What is a Brigade?

Brigades defn groups of passionate volunteers mobilizing toward positive social change.

“A transformative experience -- change lives, change your perspective. ”
Catherine Markman, Co-Founder of Global Brigades

A one week Law Brigade provides volunteers the opportunity to get hands on legal experience working on cases with meaningful impact.  Examples of past projects include: business licensing, microenterprise legal support, and environmental degradation prevention. Prior to travel, volunteers learn about the anticipated economic, political, social and cultural challenges.  The first day in Panama the volunteers will receive GLB legal empowerment training along with an overview of the legislative environment in Panama. The remainder of the week will be spent in the field with the rural community, conducting workshops, and shadowing Panamanian lawyers to implement their legal solutions. The Brigades are a true exchange where the volunteers and communities benefit equally from a meaningful experience full of personal and professional growth.

• What is Legal Empowerment?
  
• According to the UN Commission on Legal Empowerment for the Poor :  "Legal empowerment is not just a matter of emancipating the poor; it also offers greater prosperity and security for society as a whole."  Also, according to the World Bank :  “In developing and transitional countries around the world legal services organizations (LSOs) are working with poor people to enable them to gain greater power over their own lives.”  Global Law Brigades creates legal empowerment programs that connect volunteers with local LSOs and developing communities to improve access to justice and quality of life.
  

• What is a Law Brigade?
  
• A Law Brigade consists of pre-law and law students who collaborate with legal professionals to work with disadvantaged communities do develop and implement legal empowerment strategies. Law Brigades are one-week experiences abroad that include hands-on work alongside community members to promote legal empowerment. Law Brigades currently operate in Panama with projects that complement Business, Environmental and Architecture Brigades to alleviate poverty and foster human rights and community development.
  
  Law Brigades programs create first-hand opportunities for youth and civil society to understand domestic and international legal issues in developing regions including international humanitarian law; migration and refugee issues; business licensing and organic certification procedures; micro-enterprise laws; and environmental and human rights concerns.  We empower college students and law students to build relationships with established local and international legal, humanitarian, environmental and development organizations, and provide opportunities to work together with communities served by these organizations.

• What can a Law Brigade do?
  
• Examples of Projects Include:
  
  Access to Justice and Rule of Law:  Working with women´s organizations like Mujeres Unidas en Salud y Desarrollo (MUSADE) to create Legal Resource Directories that will increase awareness about new legislation, and access to free and low cost legal services for women in need
  
  Legal Discovery Process to Assess Community Needs:  Consulting with local communities and legal experts to assess legal issues, and develop legal strategies to address those issues
  
  Land Use and Stewardship / Property Rights: Develop legal resource guides to increase awareness of regulations and options for livelihood to improve quality of life for indigenous and small farming communities
  
  Business Rights:  Providing legal support for micro-enterprises including establishing legal personality personería jurídica or business licensing for organizations.  Developing processes to facilitate legal administrative procedures including risk management and ethical guidelines for small businesses.
  
  Labor Rights:  Evaluating and documenting labor processes for micro-enterprises , and preparing applictions for organic and fair trade certification.