TU NO ESTAS SOLO EN ESTE MUNDO. YOU ARE NOT ALONE SI TE HA GUSTADO UN ARTICULO, COMPARTELO

Saturday, August 23, 2008

FROM LEGAL BLOG WATCH

Will Technology Displace Lawyers in e-Discovery?

Remember the folk tale of John Henry, the railway worker who went head to head in a contest of efficiency with a steam-drill to prove that man was superior to machine?  Henry beat the machine, but worked himself to death to do it. 

I was reminded of John Henry in reading this Wall Street Journal article about law firms' efforts to stave off automation of the e-discovery process.  As WSJ reports, tech companies are developing tools that can perform many tasks previously handled by teams of attorneys -- such as weeding out duplicate or irrelevant material and identifying privileged documents.  Automation results in substantial cost savings since by culling documents, lawyers can review a smaller amount of material.  According to Hewlett-Packard, automated e-discovery tools could reduce the cost of review of 100 gigabytes of data from $180,000 to $25,000. 

But law firms aren't convinced that these new tools are effective and remain concerned that companies may wind up spending more money in the long run to fix mistakes.  For example, Robert Brownstone, a partner at Fenwick & West,  described a situation where a client declined to have attorneys oversee an e-mail archive search, relying on internal IT staff to handle the job for less.  The IT workers disposed of files that legally, needed to be preserved -- and while the documents were recovered, the client also wound up paying Fenwick more to fix the problem than it would have cost to retain the firm for oversight at the outset.

Are today's lawyers the new John Henrys of discovery, a last line in the sand to preserve a way of doing business that's fast fading into the sunset?  Like John Henry, lawyers correctly make the point that not everything can be automated and that by relying on machines, we lose some of the craftsmanship and judgment that individuals bring to a project.  On the other hand, John Henry worked himself to death to prove his point -- is that really what lawyers want?

H/T EDD Blog Online.

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Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 22


CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile

FRON LEGAL BLOG WATCH


Female Lawyers Still Underrepresented at Firms

The number of female lawyers serving as partners at large firms continues to stagnate, according to a recent report from the American Bar Association, reports the Legal Times. Among the salient statistics: Although women account for about half of all law school graduates and 30 percent of all lawyers, they still represent only 17 percent of partners in private law firms. 

Joan Williams, a co-director at the Project for Attorney Retention and one of the authors of the reports suggests that the disparity between men and women at the top results from gender bias in evaluation of lawyers.  Lower evaluation scores mean that fewer females are promoted through the ranks. 

But who's responsible for these lower ratings -- men or women?  As I posted earlier this week, at least one study suggests that women sabotage each other in the workplace by evaluating other women more harshly.  Do female law partners do the same to younger women?  What do you think?

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Posted by Carolyn Elefant on August 22, 2008


CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile

Thursday, August 14, 2008

FROM LEGAL BLOG WATCH

Remember the Rambler? Trademark Board Does

Rambler_american_1stgeneration_blue Remember the Rambler? In the 1950s, it was a popular and inexpensive small car made by the Nash-Kelvinator Corp. When Nash become American Motors Corporation in 1954 and George Romney became the company's chairman, the Rambler line was expanded and the name became a brand. In 1963, the Rambler was Motor Trend Car of the Year. But in 1969, AMC discontinued the Rambler, and by 1987, AMC itself was no more, its assets acquired by Chrysler Corp. In the years since, Chrysler appeared to have abandoned the Rambler trademark. So Anthony S. Pimpo probably thought the road was clear for him to register the name for use in a business pertaining to automobiles and parts. Chrysler, however, thought otherwise, and the case made its way to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Chrysler v. Pimpo).

At The TTABlog, John L. Welch explains that, in opposing Pimpo's application, Chrysler pointed to the automobile industry's occasional use of "heritage brands" to introduce new models. But the TTAB found that there was no evidence that Chrysler had plans to reintroduce the Rambler line. Chrysler fared no better with its argument that the Rambler name enjoys "residual goodwill," given its nearly four decades without using the name. With two strikes and no one on base, Chrysler finally managed to hit a home run on the issue of merchandise licensing under the Rambler name.The board ruled that Chrysler "has priority of use, at the very least with respect to key rings, calendars, decals, specification sheets and owner's manuals, all relating to Rambler automobiles."

Welch appears to find some irony in this outcome. "So there is not enough residual goodwill to avoid abandonment of the Rambler mark for automobiles, but there apparently is enough to cause consumers to associate ancillary goods with the old automobile," he writes. "I guess one can eat his cake and have it too."

