Legal Village

Goodbye to New York

Posted 4/04/2008 by Ben Hallman

Greetings from New York. Next week in Baghdad I will report on the rule of law, with a special focus on the status of the estimated 25,000 lawyers who work in Iraq, the civil courts and judiciary and the efforts of Americans who work with these Iraqi legal professionals on a daily basis.

We think these are timely and important issues to explore. One presidential candidate has said that the US armed forces should stay in Iraq as long as necessary; another has promised to quickly withdraw. Accepting the premise that a functioning, fair rule of law system is critical for any country that hopes to thrive as a democracy - what effect would a rapid withdrawal, or many more years of engagement, have on those institutions? Would the reconstruction teams, which rely on the military and civilian contractors for protection, continue to function if the US army were to leave? I hope to address these issues in future posts.

First, a little background. I am a staff reporter for The American Lawyer, where I have covered the business of law and legal affairs for the past two and a half years. Over that time, I've heard lots of military euphemisms (the lawsuit was a "bombshell," the trial was a "firefight"), but the closest I've been to danger was when I got stuck for a few seconds in the elevator at Skadden Arps in Times Square. Needless to say, I am not an experienced war correspondent. So when I signed off on the forms that absolve the US Government of any blame if I am killed or maimed, it wasn't quite with the same calm that I imagine real war reporters possess.

I will try to write about my professional experiences and personal observations. (My father, for example, wants to know the price of gas in Kuwait, and whether the consistency of the desert soil is more like sand or dirt. Dad, I'm on it.)

I hope to post at least once a day and will write more if time permits. Feel free to e-mail me at bhallman@alm.com. Thanks for reading.