The 2011 Stefan A. Riesenfeld symposium

Justice Under Construction:

Contemporary Initiatives and the Future of Efforts to Form and Reform Justice Systems

March 31, 2011

Time:1:00 - 5:30 pm

Location: Goldberg Room, Boalt Hall with a Reception and Dinner to follow at the Bancroft Hotel.

Event Overview: The 2011 Riesenfeld Symposium examined justice reform efforts by both public and private actors around the world.  A foundation was laid with discussion about the past development of such initiatives and the current state of affairs in some of the world’s most volatile regions.  Panelists represented projects from post-conflict and non-conflict nations to bring a wide variety of contemporary approaches to justice reform.  Building on that foundation, our second panel looked to the future, challenging the status quo and proposing new methods creating more effective programs and avoiding the pitfalls of past efforts. 

A reception and dinner followed the day’s events, where our keynote speaker, Mr. Robert O’Brien (Boalt ’91), received the Stefan A. Riesenfeld Award for his outstanding contributions to the field of international law. To read Mr. O'Brien's remarks, please click here.

Co-Sponsors: The Miller Institute for Global Challenges in the Law; Berkeley Journal of International Law; Morrison Foerster.

MCLE Credit: Up to four units of MCLE credit are available to practitioners, including two MCLE ethics credits.

Disability Access: This event is wheelchair accessible. For any disability-related accommodations contact the Symposium Editors at BJILSymposiumTeam@gmail.com. Advance notice is requested.

Biographies:

Keynote Speaker

Mr. Robert O'Brien (Boalt Hall, 1991) is the Partner-in-Charge in the Los Angeles Office of Arent Fox.  He currently serves as the Co-Chairman of the U.S. Department of State’s Public Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan.  He also currently serves on the Cultural Property Advisory Committee, where he advises the U.S. Government on the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act.  Past international law positions include serving the U.S. delegation to the United Nations as the Alternate Representative to the 60th Session of the General Assembly. (Mr. O'Brien's full biography is available here.)

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Speakers

listed in alphabetical order

Professor Richard Boswell is Professor at Law, U.C. Hastings, San Francisco, CA.  In addition to his work in clinical legal education, Professor Boswell has been involved in rule of law/justice projects in Central Asia, Columbia, Guatemala, Palestine and Venezuela.  He is the co-founder of the Hastings to Haiti Partnership, which works to strengthen the Rule of Law in Haiti through supporting legal education. (Prof. Boswell's full biography is available here.)

Dean Hiram Chodosh is the Dean of the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, Salt Lake City.  Dean Chodosh is a leading expert in institutional justice reform, and author of five books and sixty major articles, book chapters, and special reports. He also has served as a Senior Fulbright Scholar in India and as an adviser to the UNDP in Asia, the World Bank Justice Reform Group, the IMF Legal Department, the State Department, and many supreme courts, ministries, and commissions in the Middle East and Asia. He currently directs the Global Justice Project: Iraq, an advisory think tank in Baghdad.  (Dean Chodosh's full biography is available here.)

Ms. Angela Conway is the Director of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) Middle East and North Africa Division.  She joined the ABA Rule of Law Initiative in 1993 as the director of research and special projects. She has worked on ABA ROLI’s legal reform programs throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Ms. Conway initiated the Middle East and North Africa program in 2003. (Ms. Conway's full biography is available here.)

Mr. Stephen Golub is a consultant, attorney and law lecturer actively involved in research, policy advice and information dissemination concerning legal empowerment and related matters.  His additional foci include civil society, governance, democracy, paralegals, non-state justice systems, political development and the integration of legal and socioeconomic development efforts.  He teaches International Development and Law as an Adjunct Professor at U.C. Berkeley School of Law, is a Member, Board of Editors, Hague Journal on the Rule of Law and recently published as Editor, Legal Empowerment: Practitioners’ Perspectives. (Mr. Golub's full biography is available here.)

Professor Michael Newton is a Professor of the Practice of Law at the University of Vanderbilt School of Law, Nashville, and Colonel in the United States Army.  He has extensive experience in post-conflict justice reform, including initiatives in the Balkans, Sierra Leone and Iraq.  Among his numerous previous positions, he has served as International Law Advisor to the Judicial Chambers of the Iraqi High Criminal Court, International Legal Advisor to the Iraqi High Tribunal (where he trained the judges and investigators and negotiated the Rules of Procedure) and Senior Advisor to the United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, U.S. Department of State.  He also designed and implemented Vanderbilt’s innovative “International Law Practice Lab” which offers students the chance to participate in a demanding, yet richly rewarding, set of experiences that expose students to cutting-edge questions in international law. (Prof. Newton's full biography is available here.)

Mr. David Varela is the Senior Public Sector Specialist, World Bank, Law and Justice Institutions, Latin America & Caribbean.  He has been involved in the Bank’s Legal and Justice Reform efforts at various levels, including Country Manager in Venezuela.  (Mr. Varela's full biography is not yet available.)