REFLECTIONS-20 AUGUST 2021

A WEEKLY ROUNDUP OF LEGAL & TECH EVENTS GLOBALLY | August 20, 2021

THIS IS REFLECTIONS, our weekly roundup of events in the legal and technology sector, covering various topics and interesting learning points for today’s professionals. If you couldn’t make an event, don’t worry, we probably made it and have all the juicy scoop for your reading pleasure and learning.

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EVENT ONE

REPORT ON – New Issues of Finance and Currency held on 6 August 2021

Host: Professor Heng Wang

Guest Speakers:

DR Josef Ostransky

MR Da Ke

MS katarzynaZiolkowska

Commentator

Dr. Jason Allen

INTRODUCTION

The webinar started at 7:30 am with the welcoming of guests by the host, Professor Heng Wang. In his welcome address, he gave a brief introduction of the speakers. He introduced Dr. Josef Ostřanský as a Max Weber Fellow at the EUI who specializes in international economic law, international dispute settlement, theory and history of international law, law and political economy, and socio-legal approaches to international law, Mr. Da Ke, a third-year Ph.D. student from Peking University Law School, an LLM student from Dedman Law School of Southern Methodist University.

Mr. Da Ke’s research area is financial law, especially focusing on the regulation of digital currencies and CBDC, Ms. Katarzyna Ziolkowska is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Warsaw (PL) and a Research Intern at the University of Malta (MT). She is currently working on her dissertation on the legal framework of the use of distributed ledger technologies in the public administration and advising the Warsaw Stock Exchange on legal aspects related to the designing and developing of a DLT-based token trading platform, and finally, Dr. Jason Allen is a Senior Research Fellow at the Humboldt University Berlin and a Research Affiliate at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Jason studied law at the University of Tasmania, followed by an LLM in international economic law at the University of Augsburg and a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge. His research is focused on law and emerging technologies, and on the law of money in particular. His first book (on the judicial review of non-statutory executive powers) is forthcoming with the CUP, and a volume on “smart legal contracts” (with P.G. Hunn) is forthcoming with the OUP in early 2022. Jason teaches on the Cambridge Judge Business School “Fintech and Regulatory Innovation” executive education programme, is a member of a UNIDROIT working group on digital assets, and is chair of the Tasmanian Chapter of the Australian Society for Computers and Law.

 MAIN SESSION

Katarzyna Ziolkowska started the conversation by asserting that Crypto-assets are private and not limited only to decentralized virtual currencies, but also applicable to commodities, digital goods and services. As such they can be considered an addition to a financial investment portfolio, being an alternative to traditional instruments, such as stocks, bonds, or cash. However, wide use of crypto-assets is being currently hampered by a lack of regulations followed by uncertainties as to the legal qualification of crypto-assets and consequences of investments in such instruments. She went ahead to argue that uniform regulation of the sector has been in opposition to the sector than to its development of.  She went further to submit that sector might be useful for the public benefit if properly regulated, especially to restrain opportunistic behavior in the sector; she gave the example of the European Union data protection law.

The second speaker, Da Ke, spoke on the regulation in a country matching the state of affairs in a country regarding the digital currency sector. He used the example of china who in his opinion does not have the laws that reflect the opinion of the people on the subject of digital currency. He also stated that china’s citizens and organizations are big players in the digital and cryptocurrency world and the laws of the country do not adequately regulate the industry. In conclusion, he gave the suggestion that in the future governments should have regulations that represent the present state of affairs in their country as regards digital currency in order to move the sector forward and enable it to reach its full potential.  He noted that digital currency cuts across nationalities and stands a chance of being a really international currency but he did not propose the idea of international uniform legislation on account of different national economies.

The third speaker, Josef Ostransky, spoke on how there has been a shift in the world economy generally and how china is now one of the strongest economies in the world; he used that to introduce the fact that different jurisdictions had different economic prowess and uniform international legislation may not necessarily be in favor of countries with smaller economies. He also mentioned the fact that the small countries that have made legislations on blockchains and digital currency as a whole make regulations that do not promote the sector. He attributed this fact to the reason that digital currency might not necessarily be the best for the economy of that particular country. He noted that digital currency is transnational and stands a chance of being a really international currency but he did not propose the idea of international uniform legislation on account of different national economies.

