Legal Profession Reform
ABA ROLI’s activities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) focus on strengthening the institutional training capacities of the Dubai Legal Affairs Department, the Jurists Association and the Federal Institute of Judicial Training and Studies (IJTS). Our programs enhance the skills of continuing legal education (CLE) instructors, develop CLE courses and assist partners in conducting training for legal professionals, including on emerging legal issues and on core professional skills.
Judicial and Prosecutorial Education
ABA ROLI is helping the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the ITJS in strengthening educational programs for Emirati judges and prosecutors.
Our work with the MOJ focuses on offering a series of comparative international training courses for Emirati judges and prosecutors on topics including human trafficking and money laundering. We are also developing a legal English course.
ABA ROLI’s partnership with the ITJS includes the development of a special course for new ITJS instructors, which focuses on interactive teaching techniques and quality assurance procedures. ABA ROLI is also helping the ITJS develop skills-building modules for existing courses and training programs on specialized topics, such as domestic violence.
Practical Skills For Government Lawyers. We partner with the Dubai Department of Legal Affairs to support practical skills training for Dubai-based government lawyers. The series addresses topics such as contract drafting, alternative dispute resolution and litigation skills.
Practice Skills For New Lawyers. ABA ROLI is supporting local partners in developing a series of basic legal skills programs for new lawyers to help them develop their practice skills. Courses in the series will include negotiation and legal research and writing.
Regional Continuing Legal Education Harmonization. The UAE is also part of ABA ROLI’s regional program to adopt CLE standards throughout Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. By building on ABA ROLI’s assistance to GCC countries’ development of model CLE standards, ABA ROLI is supporting efforts in the UAE to adopt CLE standards by drawing upon comparative best practices from the U.S. and Europe, and facilitating collaboration between GCC judicial training institutes and other entities. UAE law firms and other Emirati entities will also serve as part of a regional CLE consortium, and will create and distribute CLE through expert training, e-learning modules, and other media to GCC lawyers.
