On September 26 through October 3, select participants from the MEPI-sponsored Women in the Law Program (WILpower) visited Washington, D.C. to learn about the U.S. legal system and see American legal procedures in action. The participants won the upcoming trip as a reward for their excellent legal briefs and oral pleadings in a May 2009 regional moot court competition (featured in the MEPI July Newsletter). The group was comprised of five women from the United Arab Emirates, West Bank, Kuwait, and Lebanon.
The five young women participating in the WILpower Washington, D.C. program had a schedule full of exciting events. There were several highlights, including a tour of the U.S. Supreme Court, a briefing on the U.S. legal system with a Supreme Court Fellow, and a 45-minute private chat with Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. In addition to attending law classes at Georgetown and American Universities, meeting with lawyers working for NGOs, shadowing associates at law firms, and visiting the D.C. Public Defense Service, women had the unforgettable experience of visiting a local police precinct, where each partnered with a policewoman in an active duty squad car for several hours. Please click here to meet four of the visiting lawyers and hear more about their experiences with the WILpower program.
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