The commentator, Dr Jason Allen, began his comment by noting that digital assets such as cryptocurrency in the pasted have been belittled as an emerging area of law, consequently, no concrete law has emerged in the international space to regulate this sector. He agreed that geopolitical changes over the course of the years have affected the monetary digital market.  He noted that the international monetary fund laws that were in place as regard digital currency were vague in language and did not cover the entire scope of the sector. He also commended the role that commercial banks play in the digital economy and noted that the anonymity and non-regulation of blockchain provide in their major attraction which led him to pose the question of how regulations will impact blockchain and digital currency as a whole. He also posed the questions of the duties of the central bank to the general public as regards the issue of digital currency as currency in the nearest future. He ended his comment that the need for this type of forum and research on this subject matter is indispensable.

CONCLUSION

The session came to an end and the host appreciated both guest speakers. He then asked if there were any contributions and in absence of any, he gave the vote of thanks and the webinar came to an end at 9:30 am.

2^ND REPORT

REPORT ON – ENHANCING VISIBILITY IN THE WORK PLACE: APPROPRIATE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR FEMALE LAWYERS HELD ON 6TH OF AUGUST, 2021

Host: Oyeyemi Immanuel

Panelists:

Chinyere Okorocha

MairamKolo

Bukola Bankole

Nancy O

INTRODUCTION

The webinar started at 3:00 pm with the welcoming of guests by the host, Oyeyemi Immanuel.  In her welcome address, she gave a brief introduction to the topic of women’s visibility at the workplace. She then introduced the first speaker Chinyere Okorocha to give a brief insight on the topic. Mrs. Okorocha started her opening remark by recognizing the Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum for their energetic gesture in insuring women’s relevancy in society. She also thanked the Chairperson of NBA Women Forum, Professor Oluyemisi Bamgbose, SAN and the General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association Joyce Oduah. Mrs. Okorocha immensely thanked the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata for his outstanding support and contribution towards women’s development in the legal profession. Some functions of the Forum include:

1. Empowering the female lawyer success.
2. Raising the standard of female lawyers.
3. The Forum also discusses issues to work and balance on professional etiquette.

MAIN SESSION

WHAT IS VISIBILITY PARTICULARLY IN THE CONTEXT OF A WOMAN?

The main session began with MaraimKolo, she also gave an introduction to the topic. She stated that the responsibility of a woman is huge and all through this journey they are still trying to pursue a professional career. She explained the word visibility as not only being seen but also the contribution you bring to the table.  It is necessary for your voice to be heard but the way and manner in which you want the voice to be heard matters. She stated that all protocols must be duly observed in this context. Being visible is everybody’s job, not only women, however, if you want to be visible, you must be capable. Mrs. Kolo emphasis on the trait and idea of many women. In her words “merely being good at your job may not get you to the meek level of professionalism”. There are other features a woman should possess to be complete. She further stated that women despite being given the rights and privileges have tended not to use them because of their belief of culture in the legal profession. Culture in their context means a woman has limitations to what she can do or produce.  She condemned this idea of many women, restating that visibility should not be about sexuality or gender base but about a delivery, physical presentation, manner of delivery. She stated that women have innate strength, but the ability to acknowledge and utilize the strength is what enhances visibility.

BUKOLA BANKOLE

DO YOU THINK THAT THERE IS ANY KIND OF DISADVANTAGES FOR WOMEN IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION?

Bukola stated that if you are trying to achieve a mass, you do not do that by keeping quiet but you can achieve that by being a team player. Obviously, there will be challenges but the confidence to overcome these challenges is sacrosanct. Opportunities may not come to every woman but as a woman, you walk towards opportunities. If as a woman you are waiting for it to be handed over to you then you might as well remain invisible. She explained in this context in the legal profession that it is impossible to get more clients when you are invisible. Your skills at work will always come to play.

