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Impact

WLJH's initial program is focused on 30 women lawyers in Nepal. To ensure quality control and the flexibility to revise program activities as required in the first three years of its operation, this number has been set at 10 WLJH Interns in each of 2014, 2015 and 2016. As all three sets of ten women have to complete a three year program our impact assessment is based upon a five year test period.

WLJH will work with the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) to implement its programs and with groups of Nepali lawyers to review, comment and contextualize curriculum developed by international lawyers. Two of the reviewers, one male and one female, will be selected to finalize and co-deliver the 8 Foundation Course Sessions and the 7 Basic Legal Skills Seminars annually with their international colleagues.

Once the curriculum has been delivered to the WLJH Interns it will be turned over to the NBA as open source materials and, with the help of the two Nepali lawyers who finalized and co-delivered the original courses, the NBA will be able to train other lawyers to deliver this curriculum to its members.

Given the above, WLJH programming is expected to have the following quantitative and qualitative impact at the end of the five year test period.

Quantitative:

  • 30 women lawyers provided with three year internships with 21 1 or 2 day courses in practical legal skills and substantive law, experience in the private practice of law and a certificate in International Legal English from Cambridge University.
  • 90 Master Trainers (45 male, 45 female) with the ability to train other Nepali lawyers throughout Nepal how to deliver the WLJH Foundation Course and Basic Legal Skills Seminar curriculum.
  • 8,300 licensed lawyers and 24,000 registered lawyers across Nepal with access to high quality legal training in various practice areas.

Qualitative:

It is expected that the knowledge and experience acquired by the 30 WLJH Interns over their three year placement and the ongoing support of an international network of lawyers and mentors will increase their capacity both individually and as a group to participate in, influence and shape decisions made by Nepal's legal profession, justice system and society. Based upon the global studies, it is also reasonable to expect that by increasing their access to opportunity these women will be in a position to sustain their employment as lawyers and thereby add to the economic prosperity of their families and communities.

As a critical mass of professional women with substantial incomes and influence they could, as stated in the Nepal Bar Association's Report, Ringing The Equality Bell: The Role of Women Lawyers in Promoting Gender Equality in Nepal, make a significant contribution to advance the rights of all women within Nepal, improve the gender balance and thereby improve Nepal's economy, poverty rate and level of civil conflict.

The capacity of the NBA to manage professional development programs and provide continuing legal education courses will be increased through its collaboration with WLJH in the delivery of the programs, the training of its members and open access to WLJH curriculum.


Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

~ Nelson Mandela