By Roberta M. Gubbins
Legal News
On January 20th, Catherine Groll, local attorney, will embark on an 8,690-mile journey traveling from Michigan to Phnom Pinh, Cambodia to spend four months teaching a Tort Law class at the Royal University of Law and Economics.
Groll first became aware of the need for law professors in Cambodia when she accompanied Karen Trustowski, Thomas M. Cooley Law Professor, to the country last summer. Trustowski had “adopted a young boy and had built a well in his village. She wanted to go back to see how things had changed in the lives of the people there. That was the intent of our trip.”
While there Trustowski and Groll visited the American Bar Association (ABA) offices. The ABA Rule of Law Initiative’s (ABA ROLI) legal education advisor, Steve Austermiller, who was teaching Alternative Dispute Resolution at the school, took them there for a visit.
“We saw that it was staffed with volunteers from law schools all around the world who were trying to put together a curriculum to teach law there. It has been only since 2000 that there has been a law school. The Civil Code came into being in 2011.”
After the Pol Pot regime’s reign of terror, she explained, all the legal professionals had been murdered or fled the country. Only six lawyers remained for the entire country. In the years since this atrocity took place, only 750 lawyers exist in Cambodia, which has a population of 15 million, and most of them are government employees.
When she learned that there was no one to teach class in Tort law, her specialty, she volunteered her services.
“I will be joining this group of volunteers; I am taking a four month leave of absence from my practice of law to teach the first tort law class. I have written a text book which references American Law to help the citizens of Cambodia develop some ideas and policies for how such a system might work in their own country.”
Coming home, she wondered what she had just done, but “everything has come together in so many ways. The lawyers, the judges and my clients on my cases have all said ‘this is great, what can we do to make it easy for you.’”
Groll plans to use Skype and other technology to keep in touch with clients.
Because the needs are overwhelming in Cambodia, she hopes to simply “implement the concept of a structure of fairness and advocacy in interpersonal and business affairs; where the stronger treats the weaker at the same level. Right now there is no structure in place. The farmers, the villagers, the workers have no voice. If we can simply start a level of consciousness that the people are entitled to be heard, that will be wonderful.”
Groll is asking for your help with her Laptops for Cambodia project.
“None of the students are wealthy enough to own a laptop. Their families struggle to pay for their education, at great personal sacrifice. I would like to bring 45 laptops to my students. If you have any old or used laptops that you could contribute, I will hand carry them to Cambodia when I leave on January 20th. We will restore them to original status and remove any personal information.”
Groll will live in Phnom Penh, the capital city, staying “at a guest house in the heart of the ex-pat community until I can find a little apartment close to the school.” Since she won’t have a car, “I will be taking a Tuk Tuk, which is like a little bicycle with a hutch on the back. I love them. I am mostly excited about the fact that everyday I can contribute to their economy.”
Asked about language, she said that while Khmer is the official language, “almost everyone speaks English. At the school she will be teaching in the “English based Bachelor of Laws program. Everyone in our class has to prove at least an 11th grade comprehension in English reading ability.”
Groll will be in Cambodia until May 20th, which will be during the dry season, one of Cambodia’s two seasons. The dry season lasts from November to April when temperatures can rise up to 40 °C (104 °F) around April. The rainy season, which runs from May to October, can see temperatures drop to 22 °C (71.6 °F) and is generally accompanied with high humidity.
Cambodia is a civil law country. The government is a constitutional monarchy operated as a parliamentary representative democracy. The Prime Minister of Cambodia, an office held by Hun Sen since 1985, is the head of government, while the King of Cambodia (currently Norodom Sihamoni) is the head of state. The prime minister is appointed by the king, on the advice and with the approval of the National Assembly.
To donate a laptop or for more information, please contact Catherine Groll at 517-703-1100 or groll@ catherinegroll. com.
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