The Annual Hyman Soloway Lecture: “Legal Culture in International Economic Law”
Professor Colin Picker from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law presented the annual Hyman Soloway Lecture on March 18, 2010.
Prof. Picker’s lecture, entitled “Legal Culture in International Economic Law,” discussed the impact of one’s legal background, and the legal culture that follows, on the development of legal institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Explaining the differences between the Common Law and Civil Law legal cultures – differences widely understood by law students at uOttawa – he demonstrated the importance of being aware of one’s own legal culture, especially in International Law. Not showing such awareness creates the potential for the implementation of something that could compromise the balance that exists in each legal system.
“Legal culture is frankly very important if you are going to work in the law,” said Prof. Picker. “It is very important to identify it. It is even more important in systems that are growing and expanding. Why? Because those systems borrow, steal, and create. The people who invent a new idea in International Trade Law or in International Law are actually subconsciously taking it from their own domestic systems.”
Click here to listen to the entire podcast of “Legal Culture in International Economic Law.”
Hyman Soloway came to Canada from Russia as a child speaking no English. Within two years of starting school, he was at the top of his class. He went on to become a leader in the legal profession of this province and the centre of the well-known Ottawa law firm of Soloway and Wright. His wise counsel was frequently sought, in the Jewish community where he was a highly respected leader, and elsewhere. Mr. Soloway was also a successful businessman and a leading benefactor in this community. The Hyman Soloway Chair in Business and Trade Law is held by Professor Don McRae.