Legal Village
Ben Hallman in Iraq
Ben Hallman is a reporter for The American Lawyer embedded with the Baghdad Provincial Reconstruction Team. He will report on the restoration of Iraq's civil justice system.Some final thoughts
16/04/2008
Not even Borat can make me laugh at 6am. I spent the night on a metal bench in the hanger that serves as a terminal on the military side of Baghdad International Airport. The authorities there leave the television turned...'Amnesty' in Iraq
14/04/2008
It was a two car-bomb morning. The first, around 7.30 am, shook the press centre. We’re close to the Red Zone (in fact, some call this area the Orange Zone) and the explosion sounded like it was just outside the...In the lawyers' room
13/04/2008
If you got to this blog from the American Lawyer home page, you clicked on a photo of Iraq’s Central Criminal Court. And, yes, that is a giant clock protruding from the top.The structure was built to commemorate the Arab...Besting the bean-counters
11/04/2008
I’m feeling better about my reporting prospects. I’ve extended my trip for two days and have arranged trips to two courthouses. For security reasons, I won’t say which ones until I return, but I’ll have the opportunity to do more...A tourist's guide to the Green Zone
11/04/2008
So you’re thinking of spending the weekend in the Green Zone. Here’s a handy guide to help you in your travels.When to come: There’s never a good time to come to the Green Zone. There’s a war going on and...The Iraqi Lawyer
10/04/2008
A law degree in Iraq is the equivalent of an undergraduate degree from a US university. All practising lawyers join the Iraq Bar Association, which is less a professional organisation like the American Bar Association and more like a state...American lawyers - Uncle Sam wants YOU!
10/04/2008
'Surging' isn’t just for soldiers anymore. In an effort to increase the number of civilian lawyers working on legal programs in Iraq, the US Department of State is hiring 40 civilian attorneys as part of a lawyer “surge”.The attorneys will...On personal hygiene, the Red Sox Nation and the art of war
10/04/2008
I left my shampoo in Kuwait. I know what you’re thinking - who hasn't left their shampoo in Kuwait at one point or another? Anyway, I tried to buy a bottle at the PX yesterday but they were sold out...Reconstructing the rule of law
9/04/2008
Baghdad is quiet today. There’s a curfew until midnight, which means no cars are allowed in the capital and all the Iraqi Government employees have the day off. Fortunately for me, US Government officials in Iraq work seven days a...An unhappy anniversary - five years since Baghdad fell
8/04/2008
Remember all the stories a few weeks back that marked the five-year anniversary of the Iraq war? As it turns out, that was a moment recognised mainly in the West. In Iraq, tomorrow (April 9) is the anniversary that matters....Under attack in the Green Zone
8/04/2008
It’s 3am in Baghdad and someone is trying to kill me.I’m standing outside a guard gate in a dust storm, waiting for my ride, when I hear the thump-thump of a shell landing in the distance. I had expected to...Parking lots, old movies and long queues for buses
7/04/2008
I’m beginning to think it's the Army’s plan to shuttle me from parking lot to parking lot so that when they actually deposit me in a war zone, I’m grateful.I’ve been up since 5 am, when I had to muster...Destination Kuwait
6/04/2008
I'm writing this morning from a US military base in Kuwait. I know the name of the base but one of the ground rules for my stay here is that I don't disclose it. I'm also not supposed to describe...Goodbye to New York
4/04/2008
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...
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RSSRecent Posts
- Some final thoughts16/04/2008
- 'Amnesty' in Iraq14/04/2008
- In the lawyers' room13/04/2008
- Besting the bean-counters11/04/2008