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As part of their active commitment to legal scholarship and continuing legal education, Mr. Howarth and Ms. Smith lecture yearly at Oxford University and Cambridge University in England, where they are Visiting Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall and New Hall colleges. Lecture topics cover issues that are particularly relevant at the time, and which encourage discussion and debate. 

Past lecture topics have included:

Legality of Guantanamo Bay Detentions

In May, 2007 Don Howarth and Suzelle Smith lectured along with Dicky Grigg, former President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, on the legality of the Guantanamo Bay Detentions. The lectures at Oxford and Cambridge addressed both the detentions and the military tribunals, and examined the arguments on behalf of the United States government for legitimacy under international and U.S. law, and the case for violations of these laws on behalf of the detainees. Mr. Grigg personally has personally represented detainees and visited Guantanamo. The Cambridge lecture was video taped by the University and is available for viewing.

Terrorism Litigation

As counsel for the families of the victims of the September 11, terrorist attacks, Ms. Smith discussed the legal and political aspects of federal litigation filed in the United States against the sponsors of international terrorism, including the goals of such litigation, and the unique challenges it presents.

Class Actions and Mass Disasters

At the invitation of the Vice-Chancellor, Sir Richard Southwood, Mr. Howarth and Ms. Smith gave a series of eight lectures during Trinity Term on litigation involving multiple parties and complex litigation management and techniques, comparing procedures in Britain and the United States for handling mass disasters and complex matters.

The Significance of Judges and Juries to Democracy in America and Great Britain

In conjunction with the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at Oxford University, Mr. Howarth and Ms. Smith conducted a series of lectures and seminars along with their invited guest speaker, the Honorable Shirley Hufstedler, former Secretary of Education, and former Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. These lectures and seminars included:

  • Development and definition of an ‘independent’ judiciary.
  • The role of the judiciary in a democratic political system.
  • The role and function of the jury in a democracy.
  • Modern juries, the media, and the future of the judicial system.
     
  • Cameras in the Courtroom

    In the wake of several high profile trials, such as the O.J. Simpson trial, and the Rodney King police officer trial, Mr. Howarth and Ms. Smith, along with their invited guest speaker, Mr. Simon Jenkins, former Editor of the The Times, considered the effect of media coverage on high profile trials, and the interplay between the courts and the media. Comparing the history and role of media coverage of legal proceedings in the United States and United Kingdom, the speakers considered both the shortcomings and importance of the media in the courtroom.

    Medical-Legal Ethics

    With rapid developments in science and technology, creating the power of a "new medicine", Mr. Howarth and Ms. Smith, along with their invited guest speakers, Sir Richard Doll of Oxford, Dr. Ruth Deech of Oxford, and Professor A.E. Dick Howard of the University of Virginia Law School, considered the legal and ethical issues raised by this new science, focusing on the approach of the American and British courts to the issue of the right to die and the right to life.

    Law and the Media

    Mr. Howarth and Ms. Smith were joined by their invited guest speakers, Mr. William Vaughn of the law firm O’Melveny & Myers, and Lord Williams of Mostyn, former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Home Office and later Leader of the House of Lords, to consider the interplay between the law and the media, with particular emphasis on First Amendment issues and comparative British practices.

    The International Financial Crisis

    In a world where economic communities have been drawn together, through the internet, worldwide markets, and satellite media broadcasting, economic isolation has been assigned to history. However, these closer economic ties mean that markets and finances can no longer be matters of purely local concern. Against this background, Mr. Howarth and Ms. Smith, along with their invited guest speaker, the Honorable Amy Bondurant, then U.S. Ambassador to the O.E.C.D., addressed the legal and economic aspects of the international financial situation and world market at the close of the century.

    Howarth & Smith expects to continue this tradition of lecturing at these two English universities, and to encourage further understanding and cooperation between the legal systems of the United States, and the United Kingdom.

    The contact for matters relating to lectures at Howarth & Smith is associate attorney, Jennifer Davis.
     

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