Editor’s note: The video of this event that was once available in this post has been removed as of May 2010, per contract agreement.
Thomson Reuters, Legal CEO Peter Warwick and former Director General of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei sat at a roundtable onstage in an auditorium at LegalTech New York and talked about the world, its people, technologies that threaten civil society and democracy, and the ones that may offer it hope.
During his opening remarks, Warwick discussed why a global view is more important than ever before: “Operating as a global concern has been rich in opportunities. For most US and UK firms operating internationally, growth over the past decade has been much stronger outside their home countries, whether it has been supporting the global investments of Sovereign Wealth Funds; building China practices; or supporting the global M&A, tax and compliance needs of multi-national corporations. In emerging countries we also see a growing number of law firms and legal services suppliers who define their playing field as global rather than national.”
Warwick noted that technology has always been a tool that can be used for good as well as oppressive purposes. Information and communication technologies have helped to facilitate the overthrow of democratically elected governments in Latin America, and they have helped to enable totalitarian regimes to maintain power and control over their populations in Central and Eastern Europe.
But he also noted that technology can be a very powerful force for positive change. “Intelligent information can be a tremendously effective tool both in the hands of democratic governments as well as in the hands of citizens,” Warwick said. “For example, using automated classification systems can help to codify the law, and make it more transparent and accessible to people. Access to justice through the development of a modern and efficient court system to quickly resolve disputes is a key component of the rule of law and of a legal system that works for the benefit of all.”
Dr. ElBaradei was brilliant. You might think that a career as head of a global organization that monitors and manages nuclear weapons proliferation would have something of a bias against technology, but Dr. ElBaradei also sees technology as an important part of the answer to injustice and oppression.
He talked about the use of social media technology to put oppression on trial in front of the world, and held up the recent election in Iran as an example. “Now, when an atrocity occurs, a photo can be put on Twitter for all to see.” He also said that Facebook has been used successfully to shine a light on government wrongdoings, and said that several Facebook pages have been helpful in his efforts to promote democracy.
Dr. ElBaradei has been a player on the world stage for decades and his examples from history and his own experience spanned World War II to the present day.
John Bringardner recaps the session with Warwick and ElBaradei on Law.com.
Posted by Scott Augustin in:
In Practice | Rule of law |
No Comments |
Share
We’ll be watching some special programs on C-SPAN over the next week and we encourage you to as well.
“Supreme Court Week” on the network will feature interviews with 11 of the current and living retired United States Supreme Court Justices. It starts this Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. Eastern with the documentary The Supreme Court: Home To America’s Highest Court, and continues each night through Oct. 11.
The timing of the programming coincides with the start of the Court’s new term and the beginning of Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s tenure on the bench.
(C-SPAN)
As the co-author of a book published by West, we’ll be particularly interested in the segments featuring Justice Antonin Scalia (Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges). He’s featured in the documentary and in an interview that will air on Oct. 9.
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog posted some excerpts of Scalia’s interview with C-SPAN, in which he talks about the “quality of counsel” who appear before the court:
Well, you know, two chiefs ago, Chief Justice Burger, used to complain about the low quality of counsel. I used to have just the opposite reaction. I used to be disappointed that so many of the best minds in the country were being devoted to this enterprise…. I mean lawyers, after all, don’t produce anything. They enable other people to produce and to go on with their lives efficiently and in an atmosphere of freedom. That’s important, but it doesn’t put food on the table and there have to be other people who are doing that. And I worry that we are devoting too many of our very best minds to this enterprise.
C-SPAN’s “Supreme Court Week” also features numerous interviews with Supreme Court historians, journalists, attorneys and other legal analysts about the Court.
(C-SPAN)
I had the chance back in March to sit in the Supreme Court’s courtroom during oral arguments, during a visit with the Court’s Public Information staff. Being in that room, observing and listening to the justices, is something I’ll never forget. The sense of history in that majestic courtroom is overwhelming.
Hats off to C-SPAN for taking the time to communicate the Supreme Court’s significance through this programming. I should point out that they are supporting it through several social media platforms as well, including on Twitter at @cspan and their YouTube channel. (And, as a video editor, I enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at the production on Politico).
Here are some excerpts from C-SPAN’s interviews with the justices:
Posted by Kevin Hunt in:
In Practice | Rule of law |
No Comments |
Share
In the age of the mobile phone it’s now even easier to have anytime access to the preeminent legal document in the United States. The United States Constitution is the focus of the latest iPhone/iPod touch application created by West.
West’s development of the U.S. Constitution as an app is an extension of the company’s commitment to providing the text to the public. As this article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press explains, West has been printing a pocket Constitution since the 1980s, when Chief Justice Warren Burger asked West to make it.
Wednesday was the anniversary of the 1787 signing of the Constitution.
West’s app features the complete text of the U.S. Constitution, including a table of contents. Audio of the spoken text also is available.
Justin Hummel, a director in New Product Development for West, talks about the Constitution app in this video interview recorded at the American Association of law Libraries (AALL) Annual meeting:
We think Justin really would rather listen to the Constitution than Beyonce, by the way. You’ll have to watch the clip to catch his joke.
The U.S. Constitution app from West is available for $.99 on Apple’s App Store. And, as Justin mentioned in the video, the Black’s Law Dictionary app also is available in the 8th edition.
Posted by Kevin Hunt in:
In Practice | Rule of law |
Comments (3) |
Share
The global launch of Westlaw China has given legal practitioners in the U.S. and U.K. greater access to Chinese legal information and accurate translation.
We now have some new video clips available that explain the current demands for Chinese legal research and the law in China. They feature Stephen Yao, president and chief executive officer of Westlaw China, and are posted on the West Web site and our YouTube channel.
Here’s the first clip, An Overview of the Chinese Legal System and Structure:
The other three videos featuring Yao are:
China’s Booming Legal Activity
Pain Points in Chinese Legal History
What Makes Westlaw China Different
In addition to those clips, this short video interview with Yao we posted to our YouTube channel in October features his thoughts on the demand for information on Chinese law among lawyers in the United States.
Posted by admin in:
In Practice | Rule of law | Video |
No Comments |
Share
Thomson Reuters, Legal, President & CEO Peter Warwick offered his perspective on the company’s approach to the current economic reality in a panel discussion, “Adapting and Thriving in a Challenging Economy”, at the Minnesota Venture & Finance Conference.
The launch of WestlawNext brings a significant advancement in the way professional legal research is done.
A discussion about online privacy and “The End of Forgetting,” with law professor Jeffrey Rosen.
