As part of the USAID Rule of Law Program’s ongoing support to modernize the Legal Clinic at Iakob Gogebashvili Telavi State University (TESAU), Street Law expert, Professor Richard Grimes, delivered a 2-day workshop to the 3rd and 4th year students and professors of Business, Social Sciences and Law faculty in Telavi.  

Street Law is an approach which brings practical legal knowledge to communities outside of traditional legal settings. It empowers individuals with basic legal literacy and rights awareness through workshops and discussions led by specially trained law students.

During the workshop, Professor Grimes explained the concept of Street Law, the methodology employed for its delivery and aspects to be considered for running a Street Law course. Both days of the workshop were interactive with 25 participants divided into three groups and providing a step-by-step simulation of a street law lesson, from choosing of a topic, to conducting legal research, to preparing an interactive presentation and finally, to its delivery to the audience. Professor Grimes gave detailed explanations of each step of the process. A separate session was held with TESAU professors to discuss setting of course objectives and student assessment mechanisms.  

As part of the ongoing grant support to TESAU, a Street Law direction was added to the mandatory Legal Clinic course, which includes delivery of Street Law lessons to students at secondary schools in the Kakheti region and holding information sessions for different target groups, including ethnic minorities and representatives of the business sector.