Officials at the second Clinton W Francis Lecture in Legal Professionalism hosted by HBKU's College of Law.
Doha: The College of Law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) recently hosted the second Clinton W Francis Lecture in Legal Professionalism.
Qatari lawyer Sultan Al Abdulla, Founding Partner, Sultan Al Abdulla and Partners and the former general counsel to Qatar Energy, presented the lecture. Professor Clinton W Francis of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, HBKU Law’s Founding Dean, after whom the lecture is named, provided the response to Al Abdulla’s presentation. HBKU College of Law’s Dean Susan L Karamanian moderated the session.
In his Francis Lecture, Sultan Al Abdulla focused on three critical aspects of the legal profession in Qatar: Legal education, the judiciary, and the practice of law.
Commenting about the lecture, Al Abdulla recognised that “One defining characteristic of a just society is its commitment to upholding the rule of law. This requires a strong legal foundation built on the three underlying pillars of legal education, a capable judiciary, and the professionalism and ethical behaviour of legal practitioners.”
Recognising that without education, the other two pillars of a legal system suffer, Al Abdulla further noted that “HBKU College of Law has been a key proponent of effective legal education, and of teaching legal professionalism and ethics to future practitioners. As our legal system continues to develop, I look to the future with optimism, knowing that the standards of legal education have been set so high. It was my pleasure to speak about the current challenges facing the legal profession, and to honour HBKU College of Law’s Founding Dean, Dr. Clinton W Francis, under whose guidance and leadership this essential institution was established”.
Dean Karamanian said Al Abdulla’s extensive and wide-ranging experience as a lawyer in Qatar, in which he has worked with Qatari and foreign clients in domestic and international tribunals, enabled him to provide unique insights, both from an historical perspective as well as from a comparative one. "For our students, the lessons he conveyed will guide them in their legal studies and their professional endeavours.”
Launched in honour of Francis’s integral contribution as Founding Dean, the Clinton W Francis Lecture in Legal Professionalism gives the HBKU community an opportunity to hear insights into the legal profession on the rules and practices that guide the practice of law, both in terms of their substance as well as their application.
