The International Lawyer Turns Fifty

• Author: John E. Noyes
• Position: Roger J. Traynor Professor of Law, California Western School of Law; Member, Editorial Advisory Board, The International Lawyer.
• Pages: 23-25

The International Lawyer Turns Fifty

J

OHN

E. N

OYES

*

It has been my privilege to serve on the External Advisory Board of The

International Lawyer for the past twenty years, occasionally reviewing articles

being considered for publication, contributing to the Year in Review survey,

and acting as a sounding board. Before being named to the Advisory Board,

I came to know The International Lawyer as a reader, as Chair of the

Publications Committee of the ABA Section of International Law, and as a

member of the Section’s Council. I congratulate the editors of the journal –

among them Marc Steinberg, who currently serves as Editor-in-Chief – for

producing consistently excellent issues over the years. Both the SMU

Dedman School of Law, home to The International Lawyer for most of the

past fifty years, and the ABA Section of International Law deserve thanks for

supporting the journal.

As we mark the 50th anniversary of The International Lawyer, let me

highlight four of its notable features. First is the high quality of its articles

and comments about specific substantive issues. These articles have

appeared either as parts of symposia – on topics as varied as NAFTA (Vol.

27, Issue 3 (1993)), terrorism’s burdens on globalization (Vol. 36, Issue 1

(2002)), and international company and securities law (Vol. 37, Issue 1

(2003)) – or as stand-alone pieces. Some decades-old articles published in

The International Lawyer still provide insightful introductions to complex

areas of international law (e.g., Jonathan Charney, “The Marine

Environment and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the

Sea” (Vol. 28, pg. 879 (1994)). Scores of other international law journals of

course also publish articles about substantive issues, and virtually all of those

articles can now be searched in electronic databases. But The International

Lawyer’s focus on succinct, expert analyses of subjects useful for the

practitioner helps this journal stand apart.

Second are occasional articles that “step back” from particular substantive

topics and reflect on the nature of international legal practice or

international professional responsibility. I note as examples M.W. Janis,

“The Lawyer’s Responsibility for Foreign Law and Foreign Lawyers” (Vol.

16, pg. 695 (1982)), and John Gergacz, “In-House Counsel and Corporate

Communications” (Vol. 45, pg. 817 (2011)). Such pieces are valuable both

for practicing international lawyers and for law students eager to learn about

the dimensions of a career in international law, and I have used them in

some of my classes. Other perspective pieces examine issues that, although

* Roger J. Traynor Professor of Law, California Western School of Law; Member, Editorial

Advisory Board, The International Lawyer.

THE INTERNATIONAL LAWYER

A TRIANNUAL PUBLICATION OF THE ABA/SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH

SMU DEDMAN SCHOOL OF LAW