On the 16th of January 2013, BABSEA CLE volunteers (Queensland University of Technology (QUT) internship students and others), joined by a CLE Foundation legal fellow and BABSEA CLE Co-director/Co-founder, Wendy Morrish set off to North Chiang Mai University for three days of Community Legal Education (CLE) workshops. Not counting the lesson preparation undertaken days before, for many this experience was to be the first the interns had with teaching CLE or teaching in general.

Another, yet equally as important goal, of the visit to North Chiang Mai University was to collect further data for an active research project of BABSEA-CLE.The project, ‘BABSEA-CLE Development of Clinical Legal Education (CLE) in Thailand’, aims to evaluate the effectiveness of current CLE programs in order to make data-driven recommendations to implement, support and further improve CLE programs in the future. The basis for understanding the effectiveness stems from interviews conducted with students and lecturers involved with the CLE programs.

CLE Foundation and BABSEA CLE gave a workshop at North-Chiang Mai University (NCU) for the first time on September 6, 2012. The workshop aimed to teach NCU law students about what Clinical Legal Education (CLE) is, why we have CLE programs at universities, the goals of CLE, different models of CLE, and the current situation of CLE programs in Thailand.

CLE Foundation and BABSEA CLE gave a workshop at North-Chiang Mai University (NCU) for the first time on September 6, 2012. The workshop aimed to teach NCU law students about what Clinical Legal Education (CLE) is, why we have CLE programs at universities, the goals of CLE, different models of CLE, and the current situation of CLE programs in Thailand.

The participants were law students studying in the CLE class. This class just started this year, so it was not surprising that the students in the class did not know very much about CLE yet. They seemed quite shy when starting the workshop, possibly because we had international interns and volunteers participating in the workshop and students did not have good English skills. But after doing activities with our Fellows, interns and volunteers, they had more confidence and became brave enough to talk to our interns and volunteers.

This workshop was a chance for our Fellows, not only to be translators but also to be trainers and leaders. They did a good job in translation, because their English skills have improved. They also were good trainers, who could lead various topics in the workshop. They spoke loud and clear and definitely showed everyone their leadership qualities. Our interns and volunteers also did a good job. They fully participated in the activities to help the Fellows demonstrate the activity instructions and worked with NCU law students in group discussion activities.

Original article courtesy of BABSEA CLE

By Lisa Radtke Bliss, Associate Clinical Professor, Co-Director of HeLP Legal Services Clinic,

Georgia State University College of Law, USA

I was fortunate to arrive at BABSEA CLE Chiang Mai just as the Thai legal interns were finishing and the summer legal interns beginning, so I had the opportunity to get to know several of them at a time when the office was full of activity.

It was exhilarating to make so many new friends at once. Although travel halfway around the world to a new country can be disorienting, I felt welcomed as they kindly introduced me to local food and customs. I was immediately integrated into the daily work of BABSEA CLE with interns and Fellows as part of my orientation. I am impressed with the mentoring of interns and fellows that I observed. Their time with BABSEA CLE is preparing them to be the teachers and leaders of the future. There is a spirit of cooperation, collab-oration, and mutual support that helps everyone achieve their best. I also had the opportunity to co-teach a class with Doug Colbert to interns and fellows. We enjoyed seeing them show the skills they have learned and make presentations to us in English. Thai Fellow Tak is supporting my work here, and we help one another improve our Thai and English skills.

Moving to Mae Fah Luang

After orientation in Chiang Mai, I relocated to Chiang Rai with Tak to work with the law faculty at Mae Fah Luang University (MFLU). MFLU is located in the mountains outside of Chiang Rai and the campus is beautiful, with lovely views all around.

Before my arrival, I worked hard with Tak and the interns to practice my Thai. I was proud to be able to introduce myself to the Dean and faculty members here using my new skills. Fortunately, everyone here speaks English, so when I quickly reached the end of my useful vocabulary, we chatted in English. All of the classes at MFLU are taught in English, except the law classes. However, I am assisting Ajarns (professors) in developing the first law class to be taught exclusively in English. The course is designed to help law students learn lawyering skills, learn about social justice and improve their English skills. We are enjoying collaborating on the creation of something new; with the benefit of resources from BABSEA CLE, we have some lessons to draw from already. I am also assisting the faculty in the development of new clinical education opportunities, including establishing off-site clinics in surrounding communities.

I know my time here will go by quickly, and that I will take home many lessons about teaching and learning from my time here.