Co-Sponsored CLE Programs

Full Agenda | Section CLE Programs | Co-Sponsored CLE Programs

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 2008

3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Co-Sponsored CLE Program: Day of Equality: Pathways to Employment in International Law
Nassau Suite A, 2nd Floor, Hilton New York
This program will present a panel of women lawyers from different regions of the world to discuss how they became involved with international law.  The panel will consist of leading women jurists who practice in different areas of international law in regions around the world such as Africa, Asia, Europe and the U.S.  The panelists will include in-house counsel, a law firm practitioner, a judge and a woman from an NGO or a human rights organization.

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Co-sponsored Reception:  Equalitea Tea/Rally/Reception
Hilton New York, West Ballroom, 3rd Floor
Primary Sponsor:  ABA Commission on Women in the Profession

The Equalitea is a tea/rally/reception that concludes the ABA Day of Equality by bringing together hundreds of people for celebration and inspiration.  It will celebrate all the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession has accomplished in the past 20 years; highlight and thank the CLE program participants of the Day of Equality; and issue a call to action regarding the work that still needs to be done to achieve full equality for women in the profession.

For more information on the ABA Day of Equality programs, please see the Commission's website at http://www.abanet.org/women/dayofequality.html.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2008

8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Co-Sponsored CLE Program:  How Judges Think: Rule of Law, or Rule of Man?
Sutton Parlor South, 2nd Floor, Hilton New York
Primary Sponsor: The Judicial Division
Capitalizing on the runaway success of How Doctors Think – the current New York Times best-selling book by Jerome Groopman, M.D., a leading Harvard Medical School professor and staff writer for New Yorker magazine – the NCFTJ will present “How Judges Think” from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 8, 2008, at the ABA Annual Meeting in New York.

Dr. Groopman’s book analyzes the rational – and irrational – factors that influence physicians’ decision-making, and may lead to grave medical mistakes through what he describes as “a cascade of cognitive errors.”  Dr. Groopman explains that overwhelmed physicians resort to “pattern recognition,” subconsciously comparing a patient’s symptoms and medical history to past cases and making a diagnosis.  But, as Groopman observes, the diagnostic process can be distorted by cognitive phenomena such as logical fallacies and biases – including “availability” (“the tendency to reach for the most plausible explanation, and to ignore all competing theories”) and “confirmation bias” (the inclination to “selectively highlight evidence that supports what [a doctor] expect[s] to find”) – leading the physician to an incorrect diagnosis.

Paralleling Dr. Groopman’s analysis of physicians’ decision-making, “How Judges Think” will feature a high-profile, inter-disciplinary panel of judges, lawyers, and medical professionals exploring the impact on judicial decision-making processes of cognitive phenomena such as “availability,” “confirmation bias,” linear thinking, snap judgment, stereotyping, the “herd instinct,” “commission bias” (the preference for action for its own sake), “diagnosis momentum” (the unconscious suppression of evidence that conflicts with an existing theory), and the “satisfaction of search” (the tendency to stop considering alternative explanation once a plausible hypothesis has been identified), as well as a plethora of communications problems.

What is the “take-away” lesson of “How Judges Think”?  Even the (seemingly) most rigorous legal analysis is often tainted by logical fallacies and biases, which may sometimes be outcome-determinative.  And, although judges may aspire to “the rule of law,” cognitive errors and biases affecting judges’ decisions may result, in effect, in “the rule of man.”    

“How Judges Think” is a program with implications for every judge, at every level, in every jurisdiction – appellate judges, as well as trial-level judges, and federal judges as well as state court judges, specialized court judges, members of the administrative judiciary, and all others who serve in adjudicative and quasi-adjudicative capacities, regardless of geographic location and subject matter jurisdiction.

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Co-Sponsored CLE Program: The Corporate Counsel Chronicles
Marriott Marquis
O’Neill, 4th Floor
Primary Sponsor: General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division
Other Sponsors: Young Lawyers Division
Don't miss this exciting opportunity to attend a roundtable discussion with four in-house corporate attorneys, who will share their real life tales of life beyond the billable hour.  This presentation is geared for attorneys whose goal is to one day practice in an in-house environment, as well as those who currently find themselves in that role and the "out-side" law firm attorneys who represent them.  Some of the many topics to be addressed will include issues such as:  (i) how to best position yourself for an eventual in-house corporate counsel career; (ii) how to maintain that role once you have achieved it, by becoming an effective and successful member of your corporate employer; and (iii) where to go once you've become a key member of your company's team A.K.A. "Life after the  Legal Department."   Special emphasis will be placed on the fundamental differences between practice in a law firm and a corporate (profit or non-profit) organization.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Co-Sponsored CLE Program: Ordering Liberty in an International Economy 
Conference Room L, Executive Conference Center, Sheraton New York
Primary Sponsor: Section of Tort and Insurance Practice 
Where once international commerce could only move as fast as a ship could cross the oceans, now commerce moves at the speed of light and with the ease of the push of a button.  However, the laws have not always kept up with the speed in which business is transacted, thus, leaving companies at risk when communications are blocked by foreign policies and when attempting to enforce intellectual property rights in foreign nations.

