Lawyer spends time helping a village in Borneo

23/10/2009

Amy Rook, a trainee lawyer at Thomson Snell & Passmore, has just returned from Borneo where she spent sixteen days volunteering as part of an expedition organised through the Junior Lawyers division of the Law Society and Raleigh International.

The first section of the trip saw the group of 13 junior lawyers head to the village of Kampung Nibang where they spent eight days building a gravity water feed system to enable the village to receive fresh clean water. The group laid pipes from the reservoir at the top of the mountain down into Kampung Nibang, placing taps along the route to provide smaller villages with access to water as well.

The second section of the trip gave a chance for the UK team of lawyers to meet a group of Malaysian lawyers and discuss the differences in how law is practiced in the two countries. The group looked at a range of subjects from training contracts to legal ethics and enjoyed a lively discussion.

The Junior Lawyers Division was set up as a specific group within the Law Society to provide junior lawyers with support, advice, information and networking opportunities. It represents the views of members through lobbying and campaigns both internationally and in the UK.

Amy Rook commented:

“I would like to thank the Junior Lawyers Division for organising this trip which gave us an unforgettable experience to spend time not only helping a village in Borneo but also meeting and speaking with our counterparts in Malaysia. This experience has been invaluable to me personally and I am sure I will be able to leverage this experience to the benefit of my clients.”

Annalisa Checchi from the Junior Lawyers Division of the law society commented:

“This has been a very worthwhile trip for all thirteen junior lawyers who took part. This is the first time the Junior Lawyers Division has done such a trip but we hope to continue to support these projects through Raleigh International in the future.”