Building the Rule of Law: Firsthand Accounts of a Thirty-Year Global Campaign traces the development of the American Bar Association's Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (CEELI), the CEELI Institute, and the ABA’s global Rule of Law Initiative (ROLI)

Washington, DC, September 2, 2021 – Building the Rule of Law: Firsthand Accounts of a Thirty-Year Global Campaign, a new 543-page book complete with personal reminiscences and more than 100 photographs, tells the extraordinary story of what has been called a "Rule of Law Marshall Plan" – the American Bar Association's (ABA) CEELI, which attracted more than 5,000 lawyers and judges as unpaid volunteers and became the largest pro bono project the ABA had ever undertaken. CEELI was co-founded by Miller & Chevalier's Homer E. Moyer, Jr., and was described by former Attorney General Janet Reno as, "the worthiest pro bono project American lawyers have ever undertaken."

CEELI was founded in 1990, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, by Moyer, then chair-elect of the ABA's Section of International Law, and former Florida State Law School dean and soon-to-become ABA president Sandy D'Alemberte. This technical legal assistance project provided expertise and served as a resource to 25 former Soviet Union republics and satellite countries. Seventeen years later, CEELI evolved into ROLI, a global ABA project that has now done similar rule of law work in more than 100 countries.

Also covered is the creation and growth of the CEELI Institute, a now independent rule of law institute in Prague which Moyer founded and has chaired for 20 years. The CEELI Institute has trained more than 10,000 lawyers and judges from more than 45 countries to date. Its pro bono faculty has included judges and leading legal experts from around the country (Miller & Chevalier lawyers among them) who have dedicated time and expertise to advancing the rule of law in the world.

Heroes and participants in these projects have included Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (a charter CEELI board member), other Supreme Court colleagues, and lawyers and judges from every state in the United States. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright assessed CEELI as "the most effective voluntary legal assistance project in history."

Miller & Chevalier, strongly committed to the rule of law and to the pro bono work of its lawyers, is proud to have been a long-time supporter of the CEELI Institute, providing financial support, facility upgrades, faculty and board members, and other aid to Homer’s sustained commitment to these projects and the rule of law. The book is available for $39.95 and can be ordered online at www.ShopABA.org. Discounts are available for ABA members and members of the ABA's Section of International Law.

About Miller & Chevalier 

Founded in 1920, Miller & Chevalier is a Washington, DC law firm with a global perspective and leading practices in Tax, Litigation, International Law, Employee Benefits (including ERISA), White Collar Defense and Internal Investigations, and Government Affairs. Miller & Chevalier is a top-ranked firm sharply focused on targeted areas that interact with the federal government. Over the past three years, the firm's lawyers have represented more than 40 percent of the Fortune 100, one-quarter of the Fortune 500 and approximately 30 percent of the Global 100. Based in Washington, DC, a significant number of firm lawyers have held senior positions in the U.S. government and have written many of the regulations they currently help clients navigate. For more information on the firm, visit www.millerchevalier.com. 

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CONTACT: 
Laura Miller, Media Relations, Greentarget, 312-252-4104