EDITOR’S COMMENTS

This latest edition of The California International Law Journal provides a collage of the past year’s work and accomplishments of the International Law Section and its members.

International Lawyer of the Year Award. Each year the Section honors a California lawyer who renders extraordinary service to our profession in the area of international law. This year’s recipient of the Warren M. Christopher International Lawyer of the Year Award is Professor Connie de la Vega, whom we interview in the "Practitioner’s Spotlight" column. The author of the Dictionary of International Human Rights Law, Professor de la Vega has spent a career informing U.S. courts on international law standards in cases ranging from the juvenile death penalty to affirmative action, and one of her luminous amicus briefs was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons.

Friendship Agreements with Foreign Bar Associations. The Section actively pursues Friendship Agreements with foreign bar organizations, which now include associations in Australia, France, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. The goal of these agreements includes facilitating joint programs on the legal concepts and professional standards that govern the parties’ respective jurisdictions; facilitating information sharing to further the rule of law; and assisting professional networking. Our Section’s newest "friend," the Vietnam Lawyers Association, provides us with a report on their delegation’s recent visit to California, including lessons learned and other observations.

Law Student Outreach. The Section conducts outreach to law students and aspiring international practitioners through "Careers in International Law" programs. In connection with that, the Section solicits student article submissions for publication in the Journal. We are proud to share the work of Emilia Mikaelian who, through a creative mock amicus brief, brilliantly addresses the privacy implications under the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the FBI’s recent attempt to compel Apple to unlock an iPhone.