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 13, 2008 at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Vault Rankings Are In

Which law firms are thought to be the creme de la creme in terms of prestige? If you consider the answer to that question important, then the 2009 Vault law firm rankings are for you. Earlier this year, Vault surveyed nearly 19,000 associates at more than 167 large U.S. law firms and asked them to rank firms in terms of how prestigious it would be to work for them. The top five, all based in New York, showed no change from last year. Ranked first is Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, followed by Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Sullivan & Cromwell; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and David Polk & Wardwell.

The Vault survey also ranks the 20 best law firms for quality of life, the 20 best for diversity, and the most prestigious firms as ranked by partners. For quality of life, Cleary Gottlieb and McKee Nelson are the top two, followed by Ropes & Gray, which was ranked 20th last year. For diversity, Cleary Gottlieb is again ranked first, moving up from the 13th spot last year, followed by Dickstein Shapiro and Hughes Hubbard & Reed. Of partners' prestige rankings, the top firm is Cravath, followed by Wachtell.

[Hat tip to Above the Law.]

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 13, 2008 at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Lawyer With the Most Medals

Shannon_miller_large Swimmer Michael Phelps set a new record yesterday for career Olympic gold, but the athlete who holds the distinction of being the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history is also making nightly appearances in the television coverage from Beijing -- and this athlete is also a lawyer. She is Shannon Miller, and she is appearing not as a competitor but as an endorser, in this 30-second TV spot for allergy drug Claritin.

Miller calls herself "America's most decorated gymnast." She is a seven-time Olympic medalist -- including two gold medals in Atlanta in 1996 -- and nine-time world medalist. She has been inducted into seven halls of fame, including the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame, and is the only woman in any sport to be included twice in the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.

She also happens to be a 2007 graduate of Boston College Law School. Although a law school grad, Miller does not practice law. She spends her time as a motivational speaker, television host and sports broadcaster. She also oversees the Shannon Miller Foundation, dedicated to fighting childhood obesity. In an interview last year with LawCrossing, Miller said she never intended to practice law, but went to law school to equip herself with the knowledge of contracts and business that she needed to protect herself in her various other pursuits.

While Miller has no law office where you can book an appointment, you can schedule a cruise through the Caribbean with her. And that beats a deposition any day.

[Hat tip to Eagleionline.]

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 13, 2008 at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

'Working Mother' Ranks Best Law Firms

Balance between their professional and personal lives remains elusive for many lawyers -- in particular for women. Forty-two percent of women lawyers leave the profession at some point in their careers, reports Working Mother magazine. So the firms that make up the magazine's 2008 list of the 50 Best Law Firms for Women deserve credit for allowing women lawyers greater flexibility without throwing them off the partnership track.

The magazine conducted the survey in cooperation with Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, a consulting firm that advises law firms on retention and promotion of women. Flex-Time founder Deborah Epstein Henry tells Rachel Breitman at The AmLaw Daily that the goal of the survey is to "arm firms with information so they can start improving their retention and promotion of women." The survey does not rank firms numerically, but instead highlights firms that have innovative programs or impressive track records.

But career counselor Stephen Seckler at the blog Counsel to Counsel cautions against reading too much into a firm's inclusion on the list. Individual attorneys' experiences within a firm may differ depending on where they work and what they do. "Over time, look for the firms that appear on these lists year after year," Seckler advises. "Appearing once means something. Appearing consistently is worth noting." And keep in mind that only 115 firms participated in this year's survey and just 85 in last year's, so the listings are constrained by the participants.

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 13


CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile

'Video of Colombian refugees attacking a family in Chile raises concerns'

'Video of Colombian refugees attacking a family in Chile raises concerns'
by Juliana Rincón Parra

A cell phone video where a group of people are seen attacking a family with sticks and stones, and leaving most of the unconscious has been determined to show 10 Colombian refugees attacking a family of Peruvian residents getting home from a party in the town of Iquique in Chile on August 3rd 2008. This video evidence was used by the District Attorney in processing and imprisoning at least two of the Colombian refugees who were later released.

According to the victim's testimonies, the Colombian refugees spoke about them as Chileans, saying that they wanted to kill at least one. This violent act has embarrassed many Colombians, who have set out to apologize for their countrymen in the video comment thread, but hate comments and flame wars have also begun on the subject. In CiberAmérica,  the author poses a question regarding the release of the Colombians, even after the video evidence:
La justicia reacciona en forma desconcertante al considerar como riña un episodio que aparece como un ataque a una familia donde todos fueron lesionados.

¿Hubiera sido la misma reacción si las víctimas hubieran sido chilenas?
Justice reacts in a disconcerting manner by considering as a quarrel an episode that looks like an attack on a family where everyone was injured.
¿Would the reaction have been the same had the victims been Chilean?

The video can be seen on YouTube as well as Vimeo.

CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile

Monday, August 11, 2008

CATO JOURNAL TOP STORIES

Top Stories

The Fed's Road toward Greater Transparency
By Ben S. Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman

Monetary Policy and the Legacy of Milton Friedman
By Anna J. Schwartz, research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research

Friedman: Float or Fix?

