On July 22, Grigol Robakidze University, with the support of the USAID Rule of Law Program (Program), held the final event of a project aimed at raising the level of knowledge of legal English in the regions of Georgia.

The University Rector, Mamuka Tavkhelidze thanked USAID and the Program for its continued support and cooperation with Georgian people and academic community. He emphasized that witnessing the importance and success of this project not only showed the value of legal English proficiency but also inspired his academic staff to consider enhancing the knowledge of specialized terminologies across other faculties.

USAID Rule of Law Program Deputy Chief of Party, Herbert Bowman stated: “The USAID Rule of Law Program works to enhance legal education, promoting equal opportunities and building a competent legal workforce. The Program supports this effort to strengthen the rule of law. The project that just came to an end showed the importance of Legal English education as a tool for legal professionals. We are thrilled to hear that professors from various Georgian regions have improved their legal terminology knowledge, benefiting their students' English skills.”

Khatia Tandilashvili, the project's trainer, discussed the implemented activities and their outcomes.  She explained how the project trained 13 lecturers from six regional universities in Western and Eastern Georgia.

The partner universities included: the Batumi branch of Grigol Robakidze University, Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University, Shota Meskhia Zugdidi State University, Akaki Tsereteli State University (Kutaisi), Iakob Gogebashvili Telavi State University, and Samtskhe-Javakheti State University.

Participants in the training program acquired knowledge of the substance and practice of law.  They acquired vocabulary relevant to the fields of   human rights law, alternative dispute resolution, constitutional law, European law, international law, contract law, commercial law, labor law, banking law, and intellectual property law. The lecturers themselves deepened their understanding of key legal English terminologies and phrases, were exposed to modern teaching methodologies and textbooks, and prepared comprehensive syllabi based on new textbooks and authentic materials.

As a result of the improved qualifications of the lecturers, many university students will have a better understanding of professional legal English and have greater opportunity to compete for jobs in both the domestic and international job markets. They will also be able to produce higher-standard scientific papers.

All event attendees spoke at the event and praised the project for not only improving the legal English of project participants but also for helping them form closer relationships between universities.