The Good Lawyer - with Britta Böhler

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Lawyer Britta Böhler became famous as attorney of ao. PKK-leader Öcalan, former Dutch member of parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Volkert van der Graaf, murderer of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn.

In her recently published book De goede advocaat (The Good Lawyer) she reflects upon the important questions in her profession. What qualities are essential for a good lawyer? What roles do ethics, loyalty, and social engagement play? And how should a lawyer behave towards in a more and more polarised society?

In her book, Böhler connects examples from her practice to representations of the legal profession in film and literature.

During this B-Unlimited edition, Gerlinda Heywegen interviewed Britta Böhler about her book and by means of film and television fragments: a dialogue about ethical dilemmas, as well about the way in which they can be viewed and solved.

As a lawyer Britta Böhler was involved in some of the most talked about court cases of the last decades. She was a member of the Dutch Senate and affiliate professor Advocacy. Since 2013 she writes novels and thrillers.

Note: Dutch spoken!

A programma curated by Judith Uyterlinde and Ilonka Reintjens (Writers Unlimited).
Book sale by Van Stockum Boekverkopers.
In cooperation with Cossee Publishers

Information

Date and time Wednesday 17 May 2017 from 20:30 to 22:00 hrs
Location Podium B - Centrale Bibliotheek Den Haag, Spui 68, 5e etage

Britta Böhler

(Freiburg, 1960) is a Dutch lawyer of German descent. She studied law, philosophy, and political sciences, and played a role in some of the most controversial court cases of the last decades. Böhler defended, among others, PKK-leader Öcalan, former Dutch member of parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Volkert van der Graaf, murderer of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn. From 2007 until 2011 Böhler was member of the Dutch Senate; from 2012 until 2017 she was affiliate professor at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. Along with Rodney Bolt, using the pseudonym Britta Bolt, she wrote a thriller trilogy, in which the authors subtly address the problems of today. In 2013 she published her first novel De beslissing (The Decision), a wonderful story about Thomas Mann and his decision to speak out against the nazis. In her book De goede advocaat (May 2017, The Good Lawyer) she addresses the important questions of her profession. Her image of the lawyer's ethics matches 21st century challenges and takes into account a tougher social climate.
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Gerlinda Heywegen

(1968) is a programmer, writer, organizer, lecturer and podcaster, mainly on the subject of film and often in combination with literature. Koning Film is the collective of speakers on film that she established. Heywegen's books include The Other Director, about directors of photography; she collaborated with Frans Westra on Passie voor Cinema (Passion for Cinema), which highlights four decades of film screenings in the Netherlands; and she edited and wrote for the film magazine Skrien. Currently, she writes regularly for the websites of the Netherlands Society of Cinematographers and literary magazine Elders.
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