ACLE’s programs and especially pleased to expand throughout Africa and work with more lawyers and law students on the critical issues of ethics and the role lawyers play in society.” The ACLE focuses on four areas of programming: conferences and symposia; law school curriculum modules on legal ethics; executive education for practicing lawyers and judges; and the Legal Ethics Training Program for law students.