ASIL Annual Meeting

All photos by Claire Duggan

The Law School sponsored the President’s Panel at the annual meeting of the American Society of International Law in March. The panel featured general counsels from the top three Fortune 500 companies: Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil, and General Motors. The discussion focused on the impact of international law on multinational companies. After the panel, the Law School co-sponsored the president’s reception. (From left) GW Law Dean Frederick M. Lawrence; Lucinda Low of Steptoe & Johnson; Thomas Gottschalk, then executive vice president for law and public policy of General Motors; Alberto J. Mora, vice president and general counsel of Wal-Mart; and Paul Wright, associate general counsel of ExxonMobil.

Thelma Weaver Memorial Award

The Thelma Weaver Memorial Award is given each year to a foreign student in the graduating Master of Laws class who contributed most to the intellectual and professional life of the Law School, its students, and its faculty.

Here, Professor Emeritus David B. Weaver (left), Associate Dean Susan Karamanian (second from left), and Professor Chris Yukins (right) congratulate Myrish T. Cadapan Antonio, LLM ’07, of the Philippines at a reception prior to Commencement.

Shulman Lecture

During a Shulman Foundation Lecture in April, Dr. Rubens Medina of the Library of Congress spoke with students and faculty members about managing the world’s largest legal collection to ensure that the U.S. government and the public have access to the most current national and international law materials. Medina (left), who is speaking with visiting scholar Eralda Methasani Cani from the Public Law Department of Tirana University Law School in Albania, has served at the Library of Congress for three decades. He is the director of Legal Research and the director of the Global Legal Information Network, where he is expanding an online multilingual database to ensure international laws are globally accessible.

The Shulman Foundation Lecture was founded in 1987 to bring distinguished speakers to the Law School. James H. Shulman earned a JD degree from the Law School in 1971 and practices law with the firm of Goulston & Storrs in Boston.

IP in India and China World Intellectual Property Organization Legal Counsel Edward Kwakwa presented the opening address, “Intellectual Property Rights in India and China: Lessons and Challenges,” during a GW-ASIL conference in March.

Buergenthal Scholars

Each year, the Law School provides a number of scholarships to international LLM students committed to justice and the rule of law. The scholarship recipients are known as the Buergenthal Scholars in honor of GW Professor Emeritus Thomas Buergenthal, who is now a judge on the International Court of Justice. Buergenthal spent an afternoon with the scholars and other students to share his thoughts on international law. He is pictured here with Judge Gembo Tashi from Bhutan, as well as Guarav Liberhan, Marcus Luepke, and Valeria Losco.

IP Speaker Series

Geoffrey Yu (left) of Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a former WIPI deputy director general speaks with Meghna Prakash, LLM ’07, at GW Law in April. Yu visited GW Law as part of the IP Speaker series to discuss “IP and Development: The Stakes for Developing Countries.” He addressed the challenges and prospects for developing nations and the regime mandated under the Trade-Related Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights.

Rajmohan Gandhi Lecture

In March, Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, spoke to students and faculty members about his grandfather’s legacy and issues of law and religion. Gandhi’s remarks provided unique insight into his grandfather’s life and his contributions to Indian society and the world beyond. Of great interest was Gandhi’s assessment of the use of nonviolence, particularly as to religious differences. Also, Gandhi drew on his new book, Mohandas: A True Story of a Man, His People, and an Empire, in sharing anecdotes and stories about his legendary grandfather. A standing-room-only crowd listened to Gandhi’s inspiring words about Mahatma Gandhi, a man who moved mountains through his humility and simplicity. (From left) Professor Arthur E. Wilmarth Jr., Associate Dean Susan L. Karamanian, Rajmohan Gandhi, Professor Michael J. Matheson, and Dick Ruffin gather after the lecture.