Press Releases
Royal University of Law and Economics Wins U.S.-funded Legal Skills Competition
Released in Phnom Penh, January 23, 2009
A team from Royal University of Law and Economics won the second annual Cambodian Client Counseling Competition on Friday, January 23.
As national champions, team members Miss. Tan Tepi Kanika and Miss. Theng Tith Maria will travel in April to the University of Nevada Las Vegas in the United States to represent Cambodia at the prestigious international version of the competition, which is expected to attract some of the best law students from around the world.
The two-day national competition was funded by the United States and featured 12 teams from six Cambodian law schools. The competition placed the two-person teams in a simulated legal-office environment, with actors standing in as clients.
The competition is designed to teach students practical skills not being taught in the country’s law schools, in particular how to effectively interview and advise clients. Panels of experienced legal professionals observed and scored the performances of the teams.
United States Ambassador to Cambodia Carol A. Rodley congratulated the participants at an awards ceremony at the Sunway Hotel in Phnom Penh. “The skills you learned in this competition will enable you, the future lawyers, judges and prosecutors of Cambodia, to more effectively serve your clients and, ultimately, serve justice,” she said.
The United States, through USAID, is committed to supporting the rule of law in Cambodia. To that end, it is providing $12 million over the next five years to train law students, judges and lawyers and to provide the public with greater access to information about the legal system.
The national Client Counseling Competition was jointly organized by the East-West Management Institute’s Program on Rights and Justice and the American Bar Association.