The Red Velvet Lawyer

Still Working on that Glass Ceiling When I made partner in the mid-1990s, only sixteen percent of all partners in the U.S. were women. A NAWL 2014 report shows little progress since then: In its eighth year, the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL®) and The NAWL Foundation’s® annual Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms reveals not much has changed in its findings of compensation, leadership roles, rainmaking, and equity partnership at the nation’s largest 200 firms. The data this year revealed the same trend as in previous years: the greatest percentage of women (64 percent) occupy the lowest positions in firms (staff attorneys) and the highest positions in firms (equity partners) are occupied by the lowest percentage of women (17 percent). In comparison, the 2012 survey reported 15 percent equity partners were women and 70 percent staff attorneys were women. “This year’s results reinforce that women in private practice continue to face barrie

It's Easy: Set Up a Monthly Donation This morning, my Facebook feed is blowing up over a Huffington Post article about the immigrant kids being separated from their parents at ages as young as 53 months.  For additional information about the situation see here  (agency that lost 1500 kids says it is not "legally responsible" for finding them),  here (history of policy), here  (Trump blames Democrats for the lost kids), and here  (SWOPE's fact check: True). Many people want to know how they can help support resistance to this and other Trump administration policies affecting civil, human, and environmental rights. I put together a list of charity groups that support gun law reform.  I post it after every mass or school shooting,  So, in the same vein and with the same purpose,  I am creating this list of organizations that work to protect civil, human, and environmental rights.  If I need to add an organization to the list, please let me know.  Please dona

More Modern Arbitration Laws for the Arab Gulf GAR reports that the United Arab Emirates has issued its long-awaited self-standing arbitration law, based on the UNCITRAL Model Law.  The Arabic version of the the law is found  here .  In this post, I am reproducing the GAR story with a few edits. His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, issued Federal Law No. 6 of 2018 yesterday, after it was approved by his cabinet of ministers in February. It repeals and replaces the previous UAE arbitration law, contained within a chapter of the UAE Civil Procedures Law No. 11 of 1992. The new law will apply to all arbitral proceedings, including both domestic and international proceedings.  Its 61 articles include: articulation of the principles of separability and competence-competence;  power for arbitral tribunals and courts to order interim and conservatory measures relating to ongoing or potential arbitrations, with no waiver of the right to

Political Stability or a New Wave of Change? On April 28-29, 2018, Al Jazeera held its 12th Forum providing an opportunity for leading scholars and other experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the Arab world.  The website for the forum,  @aljazeeraform , provides additional information and links to the videos of each session.  You can follow the Twitter coverage at  #AJForum . As I noted in my  first post  in this series, I am working from my notes, so I apologize in advance if I incorrectly paraphrase the remarks of any speaker. I was also reliant on the quality of the translation services and their audibility. Therefore, I am happy to make any needed edits to this summary. For summaries of the other sessions see: Opening Session Session 1: The Gulf Crisis Session 2: Iran and the Gulf Session 3: Change in the Region? Session 4: Changing Alliances in the Arab World Session 5: Palestine and the "Deal of the Century" Session 6: The Media During Times

Responsibility of Combatants:  Don't Kill Journalists! On April 28-29, 2018, Al Jazeera held its 12th Forum providing an opportunity for leading scholars and other experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the Arab world.  The website for the forum,  @aljazeeraform , provides additional information and links to the videos of each session.  You can follow the Twitter coverage at  #AJForum . As I noted in my  first post  in this series, I am working from my notes, so I apologize in advance if I incorrectly paraphrase the remarks of any speaker. I was also reliant on the quality of the translation services and their audibility. Therefore, I am happy to make any needed edits to this summary. For summaries of the other sessions see: Opening Session Session 1: The Gulf Crisis Session 2: Iran and the Gulf Session 3: Change in the Region? Session 4: Changing Alliances in the Arab World Session 5: Palestine and the "Deal of the Century" Session 7: Wher

Two-State Solution, Long Dead, is Now Buried On April 28-29, 2018, Al Jazeera held its 12th Forum providing an opportunity for leading scholars and other experts to discuss a variety of topics affecting the Arab world.  The website for the forum,  @aljazeeraform , provides additional information and links to the videos of each session.  You can follow the Twitter coverage at  #AJForum . As I noted in my  first post  in this series, I am working from my notes, so I apologize in advance if I incorrectly paraphrase the remarks of any speaker. I was also reliant on the quality of the translation services and their audibility. Therefore, I am happy to make any needed edits to this summary. For summaries of the other sessions see: Opening Session Session 1: The Gulf Crisis Session 2: Iran and the Gulf Session 3: Change in the Region? Session 4: Changing Alliances in the Arab World Session 6: The Media During Times of Crisis Session 7: Where is the Gulf Headed? Session 5

Time with my Students is Coming to an End We have long semesters at Qatar University College of Law.  It means that we are all very exhausted by the last week of the semester.  This year, the Ramadan fast adds another dimension to the challenges of teaching this last week. I am trying to make it a little easier for students to complete all the sections of the Memorandum of Law that I have taught them to write this semester. They have analyzed the use of the same name, Azul Marine Supply , and a similar trademark in connection with two marine supply shops.  They have used two Qatari trademark cases and several sections of the Qatari code to complete their analysis.  They have listened to and summarized a meeting with the partner, a client interview, and an interview of a confused consumer.  They have learned to brief cases.   They have also learned to conduct legal research in two databases, including Westlaw Gulf.   I have also required them to keep all the handouts