Message from the Associate Dean |
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Greetings from the University of Kansas School of Law and the International & Comparative Law Program!
During the past three semesters, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the way we teach and engage with colleagues at KU Law and around the world. Barriers to travel and national responses to the crisis have affected many of our prospective international students and scholars, as well as those here on campus. At KU Law, we have worked with current and prospective international students to provide online courses and offer flexibility with deferring start dates.
As we've navigated the challenges of the past year, what hasn’t changed is our commitment to building bridges across borders, engaging with our international partners, and preparing our students and scholars to be outstanding members of the legal profession.
While our faculty have not been able to travel this year, they have presented at online conferences and participated in research exchanges with universities around the world. Professor Raj Bhala led discussions on international trade recently for the Council on Foreign Relations and published a pair of articles about human rights and trade. Associate Dean Uma Outka wrote chapters in two international handbooks. She also delivered lectures on energy law and climate action to international audiences. Associate Professor Kyle Velte discussed LGBTQ+ protections in the U.S. on a London-based podcast.
In this edition of our International & Comparative Law newsletter, you'll learn about recent research; faculty service; a new program for entering international students; an S.J.D. student who recently defended his doctoral dissertation; a workshop co-hosted with the University of Costa Rica; alumni news and more.
KU Law graduates live and work in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and 25 foreign countries. If you share our passion for expanded horizons, we hope you'll take time to learn about the global impact made by Jayhawk faculty, students and alumni in the past year.
Best regards,
Virginia Harper Ho
Professor and Associate Dean,
International and Comparative Law
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International and Comparative Law Faculty
Numerous KU Law faculty are involved in international and comparative law, including:
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KU Law, Applied English Center launch program for international students |
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A new program being developed by the University of Kansas School of Law and KU’s Applied English Center will help international students improve their English skills while learning about the U.S. legal system.
The Legal English Program is a one-month intensive program designed to help students develop specialized training, presentation, legal research and legal writing skills to prepare them for law school coursework and for legal practice. The program will be offered in 2022.
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Symposium focuses on international legal challenges |
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The 2021 Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy Symposium, "International Legal Challenges Facing the New U.S. Administration: Critical Analyses from the American Heartland" featured legal scholars from around the world. The symposium advanced contemporary discourse and provided a timely forum after the 2020 U.S. presidential election and President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
The symposium was presented as an online event on Friday, Feb. 12. Nearly 250 people from 18 countries registered to attend the symposium. Participants represented 40 universities around the world, along with institutions including the World Trade Organization, Turkish Constitutional Court, U.S. Department of State and the Embassy of Pakistan.
Speakers included:
- Raj Bhala | University of Kansas School of Law | International Trade Law
- Laura Clark Fey | Fey LLC | Privacy Law
- David Gantz | University of Arizona College of Law | Trade and International Economic Law
- Anupam Jha | University of Delhi Faculty of Law | International Criminal and Human Rights Law
- Mark Johnson | Dentons U.S. LLP | Election Law
- Petros Mavroidis | Columbia Law School | Foreign and Comparative Law
- Asif Qureshi | Korea University School of Law | International Economic Law
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KU Law hosts oral advocacy workshop with University of Costa Rica |
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The University of Kansas School of Law and the University of Costa Rica hosted a workshop on oral advocacy and moot court on Friday, April 30. The institutions are long-standing international partners. KU Law and UCR also plan to host a Business Skills Pedagogy Workshop in September 2021.
Moderators
Presenters
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Law professor leads discussions hosted by Council on Foreign Relations |
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A University of Kansas law professor has led discussions on international trade recently for the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The discussions, open to CFR members, covered issues including the new U.S. administration’s trade agenda, the future of trade after Brexit, and Islamic law.
Raj Bhala, the Brenneisen Distinguished Professor at KU Law, teaches international and comparative law courses and is among the world's foremost authorities in international trade law. He is the only Council on Foreign Relations member at the University of Kansas.
On Feb. 24, Bhala served as moderator and discussion leader for “Anticipating Biden’s Trade Agenda.” Bhala addressed topics including World Trade Organization Appellate Body reform; the Sino-American trade war; and the importance of reaching agreements on subsidies for certain goods.
On Jan. 28, Bhala facilitated “The Path Forward Post-Brexit.” Bhala previously led a CFR discussion on Islamic law in connection with his textbook, Understanding Islamic Law.
The Council on Foreign Relations is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher focusing on foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.
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Professor’s service work engages locally, globally |
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Virginia Harper Ho’s service work has local, state, national and international reach. Harper Ho is the associate dean for international and comparative law, Earl B. Shurtz Research Professor and director of the Polsinelli Transactional Law Center at the University of Kansas School of Law. She has also served as a research fellow for the International Institute of Green Finance (IIGF) at the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) in Beijing, China.
In addition to teaching and scholarship, Harper Ho is an associate editor of the American Journal of Comparative Law, a member of the Executive Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law and a former fellow of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations’ (NCUSCR) Public Intellectuals Program. She is also a regular advisor on legislative changes to update the state’s business laws.
“My colleagues and I are actively engaged in national and international service,” Harper Ho said. “The networks we’re involved in give us direct connection with other leading scholars in our field and give us a voice in shaping the issues that influence the law.”
She frequently publishes and presents about international and comparative law topics at public forums, meetings, workshops, symposiums, conferences, and other scholarly events. Harper Ho has also written a book on labor dispute resolution in China, six book chapters and 22 journal articles.
“Faculty contributions to service are essential to the mission of the law school and contribute directly to the reputation of KU Law,” Harper Ho said.
