In 2022, Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law (JSW Law) will pass a landmark moment, when its first students graduate from its five-year course.

“2022 will be the moment when we start to see the real worth of the law school,” explains Vice Dean Michael Peil, “because it’s always been our ambition to create the next generation of legal talent in Bhutan.

“Before we opened, the only way for Bhutanese students to study law was to leave the country. Even then, they’d only be able to study abroad by winning a rare government scholarship or self-funding, which is extremely expensive for most Bhutanese families.

“It’s no exaggeration to say the law school has been a game changer. More than two-thirds of our students are the first members of their families to get a college education, let alone go to law school.”

The school and the legal system in Bhutan continue to benefit from the support of the Firm, not least from multiple workshops our lawyers have been involved in, including from Melbourne Partner Michelle Keen and Silicon Valley Partner Bijal Vakil.

In February 2020, just before Bhutan was locked down by Covid-19, Bijal and Kirupa Pushparaj of California-based client Square visited Bhutan to host a workshop on intellectual property (IP).

Michael says: “It was an amazing opportunity to get every player in the IP sphere in Bhutan together in one room for the first time.

“Private attorneys, government regulators and planners, and representatives from civil society and start-ups got to hear from Bijal and Kirupa about the challenges of converting from a standard IP model to an IP model for the digital world.

“These are legal issues that Bhutan will be facing in the near future, so the insight was invaluable, as was the chance to discuss the topic, collaborate and role play.”

Bijal says: “We were doing something that hadn’t been done before – Bhutanese officials and innovators meeting with experienced IP lawyers providing an outside counsel and client/business perspective from Silicon Valley highlighting U.S. and global perspectives.

“As a nation, Bhutan is determined not to lose its young, talented digital entrepreneurs to other countries and to compete against rivals such as China and India and, to do that, it needs to build an understanding of IP law in the digital world, so it meets global standards and regulations and builds a strong reputation.

“We spoke about the importance of IP and explained the types of things protected by IP law and did role play exercises, such as filing a patent.

“From a personal perspective, I found the visit fascinating and rewarding and, once the pandemic is over, I’d love to return to talk further with members of the patent office and others.”

Other White & Case lawyers who have helped with workshops in Bhutan have included Matthew Secomb and Aditya Singh, whose workshop covered legislative drafting; Simon Collins and Mark Goodrich, who focused on contract negotiation and drafting; and Melody Chan and Adam Wallin, who covered commercial litigation.

And, in July 2018, Michelle Keen and Associate Kirsty Campbell traveled to Bhutan at the request of the Bhutan National Legal Institute and JSW Law to give a two-day workshop on environmental litigation.

Michelle explains: “Our workshop aimed to teach lawyers in government offices and court registries about environmental litigation.

“Bhutan’s Supreme Court had recently announced a Green Bench, but had limited systems in place to implement it.

“We were asked to give them guidance on the types of environmental litigation that could be brought before their Supreme Court and the civil procedures required to support such litigation.

“While we were teaching our workshop and interacting with our participants, it became clear to us how vital it is to the development of Bhutan’s legal system to have its own law school.

“As the law school is relatively new, all of the participants in our workshop had needed to travel abroad to study law and had only studied 11 months of Bhutanese law in a short post-graduate certification course.

“We felt really proud to realize that White & Case’s support is making a real difference to law students and, ultimately, the development of the legal system in Bhutan.”

JSW Law currently has 87 students over four intakes and receives between 500 and 600 applications every year.

Michael says: “We accept around 4 percent of applications, so we can be extremely selective.

“To give you an idea of the impact the school is likely to have on the legal system here, when we started there were only about 300 lawyers and judges in the whole country.

“In four years, we’ll have added 87 qualified lawyers and, within a decade, the majority of the bench and bar in Bhutan will have graduated from our school.”

The Firm has backed the project since its inception with pro bono, knowledge, IT and project management assistance, as well as funding to help cover the costs of international faculty and academic programs.

Michael says: “We’re very grateful to White & Case. Your financial backing is just one element, but your support goes far beyond that.

“We meet regularly with New York Counsel Lou O’Neill, Brussels Partner Jacquelyn MacLennan and Head of Global Citizenship Jo Weiss for advice, and we’ve benefited from training delivered by White & Case lawyers over many years as part of the Firm’s global pro bono practice.”

The school is continuing to flourish, even though the past nine months have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lockdown in the country meant the students studied online for several months with a reduced teaching schedule, but face-to-face classes resumed in the autumn.

Looking ahead, Michael is excited about the school’s prospects as it continues to construct an impressive purpose-built campus at Paro in Western Bhutan. The new campus is just 10 miles from the international airport and is set amid 99 acres.

Michael says: “Until now, we’ve been operating from a temporary hotel retreat site near Thimphu, which has worked very well, but we’re looking forward to our permanent home.

“The campus at Paro looks amazing, with residences for students and teachers, classrooms, a dining hall, administrative and faculty offices and a library.

“While the opening date is unclear due to delays caused by the Covid-19 lockdown, we’re hoping to open the campus in late 2022.”

Another thing to look forward to is the graduation of the school’s first class of graduates in 2022.

Michael says: “Our senior students are now getting internships with some of the highest courts in Bhutan, the national Office of the Attorney General and several top law firms.

“All the feedback suggests they are incredibly well prepared, professional and mature for their age.

“Several of our students also attended a conference in Kathmandu in the summer of 2019 and won an award for the best original research ahead of competition from law schools in the United States, Australia, India, Bangladesh and Nepal, so (though I’m biased), they really are top quality.

“These are ambitious young people who are pioneers for the legal industry in Bhutan, and I can’t wait to see the positive impact they’ll have.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Firm, and we’ll be forever grateful for the help you continue to give us.

“I honestly can’t remember a time when we asked for something and you turned us down. It’s always ‘what do you need and when do you need it?’.

“I hope to see the relationship get even closer and I’d love to see lawyers from the Firm perhaps helping with teaching on some course modules. We’re looking forward to a bright future.”