The legislative response to the 9/11 attacks on the United States is widely accepted as having posed the greatest threat to the rule of law in recent times. But what has been the reaction of the legal community?

In the 2014 Hal Wootten Lecture, UCLA Professor Richard Abel will explore what it has meant to be a “good lawyer” during the “war on terror” by presenting stories of two kinds of lawyers: those who betrayed the rule of law, and those whose experience of injustice inspired them to a courageous defence.

The annual Hal Wootten Lecture at UNSW was established in 2006 in honour of the Faculty of Law’s founding dean. The annual lecture is a highlight of the Faculty's year and commemorates Emeritus Professor Wootten's founding vision.

What:  The 2014 Hal Wootten Lecture. "How to be a 'good lawyer': Lessons from the American “war on terror" presented by UCLA Professor Richard Abel

When:  Thursday 13 March 2014. Doors open at 6pm for the lecture at 6.30pm, followed by a cocktail reception.

Where:  Law Theatre G04 Law Building, UNSW

Register:  All welcome, however bookings are required.

About the speakerRichard L. Abel is the Michael J. Connell Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA. He has written extensively about the legal profession (most recently Lawyers on Trial (2010) and English Lawyers between Market and State (2003)) and the role of law in the struggle against apartheid, Politics by Other Means (1995)). He is writing a book on the defence of the rule of law in the United States in the “war on terror” and conducting empirical research, with two collaborators, on what encourages Californian law graduates to become and remain public interest lawyers.