Working with Gender and Minority
Committee in Kosovo
During the week of December 1-6, 2013, I worked on my first New Perimeter project in Kosovo. This project was my first experience in doing pro bono work on an international level and it was my first time to visit this region of Europe. It was a terrific experience on a number of levels. It allowed me to see firsthand the challenges that a new country like Kosovo faces from an economic and legal perspective, and it showed me the difficult struggle that women face to be successful lawyers who are treated equally by others in their culture. While large numbers of women are graduating from law school in Kosovo, only 11 percent of licensed attorneys are women. Women face cultural biases that favor male lawyers and women face the bulk of responsibility for child rearing and house work. While Kosovo has passed laws that mandate equal treatment for women and minorities, the reality is different for many women. Perhaps more important than the actual work I did (described in more detail below), are the relationships that I was able to establish with young female law students and interns who are hungry for opportunities as lawyers and have the energy to be agents of change in Kosovo.
Kiran Gore, a litigation associate in the New York office and I spent the week working in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, on a project sponsored by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and USAID. The project related to assisting the Gender and Minority Committee of the Kosovo Chamber of Advocates (KCA) in developing a work plan for 2014 to further the goals in its strategic plan, including a focus on increasing the number of women and minorities in the Kosovo bar. The KCA is the entity that licenses attorneys in Kosovo and is the equivalent in the US to a combination of a state bar and the American Bar Association.
We met with members of the Committee, judges and law professors, as well as female law students and interns in Pristina. In order to become an attorney in Kosovo, students who have completed their legal education have to complete a one year internship. One of the days, we went to visit women lawyers and interns in two cities, Peja and Prizren, in other regions of Kosovo. After learning about the numerous challenges faced by women attorneys in Kosovo, we led a workshop with 50 women lawyers and interns to set the 2014 activities the Gender and Minority Committee will engage in to achieve their goals of increasing the number of women and minorities in the KCA, fostering an environment of equality for women and minorities, and increasing the influence of the Gender and Minority Committee within the KCA.
We met numerous women involved in all stages of their careers and involved in all parts of their legal community. As an outsider, I saw a community of women on the cusp of real change. The most inspiring part of the trip for me was the young women who are in law school and in internships who are determined to be treated equally and to be judges, prosecutors and practicing lawyers and members of the KCA. These young women are articulate and are overcoming obstacles that are thrown in their way every day. They go to law school in buildings with no heat, they come from far distances to go to school, taking buses or walking, they have very little money and they have to take internships that do not pay. The overall economy in Kosovo is also weak. Yet these young women are optimistic and immersing themselves into their studies, and they are determined to help their country change the way women are treated.
We participated in several panel presentations at the two law schools in Pristina and we were able to speak about our experiences as women lawyers in the US and to offer our observations about how to be successful women lawyers who balance the numerous other parts of our lives. While life is different in Kosovo, we saw a lot of common ground between us. We were overwhelmed by the kindness of the staff at the NCSC who set up all of our meetings and took care of us all week. Other DLA Piper lawyers including Sheldon Krantz, Sara Andrews, Amy Beckstead, Stephanie Zosak, Kathy Owen and Peter Lindau laid the ground for the work we did and established our firm as a committed partner with NCSC, the KCA and other groups in Kosovo who are working hard to see the rule of law succeed in Kosovo. We also were able to walk around in the evening and experience a slice of culture, including very good local food and drink. Plus, I had the privilege of working with Kiran, who did a top notch job in all of her presentations and in her ability to connect with the young women we met and to be a positive role model for them.
This was definitely a different experience for me; one that pushed me outside of what I usually do. I found it to be extremely rewarding and would encourage others in the firm to do New Perimeter projects. You will definitely get more than you give. Special thanks to Amy and Stephanie for their help before we went and to Sara for all of her guidance as we got ready for this project. Also, special thanks to Lisa Dewey who talked me into doing this project. She is the gentle force behind our New Perimeter projects that are having such a great impact on so many around the world.
