Federal grant partnership with U.S. and Ecuador law schools continues

The ELI's American Law and Legal English (ALLEI) Institute has successfully completed the second year of a three-year partnership between the University of Delaware, Widener University Law School in Delaware and Catholic University Law School of Ecuador. The partnership has received excellent reviews from U.S. and Ecuadorian participants and has also resulted in significant change and modernization in Ecuador's legal education curriculum and trial advocacy.

"Ecuador has completely rewritten its codes of criminal and civil procedure," explained Chris Wolfe, ELI's legal studies coordinator.

'The country is currendy undergoing a huge change in the way trials are conducted, moving from written, documentary proceedings to live oral trials, somewhat similar to trials in the United States. The purpose of the federal grant is to assist Ecuador in improving legal education and judicial reform in the midst of these changes in trial practice. The grant has had a direct impact on the quality and content of legal education and trial advocacy in Ecuador."

In January and July, nine Ecuadorian legal professionals, including a Supreme Court justice and the dean of Catholic University Law School, traveled to the United States to participate in ALLEI. While here, they participated in classes and seminars in American law and visited many state and federal courts, law firms and government agencies, where they were able to meet their American colleagues and "see how we do it here," said Wolfe.

The four-week program included a week of intensive trial advocacy training. In this "hands-on" practical training, each participant assumed the role of prosecutor or defense attorney in a mock trial. Each day concentrated on different skills and techniques in handling witnesses and evidence in a live, oral trial, and included demonstrations by the instructors, simulations by the participants, and critiques by both the instructors and participants. The Ecuadorian professionals found this training to be invaluable preparation for the changes taking place in Ecuador.

As part of this program, Widener Law School in Delaware is currently hosting Ecuadorian law professor Pablo Daniel Maldonado as a visiting scholar. During his time in Delaware, Maldonado is doing research, writing a book, and giving guest lectures at the law school and at the University of Delaware.

ELI is very excited at the growth of its American Law program and is happy to be a part of the modernization of Ecuador's legal system.