In Brief
Michael Posner ’75 Nominated to High-Ranking State Department Position
President Barack Obama has nominated Michael Posner ’75 for Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the U.S. Department of State. Now president of Human Rights First, formerly the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Posner has traveled to more than 50 countries on behalf of that organization and others like it. In particular, he has promoted the rights of refugees and displaced people, and pushed for stronger industry standards to ensure fair labor conditions in global manufacturing supply chains.
John Phillips ’69 to Chair White House Fellowships Selection Group
John Phillips ’69 has been named 2009-10 chair of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, which recommends candidates for the leadership development and public service program that includes Jason Snyder ’02 among this year’s 14 members.
Phillips founded the Center for Law in Public Interest in 1971 and was its co-director for 17 years. Corporate fraud lawsuits filed by his firm, Phillips and Cohen, have returned $4 billion to the government. Over the past decade, he has been named among the National Law Journal’s “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America.”
Calvin Morrill to Lead Law School’s Center for the Study of Law and Society
Calvin Morrill, a visiting professor in Berkeley Law’s Jurisprudence and Social Policy program this past school year, was named director of the law school’s Center for the Study of Law and Society. A top expert in ethnography and generally qualitative methods, Morrill recently chaired UC Irvine’s Department of Sociology and was co-director of its Center for Organizational Research. He was also a professor of sociology, business, and criminology, law & society at the school.
Jeffrey Smith ’88 Named Santa Clara County Executive
Soon after approving one of its darkest budgets in years, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors chose Jeffrey Smith ’88 as its new county executive. As executive director of the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center and Health Centers, Smith has overseen Contra Costa County’s general acute care hospital, outpatient clinics, and detention health services for county jail and juvenile facilities. Previously, he served as a Contra Costa County supervisor and Martinez city councilman.
Two Berkeley Law Grads Named to California Court of Appeal
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently appointed three judges to the California’s First District Court of Appeal, including two Berkeley Law alumni: Terence Bruiniers ’73 and Robert Dondero ’70. Bruiniers had been a Contra Costa Superior Court judge since 1998, before which he was a principal for Farrand, Cooper & Bruiniers and an Alameda County deputy district attorney. Dondero had been a San Francisco Superior Court judge since 1992, before which he was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Justice Department and a deputy district attorney in San Francisco.
Jawwad S. Khawaja '75 Joins Supreme Court of Pakistan
Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, who earned his LL.M. from Berkeley Law in 1975, has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Khawaja served on the Lahore High Court for eight years before resigning in protest during Pakistan’s 2007 constitutional crisis. He then joined the Lahore University of Management Science faculty as head of its Law and Policy Department.
An expert on constitutional law, legal reform and policy, and commercial laws, Khawaja has decided many cases involving issues of first impression. Several of his judgments have been reported in law journals and are included in Pakistani law curriculums. His research on improving Pakistan’s quality of justice has targeted institutional reforms to deliver prompt and inexpensive redress to litigants, and gathering accurate data from court records to ascertain causes for delay in deciding cases. (6/26/09)
James McManis '67 Named President of the Boalt Hall Alumni Association
James McManis '67 has succeeded Nan Joesten '97 as president of the Boalt Hall Hall Alumni Association. Jim has been a member of the alumni board since 2002, and among his many leadership roles on campus, he served previously as chair of the reunion campaigns (2007) and chair of the Boalt Hall Fund (2005). New members to the BHAA Board of Directors include Greg Broome '90, Gail Dolton '86, Hector Huezo '08, John Kuo '88, Mark Lubin '77, Jay Shafran '63, Gail Title '70, Diane Yu '77 and Mitchell Zuklie '96. (6/25/09)
Thai Judges Visit Berkeley Law
The Judiciary of Thailand is sending 35 judges to Berkeley Law from June 8th to 19th to study consumer protection laws. They are taking a customized course designed and taught by Professor Kenneth Bamberger as part of the International Program for Judicial Studies. The program, organized and run by the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, strives to increase the knowledge and experience of judiciaries worldwide, thereby promoting the rule of law. For more information on the International Program for Judicial Studies, visit the Miller Institute's website: http://law.berkeley.edu/mgcl.htm. (6/10/09)
Robert Barr Named Top IP Specialist
Berkeley Center for Law and Technology Executive Director Robert Barr has been named one of Intellectual Asset Management's IAM 250. The magazine's list identified "individuals who are regarded as world class IP strategists by their peers." This is the first time the magazine has compiled a list of top of IP specialists. (6/10/09)
Thai Judges Visit Berkeley Law
The Judiciary of Thailand is sending 35 judges to Berkeley Law from June 8th to 19th to study consumer protection laws. They are taking a customized course designed and taught by Professor Kenneth Bamberger as part of the International Program for Judicial Studies. The program, organized and run by the Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, strives to increase the knowledge and experience of judiciaries worldwide, thereby promoting the rule of law. For more information on the International Program for Judicial Studies, visit the Miller Institute's website: http://law.berkeley.edu/mgcl.htm. (6/10/09)
Robert Barr Named Top IP Specialist
Berkeley Center for Law and Technology Executive Director Robert Barr has been named one of Intellectual Asset Management's IAM 250. The magazine's list identified "individuals who are regarded as world class IP strategists by their peers." This is the first time the magazine has compiled a list of top of IP specialists. (6/10/09)
Dinah Shelton ’70 Makes History at Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
On June 4, Dinah Shelton ’70 became the first American woman elected Commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Voted in by the Organization of American States General Assembly, Shelton—a leading authority on international law and a prize-winning author—will begin serving her four-year term in January 2010.
The seven-member commission reviews and investigates human rights cases within the framework of the inter-American system’s legal instruments. A professor at George Washington University Law School, Shelton was nominated for the commissioner position by the Obama Administration on March 3.
A former visiting lecturer at Berkeley Law, Shelton has been a human rights consultant to the United Nations and Council of Europe and has assisted major health and environmental organizations. A Vice President of the American Society of International Law, she sits on the board of several nongovernmental organizations concerned with human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples. (6/9/09)
Obama Nominates Berkeley Law Alum for DOJ Post
President Obama has nominated Berkeley Law alum Christopher Schroeder '74 to be assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy. Schroeder is currently the Charles S. Murphy Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy Studies, and director of the Program in Public Law at Duke University. Schroeder was editor of the California Law Review when he was at Berkeley Law. Read more at the White House web site. (6/1/09)
Clinton, Lavrov and Berkeley Law Student Rebecca Callaway
Berkeley Law student Rebecca Callaway (center) takes notes during a recent meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Conference on Afghanistan at the Hague. Callaway is a field placement student working at the U.S. Embassy in the Hague. (5/5/09) Photo by Krister Evenhouse www.efg-design.nl
BJALP Writing Competition Winner
In 2008, the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy launched its first writing competition to solicit papers from law students on topics relevant to African-Americans and minority communities. Of the submissions received, one stood out among the crowd as was selected the winner of the competition. The winning paper was written by SpearIt, a Berkeley Law 3L. SpearIt’s paper is titled, “Manufacturing Social Violence: The Prison Paradox & Future Escapes” and will be published in Volume 11 (2009) of the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy.
(4/27/09)
