THE Public Solicitor’s Office (PSO) lawyers are engaging in a four days professional development training at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara last week.
The seminar is part of the twinning program under the Wantok Legal Network.
It came about following a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Public Solicitor’s Office in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
This is the final training session of several already conducted since the MOU was signed last year.
The theme of the seminar is “Leadership and Management,” specifically tailored for lawyers.
Deputy Public Solicitor of Solomon Islands, Chris Rarumae, explained that the seminar aims to equip lawyers with leadership and management skills, emphasizing that everyone is a leader and manager, regardless of their role.
“The essence of the program is that the leadership concept in this seminar is not really about leadership role like politician, manager or senior.
“The basis of it is everyone is a leader and we are all managers too,” Mr Rarumae said.
The seminar brings together lawyers from criminal and civil practices, as well as corporate staff from the PSO Solomon Islands.
The program comprises eight modules, with the one-week seminar concluding the first year of the Wantok Legal Network program, which started in2024.
Deputy Public Solicitor, Criminal Division, of Papua New Guinea, Friedrich Kirriwom, highlighted the importance of the training:
“We want to be able to change the mindset of the individuals that you are empowering to do that.
“The traditional mindset of lawyers in both offices was to just pick up a file and go to court. But back home, we’ve changed that mindset. It has to be something more than that,” he said.
The seminar is fully funded by the Solomon Islands Government and the Australian Government through the Australia Solomon Islands Partnership in Justice. Kirriwom acknowledged the challenges faced in implementing the program, but expressed gratitude for the assistance rendered by development partners, especially Australia.
The seminar concluded on Saturday.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
