Arent Fox partner Robert C. O'Brien, who serves as co-chair of the US State Department's Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan, and U.S. District Judge David Carter will speak June 2 at Arent Fox's Los Angeles office to discuss the Partnership’s continuing efforts to strengthen Afghanistan’s judicial system. Mr. O’Brien and Judge Carter will report on their February 2008 fact-finding mission to Afghanistan where they met with the Chief Justice of the Afghanistan Supreme Court Abdul Salam Azimi; Afghanistan’s Attorney General Abdul Jabbar Sabit; the executive director of the Legal Aid Organization of Afghanistan; members of the Afghan Prosecutors Association; and other officials to discuss how the public-private partnership could best assist in building and improving that nation’s civil and criminal judicial system.

The Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan is a joint initiative by the US State Department and America’s legal community to assist in the development of the rule of law in Afghanistan. The partnership allows law firms to demonstrate their commitment to improving the justice system in Afghanistan by funding projects that promote women’s rights, access to justice, legal aid, professional development, and other important justice-related activities. The partnership was officially launched on December 13, 2007 at a ceremony hosted by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held at the State Department in Washington, DC.

MCLE credit (one hour) is available at this event.