This ever-expanding world economy allows not only the exchange of money, but also the exchange of ideas - ideas which go beyond pure commerce and which include those regarding human rights and individual freedoms.  Commerce cannot truly flow freely between nations when nations censor and oppress their citizens.  As nations become more prosperous, so to does their citizens’ demand for individual liberties.

Hear an international panel of Justices and experts in the field discuss how to protect international electronic communications, the means available for enforcement of intellectual property rights in foreign nations and the developing world, and how the international economy affects transnational liberties.  In addition, they will discuss how the insurance market has evolved to provide protection to companies in this increasingly dynamic global market.

Moderators:
David Furlow, Thompson & Knight LLP, Houston, TX
Nathaly J. Vermette, Avocate & Agent de Marque de Commerce,Montréal,Québec, Canada

Speakers:
The Honourable Mr. Justice Ian Binnie, Supreme Court Of Canada, Ottawa Ontario, Canada
The Honourable Mr. Justice R. Nugent, Supreme Court of Appeal, Republic of South Africa, Union of South Africa
Thomas John Schoenbaum, International Christian University, Tokyo
TBD, The George Washington University Law School, Washington DC
John Brosnan, Financial Services Group – Professional Risk Solutions, A Division of Aon Risk Services, Inc. of Illinois, Chicago, IL

SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2008

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Co-Sponsored CLE Showcase Program on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 60: Advancing Human Rights in a Dangerous World
ABA CLE Centre
Mercury Ballroom, 3rd Floor,
Hilton New York
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 (UDHR) forms the bedrock of modern human rights law, which continues to grow in moral force and legal effect worldwide. Much of this progress is owed to the courage of human rights defenders – lawyers and activists who risk their lives with a singular focus on advancing human rights, often in the face of brutal opposition from national governments. Marking the UDHR’s 60th anniversary, this program will review the turbulent history surrounding the Declaration; examine its role in establishing and sustaining the rule of law, particularly in post-conflict societies; and challenge individuals, lawyers, and governments to help realize the Declaration’s promise.

2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Co-Sponsored CLE Program:  Blackwater and Other Private Contractors: Clearing the Muddy Waters
Primary Sponsor: Section of Criminal Justice
Conference Room K, Executive Conference Center
Sheraton New York
This session will attempt to shed light on issues arising from the use of private contractors in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, especially the challenges of appropriately applying and enforcing the rule of law. Concerns to be addressed include barriers to building a case or a defense: What are the ramifications of contracting out traditionally governmental responsibilities? What are the legal, policy and practical implications of how contractors especially those operating abroad can be prosecuted and defended? If trials are conducted overseas where will you find the lawyers willing risk their lives in war zone? Session will cover how to build a case obtaining evidence, deposing witnesses, how CIPA will affect your ability to gather relevant documents, jurisdictional issues over crimes committed in other countries, conducting and funding an investigation in a war zone, finding a competent criminal investigator that speaks the language, and obtaining evidence from non-U. S.
Citizens hired by contractors. Presenters will discuss the impact of cultural issues upon how witnesses view events or convey what they see and how gender can factor in. Other issues swirling around private contractors include obstruction of justice, civil remedies, violence, murder, interrogation techniques, and fraud.

Moderator:
Stephen Saltzburg, Washington, D.C.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, 2008

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Co-Sponsored CLE Showcase Program: The Immigration Crisis, the Courts, and the Rule of Law
Trianon Ballroom, 3rd Floor, Hilton New York
Adjudication of immigration cases at both the administrative and federal judicial levels has reached crisis proportions in recent years. Immigration enforcement and detention have escalated sharply, overwhelming the courts. This program will explore the adjudication crisis from a judicial perspective.  Panelists will also discuss the urgent need for a redoubled commitment by the bar to pro bono representation for immigrants.