She continued further by stating that people confuse recognition with visibility. They are not the same thing. You will first be visible for you to be recognized. You must have delivered or show capacity for you to be noticed for any other task to be assigned to you. Delivery is very important, for example, if you have nothing to show forth, you cannot be recognized. She, further encouraging women stated that in everything you are doing, you do it well. It is more than just learning the law; you need to develop your skills in handling your clients’ brief. Recognition does not come towards you; you work towards it. If you crave recognition, then you must deliver.

WHAT IS IMPOSTER SYNDROME?

Bukola concluded by explaining imposter syndrome and its impact on visibility.  Impostor syndrome (IS) refers to an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context. Definitely, it is real, it prevents you from taking action and putting you creatively into a lot of things. A lot of opportunities get wasted. As a woman you have to do the work, you cannot pray it out. You just have to work on it. Bukola recommended a vaccine that heals imposter syndrome which is “Expertise”. Once you gain expertise at what you do, you lose that syndrome.

VISIBILITY AT THE WORKPLACE: WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES THAT WOMEN FIND DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME?

NANCY O

It cannot just be that some people have less to do. It is much more likely that they are using their time more effectively. In other words, showing good time management skills is important.

The panelist explained Time Management as the ability to use your time productively and efficiently. It could also be referred to as the art of having time to do everything that you need, without feeling stressed about it. It sounds simple, but it is much harder in practice. Mrs. Nancy relating to this definition explains the role it plays in women’s visibility. She stated that if every woman manages time, her delivery will increase her visibility.

Planning: Mrs. Nancy stated that Planning is deciding in advance what is to be done. Planning is a product of visibility and visibility is a product of creativeness which brings promotion or development as the case may be.

Goals to include,

Long-term goals.

Short-term goals.

If you do not have the passion for what you are doing then you may not be recognized.

CONCLUSION.

There is no problem without a solution, this topic is not exceptional. In a bid to get the solution on women’s invisibility at organizations. Bukola Bankole in her conclusion stated in building resistance in other to enhance visibility, there is a need for intense advocacy and hard work. A woman should not be given a role or a slot for the sake of being a woman, rather than for the sole reason that she is good enough for the job.

EVENT THREE

REPORT ON – “THE NATURE OF CONFLICT: IS INTERNATIONAL LAW WORKING?” HELD ON 6TH OF AUGUST, 2021

Host/Moderator: Professor Felicity Gerry QC

Guest Speakers:

Mr. Ahmad NadahNadery, Chairman IARCSC.

Her Excellency, Ms. Hasina Safi, Minister of Women’s Affairs Afghanistan.

Ms. Mary Akrami, Executive Director of Afghan’s Women’s Network.

Anna McNeil (Guest Questioner).

INTRODUCTION

The webinar started with the welcoming of guests by the host, Professor Felicity Gerry QC. In her welcome address, she gave a brief introduction to International Law as a whole, questioning its impact and effectiveness in modern-day society. She then introduced the guest speakers, Mr. Ahmad NadahNadery who is the Chairman of IARCSC, Her Excellency: Ms. Hasina Safi who is the Minister of Women’s Affair Afghanistan, Ms. Mary Akrami who is the Executive Director of Afghan’s Women’s Network, and Ms. Anna McNeil who served as a (Guest Questioner).

The guest speaker then called upon Mr. Ahmad NadahNadery who is the Chairman of IARCSC, to give a brief introduction to Afghanistan and the effectiveness of International Law on the country as a whole.

MAIN SESSION

The main session began with Mr. Ahmad NadahNadery giving a brief background to Afghanistan and the conflict that exists within the country. He stated that Afghanistan has been in conflict for the past four decades, which has included a period of civil war and invasion by the Soviet Union. He then gave a brief description of the Taliban, an Islamic extremist group, that was formed in the mid-1990s, took power in 1996, and imposed a harsh regime that was particularly severe on women and girls. In response to the terrorism events of 11 September 2001, a US-led military intervention toppled the Taliban. The protection of women’s rights and freedoms was one of the justifications used by the US administration for the 2001 Afghanistan intervention.

