U.S. Embassy Develops Trial Advocacy Skills for Georgian Criminal Defense Attorneys
The U.S. Embassy and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) offered a Training of Trainers (ToT) course to 19 defense attorneys from the Georgian Bar Association (GBA) and Legal Aid Service (LAS) to aid both organizations as they aim to further develop lawyers’ jury trial advocacy skills. The training, which took place in Kachreti from July 25-28, was led by renowned defense attorneys from the State of Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (GACDL) Jason Sheffield and Angie Coggins, who employed professional adult teaching methodologies including lectures, group exercises, and critiques. INL Director Sarah Rupert opened the training together with Georgian Bar Association Chair David Asatiani and the Director of Legal Aid Service Davit Simonia. INL is committed to supporting the capacity of criminal defense attorneys in Georgia, including building a cadre of trainers to meet future defense training needs. This is part of the U.S. government’s broader support to strengthening rule of law in Georgia.