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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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