Global Connections - Volume 2, Issue 1Fordham Launches Doctoral Law ProgramThe Doctoral of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree will augment the Law School’s robust LL.M. program by providing a rigorous academic and intellectual experience for highly qualified candidates. Fordham joins other top law schools in offering this highest degree in the field of law.Completion of the degree requires a final project of publishable quality. All doctoral law candidates will attend the S.J.D. Colloquium, which will introduce S.J.D. students to diverse and sophisticated research technologies, explore basic strains of legal academic thought that may inform their work, and provide a forum in which candidates can discuss their projects and elicit feedback on drafts of their work at various stages of progress. Admission to the S.J.D. program is highly competitive and applicants are generally expected to hold an LL.M. from Fordham or another top law school in the United States. Visit the S.J.D. program webpage for more information. LL.M. Program Continues to GrowLast spring, Fordham Law School awarded the LL.M. degree to a record 161 LL.M. candidates at a diploma ceremony held on May 24, 2010, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Commencement activities were followed by a cocktail reception in honor of the LL.M. graduates and their families.
This fall semester, Fordham Law welcomed its largest class of LL.M. students, with 164 new and 55 returning students. Our new students represent as diverse and talented a group as ever. The fall 2010 semester also marked the first in which students enrolled in the newest master program: the LL.M. in U.S. and Comparative Law.
Visiting International Professors Daniel Bonilla is Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Public Interest Law Group at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá. He holds a doctorate in law from Yale Law School and a law degree from Universidad de los Andes. He has been a visiting professor or lecturer at a number of institutions, including Yale Law School, Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law, the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights of Guatemala, University of Texas School of Law, Georgia State University College of Law, and Universidad Nacional de Colombia. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and several awards for excellence in teaching, and is the author of numerous books, chapters, and scholarly articles. Professor Bonilla is teaching Comparative Constitutional Law at Fordham, and he recently gave a lecture on Indigenous Peoples and Cultural Rights as part of Fordham Law’s Latin American Tertulia in New York City.
Changes in the Office of International and Non-J.D. ProgramsThe past months have seen numerous changes in the Office of International and Non-J.D. Programs. Stacey Perkins Rock, Assistant Director, left Fordham Law in June. During her time at Fordham Law, Stacey made important and lasting contributions to the work of our office and was a joy to work with. All of us at Fordham Law were sad to see Stacey leave, but we all wish her and her family well as they relocate to Kansas City.In happier news, the Office of International and Non-J.D. Programs has welcomed two new Directors, Celia Strino and Kandice Thorn. Kandice, who joined the Law School in June, is a magna cum laude graduate of Western Washington University and a cum laude graduate of Cornell Law School. She was an associate in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and is Managing Director of 32 Pearls of Hope, a nonprofit organization that promotes oral healthcare in developing countries. Kandice manages the daily operations of the LL.M. program, including the newly created Graduate Professional Development Program (GPDP), which helps to meet the professional development goals of our Master of Laws students and alumni. Kandice is fluent in Spanish. Kandice recently gave birth to a daughter, Audrey Claire.
We are delighted to have both Kandice and Celia on our team and welcome them to the Fordham Law family! Fordham Law Announces Innovative Course for Spanish SpeakersIn the Spring 2011 semester, Fordham Law will offer a course on Lawyering in Spanish. This course is designed to introduce Spanish legal terminology generally and in a range of practice areas, including contract law, banking law, criminal law, and immigration. Lawyering in Spanish is open to J.D. and LL.M. students and to members of the public who are proficient in Spanish.Lawyering in Spanish is taught by Katia Fach Gómez, a Professor of Law at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). Professor Fach Gómez will have recently completed her Master of Laws degree at Fordham Law School. Visit the Lawyering in Spanish webpage for more information. Summer Institute Celebrates Fourth Anniversary Fordham Law welcomed legal professionals from around the world in July when it hosted the Fourth Annual Summer Institute in New York City. Fordham Law faculty members taught the participants courses that began with an Introduction to the U.S. Legal System and included topics that are at the forefront of global legal practice today, including Civil Procedure and Litigation; Constitutional Law; Contract Law; Corporate Law; Information Technology Law; Intellectual Property Law; International Arbitration; International Trade; Mergers and Acquisitions; Product Liability Law; Searches and Seizures, the Exclusionary Rule, and Confessions; and Trial Practice. The program also offered a series of Legal English Workshops that explored Contract Drafting and Negotiation, Writing the Interoffice Memorandum of Law, U.S. Legal Research, Citation Form, and Litigation Documents.
