On 2-5 May 2023, the Council of Europe Office in Georgia organised a training of trainers under the Project on “Enhanced Access to Legal Aid Services for Marginalised Population” for the heads of various departments of the Legal Aid Service (LAS) and the managers of the Legal aid bureaus  (LAB) located in different cities across the country. Overall 15 managers of different levels completed the training.

During the four-day event, interactive presentation of the adult training methodology and the management module prepared by the Council of Europe experts were followed by try out sessions to enable participants to apply the knowledge acquired for all the training sessions (10 in total) of this module.

The training is part of a larger initiative of the LAS to reform the system of management of the legal aid bureaus and appointment of LAB managers in order to enhance the management and operational capacities of the LAS. The  initiative envisages the development of a training module for the LAB managers to cover various aspects, including management perspective on effective LAS; professionalism and competency in Legal Aid; mission, vision and values of the LAB; strategic thinking/organizing and planning in LAB; developing policies and procedures for LAB; decision making; leadership; team building and motivation; effective communication inside and outside LAB; management of resources. The module will be integrated into the LAS Training Centre program as a mandatory step for individuals seeking to become heads of bureaus. Based on the recommendations of experts the participants of this training of trainers will be included in the pool of trainers and conduct future trainings on this subject organised by the LAS.

This activity was organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Project entitled “Enhanced Access to Legal Aid Services for Marginalised Population” and implemented in Georgia.