The Red Velvet Lawyer

Iran's Islamic Revolution at 40 Regional Cooperation: Prospects and Challenges By Dr. Kamal Kharazi Last night, I attended a lecture sponsored by the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies .  I have attended prior programs offered by the Centre and found them intellectually stimulating.  They always offer points of view I have seldom heard in the West. I have blogged about them in a series of posts beginning here .  The invited guest, Dr. Kamal Kharazi , Chair of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations of Iran, gave a lecture followed by a brief question and answer period at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, Qatar.  The moderator introduced Dr. Kharazi as an "insider" to the Iranian Revolution .  That revolution celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2019.  He spoke in English from prepare remarks. Before I start, I want to note that I am working from my notes and apologize in advance if my summary contains any errors or misstatements.  I am h...

Qatar University College of Law  Wins Prestigious Award for its Legal Skills Program The Qatar University College of Law won the Law School Award for furthering Global Legal Skills Education at the 13th Global Legal Skills Conference (GLSC) held in Melbourne, Australia, from December 10-12, 2018. GLSC recognized the law school and its Legal Skills Department for its leading contributions to global legal skills, and in particular, the development of legal skills education in the Middle East and North Africa.  Dr. Conrad Sturm and Dr. Melissa Deehring accepted the award on the law school’s behalf at the opening plenary of the conference that hosted over 120 participants from law schools around the world.    Since the inception of its Lawyering Skills Program (LSP) in 2010, the Qatar University College of Law has incorporated legal skills courses and active learning into the curriculum in order to produce more competitive, skill...

Goal Setting Words for 2019:  "Expert" and "Support" "The process of setting intentions and joyfully reflecting on them is how, over time, we transform extrinsic into intrinsic motivations, and thereby sustain the energy and purpose to live true to our best aspirations."  Thupten Jinpa,  Two Exercises for Turning Intention into Motivation . Starting in 2014, I began picking three words to remind me of my goals for the year. Chris Brogan gave me the idea. Here are his words for 2019 with some tips on choosing the words. Here he describes the word-choosing process as part of a broader planning process based on the following steps: The Big Story Vision Goals Plans and Milestones Daily Calendar Brogan says: You could argue which goes first, a vision or a big story. I’d accept either. But to me, a vision is a story told in goals, so I put it below the big story. The big story is that which we want to believe about our life and o...

For the story about this honor and a brief history of the ADR section, see here .

Identifying Priorities and  Giving me Firm Grounds to Say "No" Several years ago, I read Cheryl Richardson's " Take Time for Your Life ."  One big take-a-way was her use of an Absolute Yes list.  She encouraged me to list my top five priorities.  If someone asks me to do something, I will say "no" to the request if it does not relate to my Absolute Yes list.  You can say "no" gently , but you now have a good reason in your own mind for saying "no."  You are standing in your power . Some of the many blog posts describing the use of this list are here , here , and here . I recently updated my list.  I have posted it on a whiteboard in my office (not on a 3-by-5 index card as some suggest). Here it is: Scholarship:  Edit a collection of essays for a book entitled: " The Arab Gulf Crisis: Legal Consequences and Solutions ." Finish the footnotes on an article about malpractice insurance for mediators.  ...

Call for Papers Dear colleagues, Qatar University Press has asked me to move forward with a proposed book that addresses the legal consequences and solutions arising from the blockade imposed on Qatar by its neighboring countries.   The working title of the book is: “The Arab Gulf Conflict: Legal Consequences and Solutions.” It is my pleasure to invite you to contribute a chapter to the book.  Please email me at pyoung@qu.edu.qa for background information about the blockade. Topics I expect to discuss in the book include: A Dispute Resolution Analysis of the Causes of the Dispute. Arab Conflict Resolution Strategies. 2103 and 2014 Riyadh Agreements. Thirteen Demands and Six Principles. Do Gulf Countries have the Unilateral Legal Right to Impose Sanctions on Qatar? Legal Concepts of National Sovereignty Laws Governing Military Conflict. Laws Governing Efforts to Force a Change in a Country’s Leadership. Qatar’s Air T...

Analyzing the Decision  &  Mourning Something Lost in America's Identity and Ideals. One of my friends, Prof. Richard Reuben -- who serves on the faculty of the University of Missouri School of Law -- has offered these insights. Earlier in his career, Richard was an award-winning journalist who covered the U.S. Supreme Court. "A few thoughts after having read the travel ban decision, [ Trump v. Hawaii , Slip Op. No. 17-965 (June 26, 2018):] 1. It is not surprising to see the Supreme Court back executive power in the context of international affairs, and especially so in the context of national security. I tend to agree with this in principle. 2. Chief Justice Roberts' decision was an embarrassment -- deliberately shallow, both in accepting Trump's results-oriented "policy consideration" and in its paucity of reference to precedent. The reason seems pretty obvious. As been our history until this day, most of that precedent goes against his d...