The Financial Times' Innovative Lawyers 2010 report acknowledged Shearman & Sterling's ongoing assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Tanzania, an international court established by the United Nations for the purpose of prosecuting those responsible for the Rwandan genocide of 1994.
The Innovative Lawyers report is a collaboration between the Financial Times and RSG Consulting, a specialist legal research company. The report, the first produced in the US following several editions in Europe, was based on 270 submissions from 54 law firms.
Shearman & Sterling's work on behalf of the ICTR has been ongoing for the past 10 years. More than 86 lawyers have completed one-month externships at the ICTR during this time and have felt it was among the most challenging work they have done as lawyers. These assignments have covered legal issues at the forefront of international criminal justice, such as the intersection of free speech and incitement to genocide, and have provided the opportunity for firm lawyers to play an instrumental role in shaping new law. These volunteer lawyers have and continue to assist by conducting research, participating in trials and work on the appeals portion of these cases. The firm has dedicated more than 43,000 hours to this project.
In addition to the externship program, lawyers at the firm have also participated as faculty in trial advocacy training programs at the ICTR, merging traditional trial advocacy techniques with the latest trial support technology, such as CaseMap, and the use of electronic media in the courtroom. One such program conducted earlier this year was the first of its kind ever to be introduced at the ICTR for both prosecutors and defense counsel. Leveraging Shearman & Sterling's experience at the ICTR, firm attorneys have also provided pro bono assistance to prosecutors at the International Criminal Court and to Civil Parties before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. In Cambodia, the firm attorneys will assist in representing more than 50 Civil Parties throughout the investigation and trial phases of a case involving the main leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime, thereby contributing to the enhanced recognition of victims in these proceedings.
At the International Criminal Court, Shearman & Sterling lawyers have worked with trial attorneys in the Office of the Prosecutor to assist in preparing for the first trial ever conducted at that court involving the enlistment of child soldiers. As part of this project, Shearman & Sterling lawyers worked with child psychologists, sociologists and social workers to develop creative and effective techniques for examining child witnesses in the courtroom.