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The article explores the intersection of in-group bias and mercy in extreme situations, drawing on examples from Hurricane Katrina's aftermath and literary works like Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." It argues that both legal professionals and individuals facing crisis situations are prone to favoring their own group, which can hinder the exercise of mercy towards outsiders or strangers.

The purpose of this study was to identify the determinants of health and associated outcomes for women lawyers. It was also to identify promising avenues of research to improve the legal profession for women. The systematic literature review was conducted using five databases. Papers were first selected by eliminating the duplicates, then by analyzing the title and abstract, and, finally, by reading the papers in full. Twenty-six articles met the inclusive and exclusive criteria. Women lawyers' health determinants fall under four main categories: working conditions, organizational culture, psychological violence at work, and health determinants outside of work. The outcomes were separated into three categories: physical outcomes, psychological outcomes, and work-related outcomes. The conclusions of this study show the significant difficulties women face advancing in their career and balancing their work and family responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an introduction to a special issue of Psychiatry, Psychology & Law that focuses on the well-being of judicial officers and lawyers. The issue includes contributions from scholars in psychiatry, psychology, and law, as well as judicial officers and practitioners. The articles cover a range of topics, including the prevalence and impact of stress on the judiciary and legal practitioners, specific areas of legal practice, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of compassion in professional life. The goal of the special issue is to promote the mental and physical health of judicial officers and lawyers for the benefit of wider communities. [Extracted from the article]

Lawyers experience disproportionately high levels of poor mental health outcomes compared to other professions. This persistent problem can be explained, at least in part, by the fact that current initiatives are not adequately addressing the impact of trauma (from clients and lawyers). The legal profession is yet to embrace trauma-informed practice in the same way other human services have. In this qualitative study, 6 lawyers from Legal Aid describe what trauma-informed practice would ideally look like in their workplace. Many of the recommendations made by the participants such as training for staff, reduction in workloads, mental health leave, supervision, reflective practice, and debriefing are echoed in the literature. However, participants added valuable details about what service provision for clients, and the role of managers in bringing about change. The study provides employers with practical strategies to implement trauma-informed practice and manage the impact of trauma on their lawyers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent decision reveals how a New Zealand's disciplinary tribunal promoted justice for an unwell lawyer in a case of professional misconduct. In 2023, the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal (LCDT) applied a 'merciful approach' when assessing the lawyer's misconduct and health issues. In Auckland Standards Committee 3 v Ms W [2023], the LCDT discussed the impacts of reproductive treatment in relation to the practitioner's conduct. This decision is the foundation to compare the disciplinary regime for legal and health practitioners in New Zealand. The article outlines New Zealand's framework for discipline of lawyers, noting the absence of a health pathway. The article discusses opportunities to resolve cases involving impaired lawyers outside the disciplinary system, including benefits and disadvantages of mandatory reporting. While focusing on the legal profession, the discussion is relevant to other professions and examines health-promoting regulatory strategies from other jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'vicarious trauma' refers to a range of cumulative and harmful effects from exposure to the trauma of others and is now recognised as a category of causation in the diagnostic criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder. Legal practitioners may be exposed to the risk of harm from vicarious trauma in a number of occupational contexts. This article reviews recent case authority, including a 2023 prosecution of Court Services Victoria for failing to provide a safe workplace in the Coroners Court of Victoria and the High Court decision in Kozarov v Victoria (2022) and the Victoria Court of Appeal decision in Bersee v Victoria (2022). It considers measures that should be taken to provide a workplace for both legal practitioners and judicial officers that is as safe and without risks to health as is reasonably practicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal sector organisations face mounting pressure to protect and promote lawyers' well-being. However, knowledge is fragmented, hindering research and practice development. Our review investigated current conceptual understanding and empirical evidence of contextual influences. We systematically mapped the global scholarly and grey literature published since 1970, reviewing 145 relevant publications. Lawyers' well-being is conceptualised primarily as ill-being, despite well-being's positive facets. Empirical consideration of work context is mostly absent, though we deduce a focus on large commercial law firm practice and public service/legal aid. Our