ELI partners with U.S. and Ecuador law
schools in three-year federal grant

ELI's American Law and Legal English Institute has successfully completed the first year of a three-year partnership between the University of Delaware and Widener University Law School in Delaware and Catholic University Law School of Ecuador.

"The partnership has received excellent reviews from participants and has already initiated significant change in Ecuador," said Chris Wolfe, legal studies coordinator for ELI.

"Ecuador is currently undergoing a huge change in its criminal trial practice, moving from purely written, documentary proceedings to live oral trials, somewhat similar to trials in the U.S.," said Wolfe. "The purpose of the grant is to assist Ecuador in improving legal education and judicial reform in the midst of these changes in trial practice. The grant is already having a direct impact on the quality and content of legal education and trial advocacy in Ecuador." In January, five law professors from Ecuador participated in ELI's American Law and Legal English Institute (ALLEI). They attended 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.

In May, Wolfe traveled with Professors Phyllis Bookspan and Thomas Reed of Widener University Law School to Quito, Ecuador to participate in a national conference on judicial reform hosted by Catholic University Law School. The three presented talks on civil and criminal justice and conducted a mock trial demonstrating American trial advocacy techniques. They also gave lectures in several classes at Catholic University Law School and met with university professors, administrators, attorneys and judges to discuss ways in which the university partnership could best benefit Ecuador. They also attended the final "audience" of a murder trial and toured both men's and women's prisons in Quito.

Ecuadorian law professors posed with Benjamin Franklin during a visit to Philadelphia

In July, seven Ecuadorian professors attended the summer ALLEI program which, for the first time, also 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. According to Wolfe, participants found this training to be invaluable preparation for the changes taking place in Ecuador. They returned to Ecuador and immediately hosted their own week-long training program with the assistance of Professor Reed for the benefit of other colleagues who had been unable to attend the program in Delaware.

In the coming years, many more Ecuadorian law professors, judges and other legal professionals will travel to Delaware to take part in ELI's American Law and Legal English Institute. Selected Ecuadorian faculty members will spend an entire semester as visiting faculty/scholars at Widener Law School, team-teaching classes with their U.S. colleagues. In addition to these exchanges, Wolfe and Widener Law School professors will again travel to Ecuador to lecture and present at future law conferences to be hosted by Catholic University.