On December 11, 12, and 13, the Ethiopian Bar Association hosted a conference on Self-Regulation, Governance and Sustainability of the Legal Profession in Ethiopia at the EBA Attorneys Club and CLE Center. The conference was sponsored / funded by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation/Stiftung and was facilitated by experts from Kenya, Tanzania and the East Africa Law Society. Self-regulation means that the legal profession is not governed or regulated by the government but rather by an independent organization designed to serve the public interest.
The presenters, Don Deya and Simekha JME were absolutely fantastic and made presentations on self-regulation, governance models for the EBA, and action planning to ensure that EBA programs and policies were strong and robust. I also had a chance to present a paper on a model regulatory framework for the Ethiopian legal profession which included a plan of action / series of recommendations for the EBA to pursue in its efforts to seek self-regulatory powers. I must thank the previous intern, Asad Kiyani, for it was his absolutely brilliant paper (that he wrote two years ago) which formed part of the presentation. I also want to thank Jennifer Khor for all of her research assistance and invaluable guidance on this topic! It means so much to me.