By Steve H. Hanke, Senior Fellow




CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile

An Olympian Blawg Review

An Olympian Blawg Review

Blawg Review #172 goes for the gold -- or, more accurately, doles out the gold. This week's host Jonathan T. Hyman of Ohio Employer's Law Blog awards gold medals to what he considers the best posts from the legal blogosphere. He starts, given his proclivities, with labor and employment blogs and then moves on to the other nations of the legal-blog world.

Before any of that, Hyman offers a brief history of the Olympics, including the reminder that in the ancient Grecian games, the competitors were usually nude. Something Olympic organizers might keep in mind if the ratings start to slip.

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 11, 2008 at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)


CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile

Lawyers Support Obama with Cash

Lawyers Support Obama with Cash

The lawyer-candidate is luring lawyer love. Lawyers have donated $21 million to Barack Obama so far, compared with only $7 million to John McCain, Daniel Fisher reports today at Forbes.com. But in contrast to what might have been the donor profile if, say, John Edwards had been the candidate, the lawyers supporting Obama skew towards the defense side of the aisle. In fact, the single biggest donor was Chicago law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which counts among its clients tobacco companies and asbestos manufacturers.

What does that mean for those who favor so-called "tort reform"? (Yes, I favor the alternative label, TortDeform.) Not clear. Whichever side wins in November, legislative measures designed to limit lawsuits are unlikely to see any movement for at least two years, Fisher writes. But if Obama wins and Democrats solidify their majority in Congress, "the new president will be handed a slew of bills designed to expand the ways lawyers can sue." One such bill would overturn a February Supreme Court ruling that made it difficult to sue manufacturers over FDA-approved medical devices (Riegel v. Medtronic). "There's no way Obama is going to veto that," Manhattan Institute fellow James R. Copland tells Fisher.

Some believe that Obama's voting record on legal issues may be somewhat of a smokescreen, the Forbes article suggests. While he has appeared to be evenhanded so far, that may disappear once he is in office, they say. "You have to think it was purely cynical politics, so he could point to it later," said Ted Frank of the American Enterprise Institute. "Nothing in his record indicates he cares about tort reform." Yet even those on the "tort deform" side of the equation seem uncertain about where a President Obama would come down on these issues. "It makes you a little wary," said Graham Steele, a staff attorney at Public Citizen.

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 11, 2008 at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)


CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile

Saturday, August 09, 2008

legal blog watch: All Shook Up Over Bar Exam

All Shook Up Over Bar Exam

Aftershocks continue a week after a magnitude 5.4 earthquake disrupted the California bar exam in Los Angeles. While hardly seismic, a rattle of protests are emerging from test takers who say they were not given a fair shake. At issue, as Amanda Bronstad writes at the blog Legal Pad L.A., is whether extra time to finish the exam was given to some but not others. Test takers seated in one part of the Ontario Convention Center in downtown L.A. were told they would get an extra five minutes to finish the exam, while those seated in a different part were not.

"If we lost anywhere from two to five minutes, that's potentially five to 10 points you could get on the test," said Steve Mitchell, one of the people not given the announcement. "If I were a person who did not pass, and it was by five points, and I was in a room that got a five-minute disruption from the earthquake, I would definitely protest it. I would definitely make it an issue."

But did anyone actually get the extra time? That remains unclear. Another test taker, Cori Jones, told Bronstad: "The proctor did announce in our room that we would get an extra five minutes to finish the exam. However, promptly at the three hour mark he called time. I asked the two gentlemen sitting next to me if we had gotten any extra time by their watches and they said no." A state bar official said she had received no complaints, but added that the bar is well aware of the disruption from the earthquake "and we'll take that into account when we do an evaluation of the exam."

At least the test takers have something besides nerves to blame for their shaky handwriting.

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 8, 2008 at 02:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Go for That Settlement, Study Says

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't." That old saw has long summed up my attitude about litigation. Part of my practice is as a mediator, and I strongly believe that a settlement is almost always better than litigation. Why? Because a settlement is a product of mutual agreement. Both sides walk away from the table having made a bargain they both agree they can live with. By contrast, litigation is a crap shoot. Let someone else decide your fate, and more often than not you'll be unhappy with the outcome -- even if you "prevail."

A new study backs me up on this -- but only part way. As reported in yesterday's New York Times, the soon-to-be-released study of civil lawsuits found that most plaintiffs who pass up settlement and go to trial end up with less than if they'd settled. "The lesson for plaintiffs is," said Randall L. Kiser, a co-author of the study and principal analyst at litigation consulting firm DecisionSet, "in the vast majority of cases, they are perceiving the defendant's offer to be half a loaf when in fact it is an entire loaf or more."

