The founding members of GYLA established the organization with the primary goal of addressing the dismal prospects for the legal profession in Georgia. At that time, according to Tinatin Khidasheli, the Chairwoman of GYLA, "the general public considered lawyers to be mediators between prosecutors and judges, responsible for arranging bribes. Many law students bribed their way into the university, intending to recoup these losses by joining the system of corruption following graduation." While continuing its projects to improve the legal profession in Georgia, GYLA allowed its goals to grow into other areas. GYLA began several new projects, each contributing to the development of the rule of law in Georgia by informing citizens of their rights and enabling the passage of well-developed legislation.

By August of 1995, GYLA’s members were still working out of their apartments when they received their first grant, co-funded by the Eurasia Foundation and the Open Society Georgia Foundation. As one of the first grants that the Eurasia Foundation awarded in Georgia, this initial assistance catapulted a cohesive but financially limited group into one of the most influential NGOs in Georgia.

In its first major project, GYLA implemented a multifaceted program to inform citizens about their legal rights and responsibilities. Each of the components of the project—offering pro bono legal sessions by telephone, establishing a law library, providing access to electronic legal resources, conducting seminars for students, and providing registration advice for NGOs—simultaneously developed the lawyers’ skills and improved citizen awareness of the law.

Advertising on subway billboards and on the radio, GYLA became well known as the pioneer in conveying legal information to Georgian citizens through its telephone legal sessions and other services. Following the passage of a 1995 law on entrepreneurship, the young lawyers became experts in responding to questions about registering businesses. When GYLA heard the same questions arise time and time again, they went to newspapers and radio stations and answered the most frequently asked questions through the media.

In September 1996, the Eurasia Foundation awarded GYLA a second grant to continue its legal counseling services and to expand into areas outside of the capital city through three new affiliate offices. GYLA used the Eurasia grant to provide legal advice specifically to independent media and NGOs. The grant also made it possible for GYLA to host an October 1996 conference on a new NGO law in conjunction with ISAR, a nonprofit grantmaking program based in the United States.

Following the conference, GYLA successfully assisted in developing a new Georgian law on grant awards and lobbied for its passage. The fact that NGOs now enjoy tax exemptions and are able to freely register in a process that takes only two weeks can be largely attributed to GYLA’s efforts.

Gia Getsadze, former GYLA Chair, explained how the organization’s telephone consultation program developed, saying, "When we began, people active in civil society had nowhere to turn for legal advice. With our second Eurasia-funded project, we successfully demystified the registration process for NGOs, and many media entities hired their own in-house counsel. As a result, GYLA converted its legal advice program to deal with more vulnerable groups, such as women, pensioners, and internally displaced people (IDPs)." Recently in Zugdidi, a town that borders the breakaway region of Abkhazia in northwestern Georgia, GYLA helped IDPs exercise the right to attend the last two years of high school free of tuition. Citizen awareness was the key to this success—local officials had not been consciously denying these rights, but simply had not known that the provision existed.

As part of its phone consultation service, GYLA has created a student legal clinic with the dual purpose of providing pro bono legal advice while simultaneously giving students the valuable experience of working one-on-one with clients. In this clinic, students assist lawyers during the week by researching callers’ questions. On Sundays, students field calls on their own, to which lawyers respond later in the week.

Giorgi Chkheidze, a second-year student at Tbilisi State University Law School, is one of the students benefiting from GYLA’s professional development projects. Giorgi has been participating in GYLA since his undergraduate days, learning the work of the organization and helping out where he could. He now serves as an assistant on a project that GYLA is implementing for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Giorgi says that he and his fellow law students are drawn to GYLA by the educational seminars and the opportunity to learn first-hand from experienced lawyers. Giorgi and his classmates also value the GYLA library, which, he explains, "is the one place in Tbilisi where I can find legal resources that are not from the Soviet period." As a result of the experience gained at GYLA, Giorgi and some of his fellow students have taken the initiative to establish a branch of the European Law Students Association.

Since 1993, GYLA has grown from 80 founders to 675 active members—a roster that GYLA takes seriously. Although dues are a nominal $0.25 per month, members are expected to pay and participate in association activities or risk losing their status. In a country where development efforts too often focus on the capital city, GYLA has managed to extend its influence to three branches and five affiliates throughout various regions of Georgia.

Today, GYLA seminars led by expert lawyers provide a forum for students and practicing lawyers to debate current events. The association issues publications for specialists and members and translates and distributes relevant international documents. For example, during a controversy over whether ethnicity should be included on passports, GYLA researched and distributed information about how other countries deal with this issue. Other recent GYLA publications have addressed issues such as bankruptcy law and the new procedures for privatizing land.

GYLA has also become actively involved in developing effective legislation. Parliamentary committees regularly turn to GYLA for comments on draft bills. In addition to the new law on grant awards, they were particularly influential in developing the 1994 Georgian constitution, the law on ordinary courts, and the judicial reform process. The association is currently assisting with a law to develop a Georgian bar association and a process of examining Georgian laws.

According to Khidasheli, GYLA measures the impact of its efforts in many small ways. For example, today people know that it is more effective to take their legal concerns to lawyers rather than the police. Also, the market for law firms has developed to a point where people understand that law firms are actual businesses. Increasingly, competent young lawyers are able to find lucrative posts in private practice. Yet, despite the improved market for lawyers’ services, GYLA has no trouble attracting bright young lawyers to serve on its own non-profit projects. Other GYLA members or former members hold prominent government posts, including that of Supreme Court Justice.

GYLA is currently working on a five-year strategic plan that will help it establish independent groups to carry on the legal consulting and training functions of the organization, leaving GYLA itself to focus on its professional association activities. In the more distant future, members hope that they will be able to develop the legal training program into a curriculum and possibly an independent, accredited law school.

Although it has expanded its activities to multiple fields, GYLA is careful to stay true to its original goal—developing an ethical and effective legal profession in Georgia. As the organization develops a strategic plan that will guide its efforts for the next five years, Khidasheli, Getsadze, and other members remain focused on programs that will most positively impact the development of Georgia as a whole. Their dedication, expertise, and assistance from the Eurasia Foundation ensure that they will continue to draw the attention of local and international authorities for years to come.