A delegation of 10 senior lawyers from the Office of the Attorney General of Bangladesh arrived in Baton Rouge on Saturday, Nov. 11, for a weeklong training session on appellate advocacy led by LSU Law faculty that concluded on Friday, Nov. 17.
“The LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center is a global destination for law students and legal scholars, and we were honored to welcome and host the Bangladeshi delegation as they learned from our world class faculty members,” said LSU Law Dean Alena Allen.
LSU Law Professor Jeff Brooks, who serves as director of field placements and the moot court/trial advocacy program, helped bring the delegation to LSU Law through his work with the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, which is the world’s largest moot court competition. Drawing on LSU Law faculty strengths in courtroom advocacy and legal writing, Brooks created a specialized appellate advocacy training program for the delegation that focused on oral arguments and provided individualized feedback.
“On behalf of all our faculty at LSU Law, I want to thank you for spending the week with us to exchange ideas on the value of appellate advocacy and the rule of law,” Brooks told the delegation before a special presentation of training certificates that took place in the Robinson Courtroom at LSU Law on Thursday, Nov. 16. “It has been an honor to host you, to work with you, and to learn from you—and we hope to have you back in the future.”
Training sessions took place in state-of-the-art courtrooms at the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center throughout the week. LSU Law Reference Librarian Aimee Pittman led the training session on legal research tools, while Professor Heidi Thompson taught the delegation how to handle appellate oral argument questions. The delegation also learned about best practices for oral arguments from Professor Marlene Krousel, presenting facts using legal storytelling from Professor Tracy Norton, and the role of oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court from Professor John Devlin.
“It was absolutely delightful to interact with the Bangladeshi delegation,” said Krousel. “The delegates were very attentive, enthusiastic, and interactive. We enjoyed talking about the major similarities and minor differences regarding oral argument in our countries. It was a joy and honor to interact with the delegation.”
“The delegates were highly engaged in the presentation, they had great questions, and they appreciated seeing the examples I showed them of attorneys in the United States doing great and poor jobs of answering questions during oral arguments,” added Thompson.
During their visit, the delegation also had the opportunity to get a taste of South Louisiana culture at several events throughout the week. Along with exploring downtown Baton Rouge, they dined with Louisiana judges, appellate lawyers, LSU Law faculty members, and Dean Allen in Tiger Stadium. They were also accompanied by LSU Law faculty on a day trip to New Orleans, during which they toured the Louisiana Supreme Court and the French Quarter.
Members of the delegation from the Office of the Attorney General of Bangladesh included:
- Zahid Ahammad — Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for Bangladesh
- Garth Backe — Resident Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of Justice, OPDAT/CT, U.S. Embassy, Dhaka. Backe is a 2002 LSU Law alumni.
- Nawroz Mohammad Rasel Chowdhury — Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for Bangladesh
- Nuran Choudhury — Legal Advisor, U.S. Department of Justice, OPDAT/CT, U.S. Embassy, Dhaka
- Abantee Nurul — Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for Bangladesh
- Tahmina Polly — Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for Bangladesh
- Samira Tarannum Rabeya — Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for Bangladesh
- M M G Sarwar — Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for Bangladesh
- Farzana Rahman Shampa — Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for Bangladesh
- Amit Talukder — Deputy Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for Bangladesh