Points of Inflection
By Martha Minow (*) Although historians will surely devote much ink—or bytes—to the financial crisis, I believe that this time will be known as an inflection point in world history because of huge revolutions under way in the world—changes that make this an electrifying time to be in the legal profession. Consider the information technology revolution; the biomedical revolution, including genetic breakthroughs, biotechnology and nanotechnology; globalization affecting economic exchanges of legal and professional services; and the worldwide spread of biological and computer viruses, cultural trends and more. It’s also a time of great resource scarcity, global climate change, mass population growth and migrations of people. These shifts each day generate fundamental questions whose answers will alter the shape of the human experience. And I am certain that lawyers will play indispensable roles in tackling the issues raised by these developments and harnessing opportunities to secure orde...