Paralegals and the Provision of

Justice Services:

Timap for Justice in Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leonean Context

Patrimonialism and the Rule of Big Men

A Dualist Legal System

Concentration of lawyers and formal legal system in the

capital

Customary system more relevant to majority, largely

autonomous

The Persistence of Violence

A Failed Social Infrastructure

A need for both state-centered reforms and

efforts which work directly with poor

Sierra Leoneans.

What might direct justice services look like

in this context?

An experimental response: A frontline of

community-based paralegals who are in turn

trained and supported by lawyers.

Features of Timap’s Methodology:

An emphasis on empowerment

Litigation and the color of law

Synthetic orientation toward the dualist legal

structure

Scaling Up

Recognition from World Bank ($1 mil. Grant), UN

Commission on Legal Empowerment, President Carter,

Transparency International, International Crisis Group

Replication in Liberia and elsewhere

A national approach to justice services in SL

Legislative recognition

Training

Standards and quality control

Sustainable funding?

Entrepreneurial Lessons

An intervention should respond to its context.

The importance of organizational culture.

Results first, recognition will follow.

Maintaining an experimental spirit.

What role for public values in private

enterprise?