He further stated that while over the past two decades, women and girls’ human rights have improved, and more women are in positions of influence in society and government, overall, women and girls continue to experience widespread violence and discrimination. Women are vulnerable to all forms of violence and, in particular, experience high levels of domestic and sexual and gender-based violence. Women’s access to health care is fragile, and the maternal mortality rate, while improving, is exceptionally high (in 2020, 638 women died per 100,000 births). International donor funding for essential services has declined over the past few years, with clear implications for access to and the quality of health care. Again, women and girls’ access to education, while significantly higher than two decades ago, remains low. Girl education programs and schools have become targets in the past year. The Taliban have also used targeted assassinations of women human rights defenders, activists, journalists and other civil society leaders.

He then talked about the current peace negotiation between the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban which began in September 2020 in Doha, Qatar. The intra-Afghan talks followed a February 2020 agreement between the US and the Taliban. The agreement outlined the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan. In exchange, the Taliban made guarantees on counterterrorism and committed to participating in talks with the Government. He then closed his speech, emphasizing that the United Nations is an independent observer in the peace negotiations, which do not have a third-party mediator or facilitator.

Professor Felicity Gerry QC thanked Mr. Ahmad NadahNadery for his brief analysis of the conflict in Afghanistan and the role of the Taliban in the heart of such conflict.  She then called on Her Excellency, Ms. Hasina Safi, the Minister of Women’s Affairs in Afghanistan, whom she invited to give her own analysis of the impact of the conflict within Afghanistan on women in the country.

Her Excellency began her speech by laying emphasis on “Women and conflict” asking her fellow guests, how have women been affected by the conflict in Afghanistan? What has been the enduring conflict’s impact in particular on women’s human rights? She continued further, saying that gender relations fundamentally structure political economies and societies in which conflict and violence exist, assigning different roles and values to men and women with distinct consequences for their lives. Conflict frequently reinforces these unequal gendered structures. Similarly, conflict transitions often take men’s rather than women’s security as the baseline for measuring implementation and success. Past and contemporary processes assume that the achievement of peace is gender-neutral. Thus, they disregard the importance of including women in the negotiating process and gender provisions in the agreement. These processes also fail to acknowledge and tackle the widespread and systematic levels of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict-affected societies. Women are also often victims of targeted assassinations.

Her Excellency further noted that in 2019, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) ‘s National Inquiry on Women Peace and Security, 61 percent of those interviewed said they had not experienced peace in their lifetime. Moreover, 72 percent of those polled believed that the extent of women’s participation in the peace process was not sufficient and 85 percent thought that there could be no peace in Afghanistan without the participation of women in the peace process.

Her Excellency then talked about “The Women, Peace and Security agenda”, stating that on 31 October 2000, the United Nations Security Council responded to a year of advocacy by women’s rights organizations, adopted Resolution 1325 (UNSCR) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). The resolution’s recognition that women experience conflict differently was groundbreaking for the Security Council. UNSCR 1325 urged member states to increase the representation of women in conflict prevention, management and resolution of conflict mechanisms and adopt a gender perspective when negotiating and implementing peace agreements. Since then, the Security Council has adopted a further nine resolutions to make up the Women, Peace and Security agenda. The WPS agenda in subsequent resolutions also recognize the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence in conflict and urges member states to address the levels of such violence. However, despite its many achievements, still more than twenty years after the adoption of UNSCR, the WPS agenda has not transformed the way that peace is conceptualized or negotiated.

She then brought her presentation to a conclusion, saying that the WPS agenda has been implemented domestically in National Action Plans in over 80 countries. Afghanistan adopted its first National Action Plan in 2015. However, the implementation of the NAP was delayed for two years from its adoption. Since then, there has been some progress towards the implementation of the NAP. However, the full implementation of the NAP is constrained by the absence of a financial mechanism and limited funding.

Professor Felicity Gerry QC thanked Her Excellency, Ms. Hasina Safi, for her speech.  She then called her third guest, Ms. Mary Akrami, Executive Director of Afghan’s Women’s Network, to give her presentation.

