Source: US Global Legal Monitor
Law Day is a national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law and an opportunity to understand how law and the legal process protect liberty and promote justice. The theme of this year’s Law Day is “Voices of Democracy.”
The Law Library of Congress and the American Bar Association hope you can join us, via webinar, for this year’s Law Day celebration on April 25, 2024 at 3 p.m. EDT. This moderated panel discussion will showcase a variety of contemporary democratizing measures from around the world that rely on and elevate diverse voices that are working toward these goals. Please register here.
Opening remarks will be provided by American Bar Association President Mary Smith and closing remarks will be provided by the Law Librarian of Congress Aslihan Bulut.
Our moderator is Elizabeth Andersen. Elizabeth “Betsy” Andersen is Executive Director of the World Justice Project, leading its global efforts to advance the rule of law through data collection and analysis, research, and engagement with diverse stakeholders at the local, regional, and global levels. Ms. Andersen has more than 25 years of experience in the international legal arena, having served previously as director of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and its Europe and Eurasia Division (ABA CEELI), as executive director of the American Society of International Law, and as executive director of the Europe and Central Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. Ms. Andersen is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Law Institute and has received several awards for her work in the international rule of law field. Ms. Andersen began her legal career in clerkships with Judge Kimba M. Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and with Judge Georges Abi-Saab of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Ms. Andersen received a B.A. from Williams College, an M.P.A. from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Our panel includes:
Valerie Hans, Cornell Law School. Valerie P. Hans, Charles F. Rechlin Professor of Law conducts empirical studies of law and the courts and is one of the nation’s leading authorities on the jury system. Trained as a social scientist, she has carried out extensive research and lectured around the globe on juries and jury reforms and the uses of social science in law.
She is the author or editor of 10 books and over 175 research articles. Recent writings on the jury system include an analysis of the connection between jury trials and democracy and recommendations for fair jury trials. Professor Hans is also studying the diverse forms of citizen participation in legal decision-making in other countries. Her research and that of others are summarized in a coedited book, Juries, Lay Judges, and Mixed Courts: A Global Perspective (2021), which won the 2024 Lawrence S. Wrightsman Book Award from the American Psychology-Law Society, recognizing outstanding scholarship in psychology and law. Other books include The Psychology of Tort Law (2016); American Juries: The Verdict (2007); The Jury System: Contemporary Scholarship (2006); Business on Trial: The Civil Jury and Corporate Responsibility (2000); and Judging the Jury (1986). Professor Hans is co-editor of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, past president of the Law and Society Association, and a member of the American Law Institute.
David Sip, National Democratic Institute. David joined the National Democratic Institute in 2024 to lead the Strengthening Municipal Resilience to Corruption program in North Macedonia, which is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Previously he led the UK/US joint effort Tackling Serious and Organized Corruption program in Malawi, the UK Aid/DFID supported Strengthening Action Against Corruption program in Ghana, the U.S. Department of State’s Justice Sector Support Program in Afghanistan, and the USAID Access to Justice Program in Iraq. David has over 25 years of experience in the development and management of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and anticorruption programs. He has served in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and West and Central Africa – for the Basel Institute on Governance, Adam Smith International, Tetra Tech/DPK, and the American Bar Association. A Chicago-Calumet Region Midwest native, David received his J.D. from Drake University in Iowa and is licensed to practice law in Minnesota.
Elin Hofverberg, Law Library of Congress. Elin first joined the Law Library in 2011 and has since conducted research and written reports on the laws of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), EU law, and international law, for members of Congress, government agencies, and the public. Before joining the Law Library, Ms. Hofverberg served as a consultant to several American law firms, where she provided comparative law expertise. Ms. Hofverberg also worked at the U.S. Department of State in Stockholm during the Swedish EU Presidency (2009) and at the Swedish office of the International Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Hofverberg is fluent in Swedish and English and has a full professional working knowledge of Danish, Icelandic, and Norwegian. She also has basic knowledge of South Sami. Ms. Hofverberg holds an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from The George Washington University Law School and a J.D. equivalent (Juris kandidatexamen (Jur. Kand)/Master of Laws) from Uppsala University, Sweden. She is a member of the New York Bar.
Eduardo Soares, Law Library of Congress. Eduardo Soares is a senior foreign law specialist at the Law Library of Congress with expertise in Brazilian law. He covers Brazil and Portuguese-speaking countries including Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor. He joined the Law Library of Congress in 2005. Mr. Soares is the author of many articles and reports including Criminalization of Bullying and Cyberbullying in Brazil (2024), Regulation of Assisted Dying in Portugal (2024), Legal Treatment of Embryos Created Through IVF in Portugal (2024), Legal Treatment of Unaccompanied Minors in Brazil (2023), and Regulation of Stem Cell Research in Brazil (2023). Mr. Soares has participated in several programs at the Library of Congress, including visits from Brazilian scholars, lawyers, public prosecutors, and judges. Before joining the Law Library, Mr. Soares previously worked in the United States in immigration law (2000–2005) and in Brazil in the areas of civil law, contracts, and property law (1981–1999). Mr. Soares holds an LL.M. in international legal studies from the American University Washington College of Law and a J.D. from the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is admitted to practice law in Brazil.
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