Values into Community Action - Tyler Foundation

Values into Community Action | 2007-2008
OXFAM InteRnAtIOnAL
Lawyers in our offices in Japan, Spain, France, the US and Belgium assisted Oxfam International with a review of the
employment contracts used in their international offices in these countries to ensure that they comply with local laws
and practices. This exercise was part of an overall review of Oxfam Internationalʼs pay and benefits practice. As well
as reviewing their standard employment contract and terms and conditions document, our lawyers also completed
a questionnaire which included questions on notice periods, disciplinary processes and benefits. The lawyers who
undertook this work were: Christian Bayart, Marina Casani, Karen etienne-sloan, séverine Fratta, Moira Guitart,
Osamu Ito, Carmen Martinez, Henry Morgenbesser, taro nakashima, Gregory Olczak-Godefert, Asako Ogura,
Chiyokazu shindo and Kazumasa tateno.
We have also provided pro bono advice and support on a number of other matters for Oxfam this year, and those
lawyers who have assisted on these include: Catherine Antcliffe, Justin Grove, Colleen Keck, Jonathan Kirsop,
Mark Mansell and Colin Pearson.
InteRnAtIOnAL LAWYeRs FOR AFRICA
International Lawyers for Africa (ILFA) was launched in March 2006 to give lawyers from Africa a grounding in
specialist skills for international lawyers. International law is at the heart of issues which directly affect African
nations ranging from debt relief to human rights, fair trade, the elimination of corruption and the protection of the
environment. It aims to equip developing nations with the most skilled representatives to work for them in the
dialogue with the G8 group of countries and international institutions.
ILFA organises placements of three months for high-calibre African lawyers with top law firms in the UK. The
placements are combined with high-level training in international law and key legal practice skills delivered by
sponsoring law firms, as well as talks and lectures from international lawyers from leading universities and relevant
international institutions.
Nine African countries participated in the first ILFA programme, which ran from September 2007 to November 2007.
A&O sponsored the ILFA 2007 programme and hosted Lumka Khaile, a qualified lawyer from South Africa. Lumka
is a legal advisor at Standard Bank, South Africa, and specialises in corporate and investment banking. Lumka
provides legal advice to the bank on issues affecting the Africa network. Lumka has an LL.B from the University of
Kwazulu Natal and a postgraduate diploma in Contract Law from University of Johannesburg.
During Lumkaʼs placement at A&O, she sat with our Projects and Global Loans team in Banking. In addition, Lumka
was also introduced to A&O's African Desk. Lumka attended a variety of training sessions organised by A&O
and other firms participating in the programme, including sessions on international capital markets, banking law,
international law and skills sessions on advocacy, mediation, negotiation, presentations and project management.
nomita nair, James taylor and Graham Vinter all worked with Lumka during her time at A&O, offering her support
and working with her on a number of matters. Paul Crook and siobhan Lambert co-ordinated and managed
Lumkaʼs placement with A&O and were central to the success of her time with the firm.
A&O continues to sponsor the ILFA programme and will be hosting a further African lawyer from September 2008.
InteRnAtIOnAL LAWYeRs PROJeCt
ILP is currently working on an exciting initiative with the Attorney Generalʼs Pro Bono Committee to develop
training modules on a number of issues and areas of law to be delivered to the legal professions of countries in the
developing world. The aim of the initiative is to build the capacity of these professions and help develop the rule
of law in their nations. sara George and Ian thomas developed a training module on money laundering to be
delivered to Tanzanian judges as part of the pilot project.
A&O lawyers also assisted the former chair of the A&O pro bono committee, HH Judge David Mackie, CBE QC,
with research and preparations for his recent visit to Rwanda on behalf of ILP. David Mackie visited Rwanda to
conduct a needs assessment on the Rwandan commercial law and legal training infrastructure to understand more
clearly how UK lawyers could help. A team of lawyers from the London office researched background material and
produced an outline report in advance of his visit to enable him to get the most out of his limited time in Rwanda.
The lawyers involved were: Pallavi sekhri, Portia edmiston, James sinclair, tobias Crump, spencer Collins,
Georgina Éclair-Heath, Daniel Roberts and natasha Doulia.
84 © Allen & Overy LLP 2008