Ms. Mary Akrami began her presentation by examining “Women at the negotiating table”. She questioned her fellow guests, asking why are there not more women at the negotiating table? If individual women are not present, will women’s rights and freedoms be put at risk? She then began to explain that Empirical research shows that women’s participation in peace processes as witnesses, signatories, mediators, or negotiators makes a peace agreement more likely to be concluded and sustained and for gender equality and women’s rights provision more likely to be adopted within peace agreements. Women’s participation may also have a significant — albeit often undocumented or unseen — influence on preventing political violence and sustaining peace. For women’s inclusion at the negotiating table to be impactful, they must hold positions of influence and substantively contribute to the negotiations. Too often, however, women are not able to influence agenda-setting processes or outcomes.

She continued her speech, stating that Women leaders involved in peace processes are likely to have a contextual understanding of national politics and the root causes and consequences of conflict. Moreover, women’s experience of violence is distinct from men’s experiences, so that women’s participation can expose the different impacts of war on women and girls. Despite this and the centrality of women’s rights to the conflict and peace process, there are only four women delegates on the twenty-one-person negotiation team for the Afghan government and no women delegates on the Taliban’s negotiation team. The newly formed Afghanistan Mechanism for Inclusive Peace (AMIP), a consortium of Afghan civil society representatives, has proposed creating a Specialised Gender Advisory Board comprising 20 women members to Channel women’s voices to the peace negotiations.

She then began to examine the role of international law. What role can international law play in the intra-Afghan peace negotiations? She asked. She continued further, stating that some analysts argue that there is an emerging body of international law related to peacemaking, specifically on self-determination, transitional justice, and third-party enforcement. Other experts, however, are more skeptical of how far international law can intervene in peace-making processes. Regardless of the nature of international law in peace-making, Afghanistan is a party to several international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Human rights are also guaranteed in the 2004 Afghan Constitution. Article 22 of the Constitution holds that ‘citizens of Afghanistan, man and woman, have equal rights and duties before the law’. The Constitution also upholds the duty of the state to provide education for women and the rights of all citizens to work and to vote and be elected.

She further stated that in 2020, the International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber approved the prosecutor’s application to investigate possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Afghanistan since 1 May 2003 by national or international military forces or the Taliban. She then noted that Afghanistan is also party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. In 2009, Afghanistan acceded to 1977 Additional Protocols I and II, Afghanistan is also party to the 1948 Genocide Convention. Under these conventions, Afghanistan has an obligation to protect and prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes and genocide. In 2018, a new criminal code for Afghanistan came into force that includes provisions on war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression. At present, there are no victims’ groups representatives at the Afghan peace negotiations, raising concerns that victim’s rights will be neglected or sacrificed in the interest of a settlement. While there is a near consensus that amnesties are prohibited under international law, in practice, peace agreements have made amnesties possible for crimes other than genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, or grave human rights violations.

She came to a conclusion, saying that Shaharzad Akbar, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission Chairperson, has emphasized that an agreement should include a robust reparations programme, a national community-based reconciliation initiative, truth-seeking processes, memorialization and victim recognition. She then closed her speech by making a few remarks.

CONCLUSION

The session came to an end and Professor Felicity Gerry QC thanked her guest speakers for each of their presentations respectively. She then briefly talked about the relationship between Australia and Afghanistan, stating that in its recently released second National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2021-2030, the Australian government has committed to employing its political capital and diplomatic leadership to advocate for women’s participation in peace processes. Australia is withdrawing its military troops from Afghanistan in line with the US and closing its embassy in Kabul. She then closed her speech stating that the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has spent a significant amount on aid and development in Afghanistan. Consistent with Australia’s foreign policy, gender equality strategy, some money is specially earmarked for women and girls.

She then called upon her guest to ask her questions and asked if the guest speakers wanted to make any contributions. After the final contributions and remarks were given, she gave the vote of thanks and brought the webinar to an end.

