EDITOR’S COMMENTS

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Professor Robert Lutz. Bob was the first Editor-in-Chief of the Journal and also was the 2014 recipient of the Warren M. Christopher International Lawyer of the Year Award. As we talked about the history and vision of the Journal, Bob alerted me that the publication originally was titled The California International Practitioner. Its simple mission was to highlight the legal work and achievements of California practitioners in matters of international law.

The spirit of the original Journal is captured in this latest edition with reports from colleagues whose work touches on the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.

"California Lawyers – Improving the Rule of Law in Afghanistan" tells the story of local lawyers and judges who are collaborating with the U.S. State Department to train and mentor Afghan lawyers at California law schools and elsewhere. "When the rule of law is weak, opportunities are based on family connections—not ability or grades, and admission to university and jobs are nearly impossible to obtain without the right connections. In this climate, Afghanistan’s best hope for long-term stability is a vanguard of lawyers and leaders with the physical and moral courage to challenge the system."

"Europe v. Facebook" provides a timely case study of the growing threat of consumer privacy litigation facing California businesses that hold and process personal data of European consumers. Privacy specialist Christian Hammerl, who attended the key hearing in the Austrian court proceedings against Facebook, reports on the outcome and lessons learned from that case. The future threat of EU privacy litigation is sure to grow given the recent invalidation of the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Scheme under which many companies have operated.