Participants also took part in field trips, which included a tour of the United Nations; a visit to the courtroom of Judge Elizabeth Stong of the United States Bankruptcy Court, where they were able to learn about bankruptcy law and see bankruptcy litigation in action; and a visit to the law firm of Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP. The program opened with a welcome reception and ended with the traditional closing dinner and certificate ceremony. We also had a picnic in Central Park, located just steps from the Law School, and enjoyed the musical extravaganza Chicago on Broadway. Summer 2011 Programs for International Lawyers and Law StudentsThree programs this summer will offer international law students and professionals the opportunity to expand their knowledge. All of these programs offer networking and other social events and some include visits to legal and other institutions. We welcome you to explore these initiatives.NEW - Summer Program in Fashion Law NEW - Recent Developments in U.S. Law Fifth Annual Fordham Law Summer Institute in New York City Visiting Scholars and Research Fellows ProgramFordham Law hosts more than 60 international visitors per year during its Visiting Scholars and Reasearch Fellows Program. The Law School gives our Visiting Scholars and Research Fellows the opportunity to share their research with colleagues. Following is a sampling of lectures presented as part of our visitors program in recent months:
International Judicial Research and Training Program Welcomes Judges from Brazil
The group heard lectures from a number of Fordham Law professors on topics that included constitutional law, civil procedure, domestic violence, impact litigation, and mediation. In addition, a number of distinguished members of the bar and bench came to the Law School to meet with this group. They included the Honorable Albert M. Rosenblatt, a retired judge of the New York Court of Appeals; Judge Judy Harris Kluger, Chief of Policy and Planning for the New York State Courts; the Honorable Sherri Klein Heitler '76, a Justice in the Supreme Court of New York; and Anne Swern, First Assistant District Attorney of Kings County, New York. The delegation also visited the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, and the Federal Judicial Center and the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C., and took a tour of the United Nations. The social highlight of the program was Brazil’s defeat over North Korea in the World Cup, which the group watched together with much fanfare at a local sports bar. Dispute Resolution Program for International Lawyers and Students
European Alumni Chapter Formed On Saturday, July 10, 2010, Fordham Law launched its European Alumni Chapter with cocktails and dinner at the famed Hotel Adlon in Berlin. Alumni of Fordham’s J.D. program, Master of Laws program, Visiting Scholar and Research Fellow programs, and the Summer Institute in New York City from countries throughout Europe attended the event.
The European Chapter is planning its next event for June 17–18, 2011, in Rome. Events will include lectures on current issues of interest by Fordham Law professors (and others), and a dinner in Rome. Further information will be posted on our website as it becomes available. The executive committee for the European Alumni chapter consists of Wolfgang Schoenig (Germany) (chair), Juraj Alexander (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Sophie Busson (France), Ioan Chiper (Romania), Balazs Csuday (Hungary/Austria), Charles De Jager (Belgium), Maria Francesca Ferrari (Italy), Deborah Fournet (France), Cristian Oro Martinez (Spain), Pierantonio Musso (Italy), Uwe Salascheck (Germany), Georg Sotiropolous (Turkey), and Tara Waters (U.K.). All members of the Fordham Law community are welcome and encouraged to participate in chapter events. Please contact Wolfgang Schoenig to get involved. |
More recently, Celia joined Fordham Law. Celia has numerous years of experience creating cross-border opportunities for law students and lawyers. Prior to joining Fordham Law, Celia was the Director of Special International Programs at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, where she developed and directed transnational legal education programs with international partners. Celia has lectured at several foreign institutions on the U.S. legal system. She obtained her J.D. from Temple Law and completed her undergraduate studies at the American University of Rome. She is fluent in Italian. Celia is responsible for the non-LL.M. programs run out of the Office of International and Non-J.D. Programs, including the programs for Visiting Scholars and Visiting Research Fellows, our summer certificate programs, our study abroad programs, the International Judicial Research and Training Program, and other initiatives undertaken by this office.
on dispute resolution in the United States. The participants, who came from Brazil, Israel, Mexico, Poland, and Russia, studied the U.S. legal system, U.S. litigation, domestic arbitration, international arbitration, mediation, and foreign litigation in U.S. courts. Program instructors included Cathy Cronin-Harris, Toni M. Fine, Birgit Kurtz, Joseph McLaughlin, and Paul Radvany.