explanatory synthesis is abductive, coalescing Bourdieu's concepts of field and habitus with Hobfoll's conservation of resources theory to explain how context influences lawyers' well-being via distinct resource losses. We urge theoretical development to elucidate the role of context and theory-driven research on the cumulative effects of resource loss and gain. Recommendations for practice include a renewed focus on job design and line management upskilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well-established that legal professionals experience high stress and often high rates of associated health problems. Much less is known about attitudes and behaviours around stress prevention in this occupation. Our study examined views of stress and recovery among 131 U.S. attorneys. In open-ended data, attorneys commonly expressed that their job is very demanding, and it impacts their health. Many respondents felt it was important to manage their stress but had difficulty doing so. Quantitative analyses showed that attitudes about stress (stress-related comparisons, viewing stress as achievement, stress-related impression management, and stigma around stress concerns) demonstrated several significant relationships with perceived stress, recovery experiences, remorse for relaxation, and work–family conflict. Our findings suggest that practical interventions to support the health and well-being of legal professionals may need to target the workload norms, as well as attitudes and beliefs about the normalness of high stress and insufficient recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book "Introduction to Forensic Psychology and Psycho-Legal Work" edited by Gertie (HG) Pretorius provides a comprehensive guide for professionals and students in the field of psycho-legal work in South Africa. The book covers various topics including the integration of psycho-legal knowledge into professional psychology training, the role of psychologists in the court system, and the importance of expert psychological knowledge in legal contexts. It also offers practical guidance on conducting psycho-legal assessments, ethical considerations, and report writing. The book is structured into three parts, covering different aspects of psycho-legal work, and emphasizes the need for evidence-based decision-making and accountability. While the book could benefit from more guidance on the role of psychologists as fact witnesses, it is a valuable resource for those working or interested in the field of forensic psychology and psycho-legal work in South Africa. [Extracted from the article]

While most criminal cases are resolved by a guilty plea, little empirical research has examined guilty plea wrongful convictions. This study explored this issue through semistructured interviews with 27 legal professionals in Queensland, Australia (n = 16 defense lawyers; n = 7 prosecutors; n = 4 magistrates). Driven by a systems and organizational perspective, we conducted a thematic analysis exploring the structural and organizational features that may systematically contribute to erroneous guilty plea convictions. We found an overarching emphasis on efficiency and pressure to quickly resolve cases, coupled with practical constraints impeding legal professionals from ensuring guilty pleas are appropriate and accurate. There was also a general acceptance of false guilty pleas through the justification of "choice," legitimized by the authoritative precedent set by Meissner v R (1995). The findings indicate the routine nature of erroneous guilty plea convictions and raise important implications regarding the current validity of a guilty plea, as they do not always reflect actual guilt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotions are omnipresent in any court of law. In this short take, I suggest applying the Articulated Thought in Simulated Situations (ATSS) paradigm as a useful addition to supplement methodologies like interviewing and observations. ATSS, which originated in social sciences to study cognitive–behavioral topics, can be easily adapted for use in legal settings because of the flexibility of the vignettes used. Based on my own experience in criminal justice, I formulate recommendations for using ATSS: to avoid participant distraction, to pretest each study and to give clear instructions to participants, and to embed research in the workflow of the legal professional. All three recommendations tap into the same strength: coming as close as possible to actual emotion work of the professional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forensic medicine is a thriving application field for artificial intelligence (AI). Indeed, AI applications intended to forensic pathologists or forensic physicians have emerged since the last decade. For example, AI models were developed to help estimate the biological age of migrants or human remains. However, the uses of AI applications by forensic pathologists or physicians and their levels of integration in medicolegal practices are not well described yet. Therefore, a scoping review was conducted on PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases. This review included articles that mention any AI application used by forensic pathologists or physicians in practice or any AI model applied in one expertise field of the forensic pathologist or physician. Articles in other languages than English or French or dealing mainly with complementary analyses handled by experts who are not forensic pathologists or physicians or with AI to analyze data for research purposes in forensic medicine were excluded from this review. All the relevant information was retrieved in each article from a grid analysis derived and adapted from the TRIPOD checklist. This review included 