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Courtroom 21 of William & Mary School of Law Formalizes
Agreement with Queensland University of Technology in Australia
(Williamsburg, VA), November 10, 2004 The Courtroom 21 Project has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between William & Mary School of Law and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. The MOA outlined and formalized an agreement between both parties that “the encouragement and development of co-operation and exchange in the area of electronic courtroom practice and legal information technology of mutual academic is desirable.” Courtroom 21 has worked in the area of courtroom technology since 1993 and has since been established and renowned as the most technologically advanced trial and appellate courtroom in the world. QUT opened the <e.law> QUT Moot Court in 2001, the most advanced electronic courtroom in the Southern Hemisphere headed by Professor Ros McDonald. “With both QUT and Courtroom 21 seeking to promote the use of courtroom technology to further improve justice, it is fitting to establish a formal affiliation between our organizations in order to foster sharing of information, educational resources and programs and to collaborate on related issues in the area of courtroom technology,” says Fred Lederer, Chancellor Professor of Law and Director, Courtroom 21. Professor Lederer continues, “Courtroom 21 and the William & Mary School of Law are ecstatic to take this next step, both for our students’ sake and for the benefit of the U.S. and Australian court systems.” The signing sets the stage for both programs to begin working together on exchange programs for students, staff, and research fellows, international educational research in the area of electronic courtroom use and to begin working jointly on promoting judicial training.
Professor Ros McDonald made the long trip to Williamsburg from Australia to present the agreement previously signed by the Honorable Michael Lavarch, Professor and Dean of QUT, and to preside over the signing by Taylor Revely, Dean of William & Mary School of Law, Professor Lederer.
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