Global Law Brigades (GLB) is a secular, international volunteer network of students and law professionals that works to improve quality of life in at-risk communities by implementing legal empowerment, human rights, environmental protection, and business law strategies. The University of Washington chapter was founded in Autumn 2008, went on their first exploratory brigade in Costa Rica in December 2008, and is currently accepting participants for a Panama brigade in June 2010.
One often overlooked fact about global poverty is that the majority of the world’s economy lives their lives in what is the informal or extralegal sector. The result is lower growth, less revenue and less room for investment in health, education, and infrastructure in countries that most need it. GLB attempts to combat this by designing and implementing projects that bring students, law professionals, and local organizations together to improve the legal infrastructure in communities abroad.
Inspired in part by the report of the United Nation’s Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, GLB breaks down the goal of “legal empowerment” into four categories: (1) access to justice, (2) property rights, (3) labor rights, and (4) business rights. Past projects include: creating pocket-size legal directories, assessing legal regulations for micro-enterprise, and conducting alternative dispute resolution workshops. Our executive director, Diane Dunn, is currently at work in Panama building collaborative relationships with local organizations like the US Peace Corps, Patronato de Nutrición, Earthtrain, and Planting Empowerment.
Read more about Global Law Brigades’ growing organization here.