PROTECTING YOUR LAW FIRMS AGAINST CYBER ATTACKS

The Speaker, David Ford during the event discussed the day-to-day Law Firm practice and operation and the uprising events of cyber-attacks happening in our society today. He talked about how malicious cyber activity not only threatens the information safety of Clients but also uses a breached computer as a launch point for other attacks and to steal data. One of the Panelist went on to discuss Ransomware.

Ransomware, a type of harmful programme, where a cyber attacker hijacks control of the law firm or business’s server or computer, device or data and turns the important files into encrypted data thus enabling threats whereby payment is demanded in order to restore normal access to the ransomed system. He stated that Ransomware typically exploits software vulnerabilities, security flaws and human behavior to gain access to business networks. Once the data is encrypted the next objective for the cyber attacker is to locate and destroy the backups. If the attacker is successful, then the organization must pay the criminals for a decryption key or lose all data.

Ransomware is often designed to spread across a network and target database and file servers, and can thus quickly paralyze an entire organization. It is a growing threat, generating billions of dollars in payments to cybercriminals and inflicting significant damage and expenses for businesses and governmental organizations.

With the ongoing increase of Ransomware attacks by the day, there is a need to raise awareness on the types of Ransomware used by Hackers. Scareware, a common type of ransomware is a means whereby the users are scared and tricked into paying up through fake antivirus software, where pop-up messages advise the computer on health issues and payment is required in order to fix issues. Other cyberattacks include Phishing, Spear-phishing, Suspicious emails, Doxware,etc.

Finding potential weaknesses in organizations’ systems before the hackers target them is the best first step beyond existing anti-virus and firewall measures and this should include testing staff to ensure they understand their responsibilities in preventing a successful attack. A number of valuable cyber security measures that can be deployed are enabling Two-factor authentication, backing up data, along ensuring software is patched and maintained.

Other measures that can be deployed to secure against cyber attacks are–

1. Risk Assessment on a quarterly basis,
2. Software updates
3. Regular user Awareness Training
4. Backups with Air Gap
5. Security Team (SOC)
6. Strong Passwords/ Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)

The risk being faced by Law firms, businesses and particularly those that hold large quantities of sensitive client data.

The effects of cyber attacks on Law firms are targeted towards the highly confidential data, the creditability of the organization and how it affects the outcome of the legal process. The speaker stated some examples of Law firms affected by cyber attacks lately which are DLA Piper, Seyfarth Shaw, Baker Wotring, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks and Jefferey Green Russell Limited.

The fact that the firm has to inform all its client of what happened when attacked, and whether their sensitive data has been compromised, highlights the potential risks of reputational damage. He made mention of how the sensitive data were stolen could be made available to Journalists which could be detrimental.

Whilst hacks on big law firms are headline news, all firms are targets for criminals because of the nature of their business. The confidential client data gathered during corporate transactions and the sensitive data retained following private client work are valuable targets for criminals.

In October 2020, a report from the American Bar Association found 29% of US Law firms reported a security breach. More than 20% were unsure if they had been breached, with 36% reporting malware infections.

The Panel in attendance were Stephen Ward, CEO and Founder, Clerksroom(Chair), David Ford; CEO and Founder, Eloquent Technologies and Steven Lowrey; Head of Professional Services, Eloquent Technologies.

TOPIC: PROTECTING YOUR LAW FIRMS AGAINST CYBER ATTACKS

DATE: 18^TH JULY, 2021

DURATION: 1HR 5:00PM – 6:00PM

SUMMARY

Cyber attacks against law firms are not a new phenomenon. In recent times, Law firms have been a prime hacker target due to the fact that they handle highly sensitive data and valuable information The increase in online and digital means of storing information has been faced with various challenges like cyber attacks and data breaches by cybercriminals in the world today. They either utilize the information for personal use or sell them to other persons in need of them for malicious gain.

With the growing rate of cyber breaches, law firms need to pay more attention to cybersecurity. Thus, procedures and protocols must be established to ensure adequate confidentiality and cyber protection in order to maintain the integrity and prevent legal actions from being taken against the law firm.