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LWOB's panel, part of the three day Fall International Law Weekend in New York City:  The Evolution of International Courts focused on the international criminal tribunals and featured the interaction with those Courts by the three panelists who spoke of their experiences with the ICTR, Sierra Leone and ICC tribunals.   The LWOB panel took place on Friday, October 27th at 2:15pm to a full house in the main Town Meeting Room at the City Bar Building of New York. The New York Womens Bar Association co-sponsored  the panel.

Speakers on the LWOB panel  included:  Richard Dicker- Director, International Justice Program, Human Rights Watch, Simone Monasebian, Esq.-  U.N. Chief of New York Office on Drugs & Crime and Court TV legal analyst on International Criminal Trials and Daniel Schimmel, Esq.- Counsel, Shearman & Sterling, LLP, Pro Bono counsel at ICTR. LWOB Board Chair, Houston P. Lowry, moderated the panel.

The presentations were among the best to date, full of anecdotal experiences of the panelists  supporting their views about the courts, the value of the courts, the role of the courts, the successes and failures. Each of the panelists, two of whom had a prosecutorial vantage point,  echoed the sentiment that the success of the courts depended upon vigorous representation of the defendants and encouraged members of the audience to consider pro bono work on international defense before those courts.

A Lawyers Without Borders luncheon will took place at noon, the same day providing the opportunity for LWOB members and volunteers to meet and greet and for newcomers to learn about LWOB and its mission and projects. The luncheon meeting was well attended and the conversation lively. The annual ILA Fall Weekend in New York has historically proven to be a valuable volunteer recruitment event for LWOB and this year was no exception. Several highly qualified and experienced lawyers attended and offered their services to LWOB and its projects.