35 articles and revealed that AI applications are developed in thanatology and in clinical forensic medicine. However, those applications seem to mainly remain in research and development stages. Indeed, the use of AI applications by forensic pathologists or physicians is not actual due to issues discussed in this article. Finally, the integration of AI in daily medicolegal practice involves not only forensic pathologists or physicians but also legal professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forensic anthropology (FA) as a specialized discipline has been practised in multi-lingual Switzerland for over a decade. A variety of expertise regarding osteological assessments as well as facial image comparison (FIC) is provided by different centres. Nevertheless, information is lacking about the awareness of FA and its benefits for forensic investigations among forensic stakeholders. Therefore, a survey was sent to Swiss anthropologists (AN) and related professions (police officers, prosecutors, and forensic pathologists) to assess three main aspects: (1) the experience of working (biological/forensic) anthropologists within FA; (2) how FA is perceived by other professions within the legal system; and (3) identify gaps (if any) in understanding of FA with the aim to suggest avenues for improvement if necessary. The results show that awareness of FA varies by occupation and cantonal regions. In areas where close collaborations between forensic anthropologists (FAs) and other stakeholders have been formally established, be it with focus on osteological analyses or FIC, the awareness of FA competencies was superior to areas where this was not the case. An overwhelming majority of forensic actors expressed interest in continuing education related to the role of FA. These findings indicate that facilitation of communication and collaboration leads to improvement in the awareness of the competencies of FAs and their contribution to forensic investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some say the job of a lawyer is to lie on behalf of a client. But longstanding ethical canons are clear: lawyers may not promote false statements of fact or law while representing their clients. This basic tenet of professional responsibility helps to preserve the integrity of the legal profession and ensure public confidence in the administration of justice. And if lawyers violate their ethical duties, they are subject to disciplinary proceedings. The 2020 election tested this system. Attorneys for former President Donald J. Trump made a series of false statements to the public and in court papers that President Joe Biden won the election because of fraud. This narrative became the "Big Lie, " and it continues to percolate. Although some lawyers eventually .faced professional discipline, disciplinary proceedings took months, and sometimes years, to initiate. During that time, millions of Americans came to believe these falsehoods. To stop the next big lie in its tracks, this Note argues for a more proactive approach to lawyer regulation. Well-established ethical rules enable bar authorities to begin investigations as soon as lawyers knowingly make materially false statements to third parties or the public. Therefore, this Note argues, not only can bar authorities act, but they must proceed swiftly in cases where false statements have spillover effects beyond the parties to an individual case or transaction. Doing so would erect a wall between the legal profession as a whole and falsehoods promoted by its members, sending a strong deterrent message to would-be liars and maintaining the integrity of the legal profession. Moreover, more aggressive action by ethics counsel would survive First Amendment scrutiny and promote truth-telling in all contexts, not just in political or election cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Better understanding of Large Language Models' (LLMs) legal analysis abilities can contribute to improving the efficiency of legal services, governing artificial intelligence and leveraging LLMs to identify inconsistencies in law. This paper explores LLM capabilities in applying tax law. We choose this area of law because it has a structure that allows us to set up automated validation pipelines across thousands of examples, requires logical reasoning and maths skills, and enables us to test LLM capabilities in a manner relevant to real-world economic lives of citizens and companies. Our experiments demonstrate emerging legal understanding capabilities, with improved performance in each subsequent OpenAI model release. We experiment with retrieving and using the relevant legal authority to assess the impact of providing additional legal context to LLMs. Few-shot prompting, presenting examples of question–answer pairs, is also found to significantly enhance the performance of the most advanced model, GPT-4. The findings indicate that LLMs, particularly when combined with prompting enhancements and the correct legal texts, can perform at high levels of accuracy but not yet at expert tax lawyer levels. As LLMs continue to advance, their ability to reason about law autonomously could have significant implications for the legal profession and AI governance. This article is part of the theme issue 'A complexity science approach to law and governance'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on celebrating the life and work of Michael Olivas, a prominent figure in legal academia. It discusses Olivas's contributions to legal scholarship, particularly in the areas of education and engaged scholarship. It highlights Olivas's critique of higher education and miseducation, emphasizing issues such as inequality, access, and diversity in the legal profession and academia.

