Dr. Baldeh just returned to The Gambia from the U.S. where she was recently named a Time Magazine “Woman of the Year 2025” for her advocacy for women’s health and reproductive rights.
Speaking at a meeting between herself, Fred Rooney and several young lawyers at the WILL Offices in Brusubi on Saturday March 8, Dr. Baldeh said the planned legal incubator will enable WILL and their partners to provide much-needed education on legal rights to communities across the country. Lawyers participating in the program will work closely with WILL to educate communities on their legal rights and provide much-needed legal assistance to those who need it.
“There is a high incidence of gender-based violence in all communities across the country, including and especially in some parts of the Greater Banjul Area,” Dr. Baldeh declared, adding that “WILL is ready and willing to help empower young lawyers who will give back to their communities through this legal incubator program. We are very excited to work with Fred and all of you on this project.”
Introducing the concept of legal incubators to the meeting earlier, Fred Rooney, dubbed the “Father of Legal Incubators” by the American Bar Journal for his groundbreaking work around the world, including the US, the Dominican Republic, Bulgaria, Pakistan, and Gaza, explained how discovering WILL’s important work on female empowerment motivated him to reach out to Dr. Baldeh for the current partnership.
Rooney explained that legal incubators provide much-needed training to young lawyers on how to practice in the courtroom and how to run a successful law business to give back to their communities by providing low-cost legal or pro bono services to people who can’t afford them. Rooney stressed that a Gambian incubator would fully comply with any rules, regulations, or guidelines set forth by the Chief Justice, Ministry of Justice, and the Gambia Bar Association.
Strict compliance will also be made to requirements promulgated by the General Legal Council (GLC) since the GLC governs lawyers by regulating admission to practice, professional conduct, and legal education within The Gambia. Gambia’s legal incubator would be the first of its kind in Africa.
In their contributions to the conversation, participants, including three young female lawyers, pointed out that gender-based violence, crime, and teenage delinquency are rampant in communities across the country, including their neighborhoods, and so young lawyers are passionate about giving back to these communities in the form of pro bono legal services and the provision of legal education, especially paralegal education.
They pointed out that legal incubators will also help motivate young lawyers who are almost disillusioned by hurdles within the legal field and are beginning to think that law is not for them. They highlighted that young law graduates will likely be interested in getting support to transition from law school to practice.
During his visit to The Gambia in recent weeks, Fred Rooney who reached out to members of the legal community spoke of fruitful meetings he had with senior UN / UNDP officials, the Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, the Dean of the Law School at the University of The Gambia, Magistrate Thomas Touray, Barrister Imran Darboe, and former Gambia Bar Association president Salieu Taal, all of whom offered vital advice on how best to move the project forward.
The Faculty of Law at the University of The Gambia was identified as a potential home for the legal incubator. Rooney, Dr. Baldeh, and their team members are scheduled to meet and brief other vital stakeholders on the legal incubator in the coming days.
