LOS ANGELES - MAY 5 - Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce that the Federal Bar Association today honored Robert C. O'Brien, the partner-in-charge of the firm's Los Angeles office, by bestowing upon him the 2009 Erwin Chemerinsky "Defender of the Constitution Award" in recognition of Mr. O'Brien's work as co-chair of the US State Department's Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan.

Joining Mr. O'Brien as a fellow recipient of this year's Defender of the Constitution Award was Judge Stephen G. Larson of the US District Court for the Central District of California, who was also honored for his efforts in working with the Afghanistan Public-Private Partnership.

The award ceremony took place at the Inland Empire Chapter of the Federal Bar Association's Tenth Annual Constitutional Law Forum held at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California.

Robert C. O'Brien said: "I am greatly honored to receive the 2009 Erwin Chemerinsky Defender of the Constitution Award. I am equally honored to be sharing this recognition with Judge Larson, who is not only a remarkable jurist and one of the driving forces behind the important work of the Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan, but also a good friend."

Judge Larson said, "I am very pleased that by honoring me and Robert with this year's Defender of the Constitution Award, the Federal Bar Association is, in fact, also recognizing the courageous efforts of those men and women in both the United States and Afghanistan who are working tirelessly to establish the rule of law in that war-torn land."

The Defender of the Constitution Award honors individuals whose work clearly reflects a commitment, as a member of the federal bar, to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan was launched by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in November 2007 as a non-partisan American initiative to assist the people of Afghanistan. Mr. O'Brien was named co-chair of the partnership, along with Ambassador Thomas A. Schweich, U.S. Coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan.

The partnership allows law firms to demonstrate their commitment to assisting Afghans reform the judicial system in their country by funding low-cost, high-impact training projects for prosecutors, defense lawyers, women judges and other important justice-related activities.

During a ceremony held at the US State Department in December 2007 officially launching the Public-Private Partnership, Mr. O'Brien said, "This is an incredibly worthy endeavor and your participation will benefit not only the people of Afghanistan but the people of the United States as we assist our friends in building a rule of law-based society in that critical region of the world. The Afghan people face a great challenge - reestablishing the rule of law throughout their country to ensure that all members of Afghan society - both citizens and rulers - are bound by a set of clearly defined and universally accepted laws."

Since it was launched, Mr. O'Brien and the Public-Private Partnership have imitated a number of programs to train Afghan prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges. In February 2008, Mr. O'Brien undertook a fact-finding mission to Afghanistan where he 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. He was joined on the mission by Hon. David O. Carter, US District Judge for the Central District of California, and Tim Nusraty of the US State Department.

Mr. O'Brien reported his findings to the United Nations at a forum held at UN Headquarters in New York.

Earlier this year, the Partnership, working closely with the State Department, hosted a group of prominent Afghan women attorneys and law-enforcement officials for an intensive two-week training program in the United States.

The first phase of the program took place in Riverside, CA, where the women participated in a series of intensive legal seminars, roundtable events and consultations with senior officials from the State of California and the US government, as well as leaders from various private and non-governmental organizations. The women explored current topics in the Afghan and American legal systems, legal decision-making and mediation, domestic violence, family and mental health, and narcotics law, while gaining hands-on exposure to the American judicial system.

The women jurists then traveled to Washington, DC , to meet with high-ranking government officials and legal luminaries, such as Secretary of State Clinton and retired Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor.

Secretary Clinton told the women: "Your American friends greatly admire your bravery and courage. It is your work in the tough environment of Afghanistan for women lawyers that will bring real reform and the rule of law to the Afghan people. As President Obama made clear yesterday in his first foreign policy announcement, we are committed to supporting your efforts to bring security and stability to your country."

After the group met with Secretary Clinton, Mr. O'Brien said: "This important Partnership was launched by Secretary Rice in 2007 as a non-partisan American initiative to assist the people of Afghanistan as they rebuild their country. We are very pleased that when she met with the Afghan women lawyers in Washington, Secretary Clinton pledged her support to the Partnership as it assists our Afghan colleagues in bringing the rule of law to their country. We are also immensely grateful to Justice O'Connor for her support of this important effort."

At the conclusion of the two-week seminar, Judge Larson said the Afghan lawyers "were very appreciative of the rigorous academic nature of the program as well as the hospitality extended to them by the more than 100 volunteers who participated in the various events."

More information about the Public-Private Partnership is available for download from the State Department Web site.

More information about the Afghan Women Lawyer's Training Conference is available for download from the State Department Web site here.