Gender inequality in the workplace is an ever-evolving discussion. One aspect of gender inequality that is frequently overlooked is the leadership gap--the lack of representation of women in the top positions of their respective careers. Research demonstrates that the leadership gap is particularly pronounced in the legal field. This Article analyzes the factors within the legal field that perpetuate the leadership gap and examines the unique, confounding qualities of careers in national security to illustrate an exacerbated problem of inequality for women lawyers in national security. The lack of adequate diversity in people working in--and leading--the nationalsecurity field has been described as "one of the most significant national security challenges of our time." Drawing on the bipartisan Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, this Article details how the leadership gap is a significant national-security concern and proposes multi-faceted solutions to increase the diversity of women lawyers in national security, thereby improving conflict resolution efforts and global stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This reflection provides an edited account of a conversation between Marcia Willis Stewart KC (Hon), managing partner at Birnberg Peirce; Henna Masih, a Westminster Law School alumnus; and Manvir Kaur Grewal, Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Westminster. The conversation was hosted via Zoom by Harriet Samuels, Reader in Law at the University of Westminster, to mark International Women's Day. The dialogue focused on Marcia's unconventional pathway to the legal profession and her experience as a Black woman lawyer in a leading civil liberties firm. The discussion and question-and-answer session identified broader themes around civil liberties, activism, the nature of justice, diversity in the legal profession and Marcia's advice to law students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health diversion under California Assembly Bill (AB) 1810 created a pretrial pathway for individuals to enroll in community-based treatment as an alternative to incarceration if they have a mental illness that played a significant role in the crime for which they were charged. Mental health diversion may be a promising approach to addressing racial disparities in incarceration. This qualitative, community-partnered study examines how racial equity was considered in the design and implementation of mental health diversion under AB 1810 in nine counties across California. We explored five main themes: involvement of community stakeholders; cultural competence of providers; availability of diversion across counties; efforts to monitor demographics; and diversion as an opportunity to address racial disparities in the criminal legal system. We found that, although many legal professionals are optimistic about the capacity of mental health diversion to address racial disparities in incarceration, there have been limited efforts to monitor the demographics of diversion participants, differing understandings of cultural competency, limited community involvement in the design of mental health diversion, and limitations to the availability of services for individuals enrolled in diversion programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Screening for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) has been identified as a promising approach to improve recognition, understanding and effective response to the unique needs of those with FASD in criminal legal settings. However, to date, there has been limited synthesis of relevant screening tools, indicators, or implementation considerations in this context. Aims: The present review aimed to synthesise evidence and develop a conceptual framework for understanding how, when, why, for whom and by whom FASD screening tools, items and/or indicators and characteristics serve to accurately identify people with FASD in criminal legal contexts, with consideration of individual and system needs relevant to effective implementation and response. Methods: A preregistered search was conducted using a modified realist review framework for both peer‐reviewed articles and grey literature. Included sources were available in English, which focused on individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure and/or FASD with criminal legal involvement and offered new empirical evidence. Sources were reviewed using the Quality Control Tool for Screening Titles and Abstracts by Second Reviewer framework, extracted using a structured coding form and narratively synthesised. Results: The search yielded 52 sources, 11 FASD screening tools designed for or applied in criminal legal settings and 38 potential FASD indicators or characteristics relevant to identifying people who may have FASD in criminal legal settings, organised into six conceptually related domains. There was limited evidence supporting the psychometric properties of screening tools across populations or settings, though growing evidence highlights the promise of some instruments. Although few studies characterised potential considerations to be made when implementing a screening tool or approach, both system and individual level needs related to recognising and effectively responding to FASD in criminal legal contexts were identified, and findings revealed strong support among legal and clinical professionals regarding the need for FASD screening in these settings. Conclusions: Findings of this review can be used to inform the development, selection, implementation and evaluation of FASD screening tools in criminal legal settings and underscore a continued need for enhanced resources, policy and cross‐sectoral response to better support the needs of people with FASD in the criminal legal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article explores the role of lawyers in democratic backsliding—the degradation of democratic institutions and practices using law rather than violence. The Article’s central aim is to set an agenda and outline an approach to studying the professional paradox at the center of backsliding: why and how lawyers attack the rule of law. It thus seeks to shift the scholarly lens from the conventional view of lawyers as defenders of democracy to investigate lawyers as authors of autocracy. Toward that end, the Article theorizes the legal profession as a site of backsliding, outlining a framework that positions lawyers in relation to distinct pathways of autocratization on the slow road of gradual democratic decline and the fast track of imminent democratic attack. On the slow road, the Article draws upon evidence of structural change in the American legal profession to suggest how the erosion of key democratic functions performed by lawyers increases backsliding risk by reducing trust in the legal system and commitment to the rule of law. On the fast track, using the 2020 Stop the Steal campaign as a case study, the Article shows how lawyers in moments of democratic crisis engage in legal mobilization to weaponize distrust, fusing legal and media tactics to legitimize false claims and justify invocation of extraordinary power. The Article concludes by calling for changes to U.S. professional regulation and education to strengthen democratic resilience, while mapping a research agenda for comparative study of antidemocratic lawyering in unsettled times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on Judge William H. Pryor Jr. through the lens of mentorship, emphasizing his roles as a writer, stalwart advocate, and Alabamian. It mentions Judge Pryor's mentorship extends beyond legal skills, imparting clarity in writing, unwavering principles, and a deep connection to Alabama, influencing the careers and lives of numerous law clerks, many of whom have gone on to significant legal and judicial roles nationwide.

