Young Pacific lawyers hold forum to discuss challenges

Young lawyers from the Pacific met in the Australian city of Sydney on 10 July to discuss the challenges they face in the legal profession and to promote youth mainstreaming in the region.

The Pacific Young Lawyers Forum, the first time an event for young people has been held as part of the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting (CLMM) programme, was presided over by Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba. The forum was preceded by the launch of the South Pacific Lawyers Association.

Mrs Masire-Mwamba highlighted some of the Commonwealth’s work that benefits young lawyers, such as legislative drafting and institutional capacity-building. She noted that the Pacific, like other Commonwealth regions, struggled to recruit legislative drafters and urged young lawyers not to shun the specialisation.

“Drafting is a profession which young lawyers sometimes consider boring and without appeal. Drafters are viewed as mainly confined to their desks rather than attending courts,” said Mrs Masire-Mwamba, a lawyer herself.

“Such a view is highly misplaced.

“As legislative drafters, young lawyers can help turn policies into law and use their legal skills to make laws clearer to their communities.”

Mrs Masire-Mwamba spoke about the Commonwealth Youth Credit Initiative – an integrated package of micro-credit, enterprise training and business support – designed to grow young entrepreneurs. She said the programme, through skills development and mentorships, was critical to tackling the challenges young people, including lawyers, faced.

She called on the young lawyers to commit to offering pro bono work as part of their core values in order to ensure greater access to the justice system.

The forum agreed that young lawyers should seek to create support networks through regional associations of lawyers such as the South Pacific Lawyers Association, launched 10 July 2011.

Due to pressures created by a shortage of lawyers in the Pacific countries, few lawyers had the capacity to provide pro bono and fee reduced services, the forum heard. But the forum agreed that greater support for legal programmes, including community legal centres, was needed to alleviate pressure on young lawyers and improve access to justice for vulnerable clients.

Law ministers and attorneys-general from the 54-member Commonwealth will hold their triennial meeting, the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting, in Sydney, Australia, 11-14 July 2011, to discuss important legal issues affecting Commonwealth citizens under the theme 'Fostering a Just and Secure Commonwealth'.

To access further information regarding CLMM, go to http://www.clmm2011.org/

For media enquiries: Manoah Esipisu +44 789 446 2021 and m.esipisu@commonwealth.int