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48 Yale J. Int'l L. Online 1 (2022-2023)

handle is hein.journals/yejloillwo48 and id is 1 raw text is: Book Review: Building the Rule of Law: Firsthand Accounts from a Thirty-Year Global Campaign Hon. John M. Walker, Jr.! and Isa C. Qasimtt I. INTRODUCTION In August 1991, a Colorado lawyer, Bill Meyer, accompanied by his wife Jane, traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria to begin an adventure. Their trip, initially planned to be three months, lasted an entire year. The only Western lawyer in a country recently liberated from communism, Meyer's work was far afield from his Boulder civil litigation practice. He was in Bulgaria to build the rule of law. There was much to do: master Bulgarian politics and law, advise members of parliament on necessary legislation, and press for judicial reforms. He would also write and distribute a book for the local bar on organizing a private law practice. Meyer was the first of what would become waves of American lawyers who volunteered their time (often months and even years) and expertise to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, from the Baltic in the north to the former Yugoslavia in the south and across the reach of the former communist bloc and Soviet republics, including Russia itself. Meyer, other volunteer liaisons, and numerous volunteer-lawyers served as part of the Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI) of the American Bar Association (ABA), founded in 1990 by the leadership of the ABA. They were part of a rule-of-law movement comprised of thousands of lawyers, judges, and academics that, after thirty years, has been the largest pro bono project ever undertaken by the ABA. CEELI's mission was to build the rule of law in each of the fledgling constitutional democracies that emerged after the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. The CEELI project involved a variety of initiatives, including judicial training, partnerships between local and American law schools, working with in-country lawyers and lawyers' groups, and the liaison program that assisted countries and organizations that requested CEELI support in critical areas. Over time, the ABA built upon CEELI's success, eventually establishing the worldwide ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI) of which the original CEELI became a part, and creating the CEELI Institute based in Prague (now independent of the ABA) which provides rule-of-law and anti- corruption training, workshops, and conferences to the legal communities in the region and beyond. t The Honorable John M. Walker, Jr. is a Senior Circuit Judge at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. TT Isa C. Qasim is a Deputy Associate Counsel at the White House Counsel's Office and former law clerk to the Hon. John M. Walker, Jr. He contributed to this review prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration and his contributions reflect his personal views only.

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