Plaintiffs who opted for trial over settlement were wrong 61 percent of the time, the study found. But defendants made the wrong decision about going to trial far less often, in just 24 percent of cases. "In just 15 percent of cases," the NYT reports, "both sides were right to go to trial -- meaning that the defendant paid less than the plaintiff had wanted but the plaintiff got more than the defendant had offered." The study will be published in the September issue of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies.

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 8, 2008 at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is the Hamdan Sentence a Sham?

Yesterday's decision by a panel of military officers at Guantanamo Bay to sentence Salim Ahmed Hamdan to five and a half years in prison came as a surprise to many. Given that the military judge presiding over the trial, Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred, had already decided to credit the former driver for Osama bin Laden for the 61 months he has already been held, the sentence means he could finish serving his time in just five months -- a far cry from the 30-year sentence sought by prosecutors. "Mr. Hamdan," Judge Allred spoke to him as he left the courtroom yesterday, "I hope the day comes that you are able to return to your wife and daughters and your country."

But will it? In the answer to that question lies the truth about this sentencing. The United States has designated Hamdan as an "enemy combatant." As long as he remains such, the United States may be unwilling to release him, even after his sentence runs out. As The New York Times reports, even the judge and the prosecutors were unsure yesterday whether Hamdan would be released after completing his sentence. "It was all for show if Mr. Hamdan does not go home in December," said his lawyer, Charles D. Swift. Defense lawyers said they believed Hamdan would be released, because to hold him would cause international outrage, NPR reports. But a Pentagon spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, told Associated Press that he could not speculate on whether Hamdan would be freed. "I can reassure you that the Defense Department is hard at work on this issue," he said.

And then there are the appeals. Hamdan's guilty verdict is automatically appealed to a special military court in Washington, according to AP. A lawyer I spoke to with knowledge of military law said the appeals process could drag on for years. So while it may be true, as the blog Sentencing Law and Policy says, that "the jury sent a strong message to the U.S. government," it remains to be seen what message the government will send in response. Will it thumb its nose at the sentence and continue to hold Hamdan? All we can answer is, stay tuned.

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Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on August 8, 2008 at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)


CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile

Sunday, August 03, 2008

leksandr Solzhenitsyn Is Dead at 89

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Is Dead at 89

Published: August 3, 2008

Filed at 6:05 p.m. ET

Alexander Natruskin/Reuters

Mr. Solzhenitsyn speaking in Russia in 1994.

Readers' Comments

Share your thoughts on this article.

MOSCOW (AP) -- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Nobel Prize-winning author whose books chronicled the horrors of the Soviet gulag system, has died of heart failure, his son said Monday. He was 89.

Stepan Solzhenitsyn told The Associated Press his father died late Sunday, but declined further comment.

Solzhenitsyn's unflinching accounts of torment and survival in the Soviet Union's slave labor camps riveted his countrymen, whose secret history he exposed. They earned him 20 years of bitter exile, but international renown.

And they inspired millions, perhaps, with the knowledge that one person's courage and integrity could, in the end, defeat the totalitarian machinery of an empire.

Beginning with the 1962 short novel "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich," Solzhenitsyn devoted himself to describing what he called the human "meat grinder" that had caught him along with millions of other Soviet citizens: capricious arrests, often for trifling and seemingly absurd reasons, followed by sentences to slave labor camps where cold, starvation and punishing work crushed inmates physically and spiritually.

His "Gulag Archipelago" trilogy of the 1970s shocked readers by describing the savagery of the Soviet state under the dictator Josef Stalin. It helped erase lingering sympathy for the Soviet Union among many leftist intellectuals, especially in Europe.

But his account of that secret system of prison camps was also inspiring in its description of how one person -- Solzhenitsyn himself -- survived, physically and spiritually, in a penal system of soul-crushing hardship and injustice.

The West offered him shelter and accolades. But Solzhenitsyn's refusal to bend despite enormous pressure, perhaps, also gave him the courage to criticize Western culture for what he considered its weakness and decadence.


CONSULTEN, OPINEN , ESCRIBAN LIBREMENTE
Saludos
Rodrigo González Fernández
Diplomado en RSE de la ONU
www.consultajuridicachile.blogspot.com
www.el-observatorio-politico.blogspot.com
www.lobbyingchile.blogspot.com
www.biocombustibles.blogspot.com
www.calentamientoglobalchile.blogspot.com
oficina: Renato Sánchez 3586 of. 10
Teléfono: OF .02-  8854223- CEL: 76850061
e-mail: rogofe47@mi.cl
Santiago- Chile
Soliciten nuestros cursos de capacitación  y consultoría en LIDERAZGO -  RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL – LOBBY – BIOCOMBUSTIBLES  ,   y asesorías a nivel internacional y están disponibles  para OTEC Y OTIC en Chile