The author reflects on Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr.'s impactful career, particularly his role in mentoring future judges. Topics include Pryor's significant influence on legal professionals, exemplified by his former clerks now serving on the Eleventh Circuit and in various state supreme courts. The article also highlights personal anecdotes illustrating Pryor's pivotal support in launching careers, demonstrating his lasting influence as a mentor and colleague.

The author reflects on the profound impact of serving as a law clerk for Chief Judge Pryor and subsequently becoming a colleague on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Topics include Pryor's effective leadership qualities as a boss and chief judge, the continuity in their working relationship and the valuable lessons learned from Pryor about judicial writing and active mentorship of law clerks. These experiences highlight Pryor's lasting influence on legal professionals across various roles.

The family court responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by rapidly transitioning to remote hearings. Almost four years later, remote hearings remain common, although the clear direction of travel, especially for children and domestic abuse injunction cases, has been back towards everyone attending hearings face-to-face. In this article, we explore what might be lost when family court hearings take place remotely, and, more fundamentally, whether we really need physical family courts. We suggest that the family court is 'multifunctional': as well as having an important role in adjudication, it is a physical space in which family members can try to resolve their family law dispute through reflection, negotiation and conciliation, often with the moral support of a legal team, and backed by the judge's authority. We consider guidance issued during the pandemic and show that the non-adjudicative functions of the family court were initially overlooked by the senior judiciary. Finally, we explore legal professionals' experiences of remote family justice to assess how well the family court can perform its various functions remotely. We conclude that physical family courts are an essential part of the family justice system and, for those family disputes that require court involvement, they provide significant benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the political and legal controversies around a counterterrorism programme conducted by the Dutch government to support the so-called moderate groups in Syria between 2015 and 2018. The controversies centred around the question how the Dutch government was able to define and support armed moderate groups in Syria and distinguish them from terrorist organizations. The objective of the article is to take up this question and unpack how the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs constructed and justified their definition of material support for moderate groups deployed in this programme, against existing definitions of terrorism funding and terrorist groups embedded in European counterterrorism financing regulations. Connecting to the debates around materiality in both International Relations and International Law, this article follows the material-semiotic practices through which definitions of terrorism come into being. The empirical analysis draws on interviews with legal professionals, policy documents and court transcripts, and provides a detailed overview of how multiple and even conflicting definitions of terrorism and terrorism financing are constructed by the Dutch state. Taking this interdisciplinary approach to materiality and based on the empirical analysis, I propose that this controversy on defining terrorism and terrorism financing reflects a Eurocentric assumption about the knowledge and responsibilities of the Western state in the War on Terror. While the empirics are grounded in the Dutch context, my analysis is relevant for multiple European countries who engaged in similar operations between 2015 and 2018, as well as for future counterterrorism efforts targeting terrorist groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of lawyers and clients tend to be lawyer centric. How clients see lawyers—their own or those of other parties—is less emphasised. In this article we report the perspective of ten women who had been subject to a Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction process. The Convention was created to address removal of children from custodial mothers by non-custodial fathers and aims to ensure the safe return of children to their country of "habitual residence". However, the Hague Convention process, and the lawyers and courts that administer it, do not adequately respond to situations where mothers are fleeing domestic and family violence with their children. The women we spoke with had all fled domestic and family violence and sought safety by returning to their own country. They had been subject to a Hague Convention process for the return of their child(ren) to the country and custody of their perpetrator and experienced an accusatory, uncaring, hostile legal profession. The women felt that the lawyers were motivated by moral assessments of them and their behaviour. The lawyers were seen as participating and continuing the violence as an agent of the