|
 The
Honorable Steven R. Plotkin, a judge in the Fourth Circuit of
the Louisiana Court of Appeals and an adjunct professor of law
at Tulane Law School, spent the fall 1999 semester at Sofia University
in Sofia, Bulgaria. Judge Plotkin is the first appellate judge
in Louisiana to be given a sabbatical in order to participate
in an educational exchange. He is involved in numerous bench,
bar and community activities and is well known both within the
legal profession and to the public as the host of the popular
TV show "It's the Law."
In recent years, the Bulgarian government, with the help of foreign
institutions, has undertaken a substantial reform program for
its legal system. Judge Plotkin's courses focused on the American
legal profession and judicial system and generated widespread
interest among Bulgarian law students. The judge's work at Sofia
University also helped foster better understanding and cooperation
between the Law Department faculty and visiting instructors in
general.
In addition to lecturing at his host institution, Judge Plotkin
promoted judicial reform in the country. In collaboration with
USAID, he assisted the government in drafting the Bulgarian Judicial
Code of Conduct and Enforcement Rules, the implementation of which
is scheduled for the near future.
Having returned to the United States, Judge Plotkin maintains
contact with students and faculty in Bulgaria. He has facilitated
a scholarly exchange between his home and host institutions and,
as a result, Dr. Nicholay Natov of Sofia University began a semester
stay at Tulane in January 2000, and Omourtag Petkov will pursue
a L.L.M. degree there in international comparative law.
Please contact us
if you would like to submit your own story and/or photographs.
|