perpetrator and the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are certain characteristics of dispute resolution procedures associated with higher levels of procedural justice? We address this question through a quantitative analysis of real-world experiences of 194 professional legal representatives with the objection procedures of 81 Dutch administrative authorities. In our analysis, two general procedural characteristics are taken into account: the involvement of an independent third party and the extent to which the procedure is focused on the conciliation of competing interests. The involvement of an independent third party was not associated with higher levels of procedural justice. Procedures that were perceived to be more focused on the conciliation of competing interests were evaluated as more procedurally just, even more so in disputes where the administrative authority was perceived to have a higher degree of discretion and in disputes that ended in a negative result for the litigant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the need for law schools to incorporate professional identity formation, as mandated by the American Bar Association (ABA) Standard 303(b)(3), especially in the context of 1L Lawyering Skills classes. Topics include the importance of early professional identity development, the distinction between outward-facing and inward-facing character-based skills, and strategies for teaching these skills to law students to better prepare them for legal practice.

This article discusses the intersection of technology and the law, specifically focusing on the transformation of legal imagination in the tech era. The authors argue that there is a need to critically examine the historical and future implications of this transformation. The article explores various topics within this context, including the impact of digitalization, datafication, and AI on the law, the role of technology in shaping legal decision-making and enforcement mechanisms, and the challenges and possibilities of legal imagination in the face of new technologies. The authors also highlight the importance of considering diverse perspectives and the cultural and societal implications of tech-induced legal change. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the epistemic community of post-Soviet Eurasian international lawyers who interact, publish, teach and practise international law, predominantly in Russia and in Russian, forming a Russia-centred divisible college. By decoding the unknown group, the article presents its defining characteristics, including the link between membership in a Russia-centred epistemic community and the members' potential Russlandversteher (Russia-apologist) behaviour. Analysing how post-Soviet Eurasian international lawyers act within different social arrangements (legal education, academic publication and practice of law), the article demonstrates how and to what extent such divisibility is symbolized in their political actorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article challenges conventional views of international law textbooks as mere instructional tools and explores them as powerful sites for shaping knowledge and the discipline. Drawing on empirical methods and critical theory, we analyse the 10 main international law textbooks used in Brazil and conduct interviews with their authors to illuminate the textbooks' complexities and their potential for shaping the discipline and the profession. The article delves into the tension between the structure of international law as depicted in the textbooks and the agency of their authors, investigating the authors' identities and backgrounds. Brazil serves as a compelling case study due to its numerous international law textbooks and their widespread use. Our results indicate a predominant universalist approach in Brazilian textbooks and their connection to the French international law tradition. Moreover, the study sheds light on the Brazilian 'invisible college' of international lawyers, revealing gender and racial disparities and institutional centralities. It also uncovers crucial omissions in the textbooks, such as the relationship of international law to colonialism, slavery, race, gender and economic inequality. Overall, this study offers a comprehensive understanding of international law as a field in Brazil and provides a valuable methodological framework for future research on textbooks' role in shaping the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on feminist perspectives on the history of international law and the inclusion of women within this field. It discusses the challenges of recognizing the contributions of women across the history of international law and examines the significance of adding their faces and voices to the discipline. It also explores the broader themes of feminism, canon building, and the representation of women in the field of international law.

The article discusses the 18th annual conference of the European Society of International Law (ESIL), held in Provence, France, in 2023. The primary topic of discussion was the fairness of international law. Attendees included legal professionals and academics affiliated with ESIL, with panels covering various aspects of international law and its implications for fairness and justice.