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U.S. trade sanctions justified responses to human rights abuses in China, law expert writes |
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An international trade law expert at the University of Kansas argues in a pair of new articles that human rights and trade are now inextricably linked, as evidenced by U.S. and international reactions to actions in China, and asserts that approach is an appropriate use of trade.
After the United States, then Canada and the Netherlands, declared the Chinese Communist Party's actions against Uyghur Muslims as genocide, the nations followed with various trade sanctions. Likewise, countries have adopted trade measures in response to China’s violation of its one-country, two-systems agreement with Hong Kong. Raj Bhala, Brenneisen Distinguished Professor of Law at the KU School of Law, details both situations in two new companion case studies, argues the linking of trade to human rights is correct and examines future possibilities for such measures.
“Most people think human rights are to be separated from trade. In fact, that’s not true,” Bhala said. “There are no express, comprehensive provisions for human rights in the World Trade Organization or General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, but we’re seeing the link come up in U.S. trade policy and some regional free trade agreements. We’re entering an era of invigorated enhancements of human rights through trade policy.”
Bhala wrote an article on China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims and American trade response, published in India’s Journal of the National Human Rights Commission, and another on Hong Kong’s democracy, China’s violation thereof and American trade response, forthcoming in the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy.
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Scholar defends S.J.D. dissertation |
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The University of Kansas School of Law is one of the few law schools in the United States to offer a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.), a research doctorate in law. The S.J.D. program is designed for students interested in deep legal research and writing, and a career as a legal scholar or a senior public official.
Saudi Arabian scholar Ahmad Algahtani defended his dissertation, "Legal Uncertainty and the Effect of Legal Duality on the Legal System of Saudi Arabia" last week. Congratulations, Dr. Algahtani, on earning your KU Law Doctor of Juridical Science with honors! Dr. Algahtani plans to return to Saudi Arabia to join the faculty at Al-Jouf University School of Sharia and Law.
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Recent graduate dedicated to immigration, employment cases
Samantha Natera, L'21, dedicated her summers during law school to working on immigration and employment cases. Following her 1L year, Natera completed two internships focused on immigration law. She spent the first part of the summer interning at Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, Inc., in her hometown of El Paso, Texas.
In summer 2020, she worked remotely for Farmworker Legal Services, a Michigan-based organization that helps migrant and seasonal farmworkers to fight against employer injustice. Natera continues to work with the organization. During her 2L year, Natera volunteered for a workshop, hosted by Legal Aid of Western Missouri, on nonimmigrant visas for victims of violent crimes. Student volunteers had the opportunity to assist with some cases and understand the basic concepts of helping clients with U and T visas.
Natera decided to pursue a legal education at KU Law because of the strength of the school's international law program. She served as president of KU's International Law Society.
Natera plans to take the Texas Bar Exam this summer. After that, she is open to opportunities, including returning to Kansas. Natera said she is excited to start her legal career and help people.
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Students compete virtually in global rounds of moot court competition |
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Five KU Law students participated in the 2021 Global Rounds of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition during the spring semester.
Over six weeks of virtual competition, more than 500 teams from 90 countries participated. KU Law’s team – Eric Brauninger, Betsy Donahue, Melinda Foshat, Ryan Gordon and Sowensky Lumene – faced off against 10 teams from around the globe. The team received high marks for their written submissions and in oral advocacy. Professors John Head and Lua Yuille advised the team.
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Degrees for international students at KU Law |
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The University of Kansas School of Law offers a first-class program in international and comparative law. At its core is a menu of courses in the areas most relevant to practice around the world, including international business and commercial law, intellectual property law, environmental law and international dispute resolution.
KU Law offers four degree programs, including the J.D., Two-Year J.D., LL.M. in American Legal Studies, and S.J.D.
Interested in learning more about the international and comparative law program at KU? Browse our program information and brochures.
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Raj Bhala, Brenneisen Distinguished Professor, is an active scholar, researcher, and expert in international and comparative law. Bhala is the author of the four-volume International Trade Law: A Comprehensive Textbook; the first treatise on GATT in nearly 50 years, Modern GATT Law; and a textbook on Islamic Law, Understanding Islamic Law (Sharī'a). Bhala writes a monthly "On Point" column, which is published by BloombergQuint (India). Bhala's recent work in international and comparative law includes:
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Bhala has led discussions on international trade recently for the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). The discussions, open to CFR members, covered issues including the new U.S. administration’s trade agenda, the future of trade after Brexit, and Islamic law. Read more.
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Bhala delivered the keynote address at the International Conference on Emerging Trends in International Trade Law. The event in April 2021 was hosted by the CMR University School of Legal Studies in Bangalore, India. Bhala served as the chief guest for the conference. His keynote was titled, “International Trade Law Challenges for the Indo-Pacific Region.”
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Bhala said human rights and trade are now inextricably linked in a pair of new scholarly articles. Bhala asserts that approach is an appropriate use of trade. The first of two companion articles on China, trade, and human rights has been on three top 10 SSRN download lists. Read more.
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Bhala presented "Hong Kong’s Democracy, Human Rights and America’s Trade Sanctions" at the 2021 Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy Symposium in February 2021. Bhala will publish an article based on the presentation in the Journal's summer issue.
- Bhala writes “On Point,” a regular analysis of international law and economics for BloombergQuint, based in Mumbai, India. His Bloomberg Quint columns are distributed to 2.9 million readers worldwide, plus an additional 400,000 through Bloomberg's financial market trading terminals. Recent articles include:
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"How India should deal with Biden and Harris" October 9, 2020
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"The U.S. In 2020: E Pluribus Multis" November 6, 2020
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"Six steps to resolve the U.S.-China trade war" December 2, 2020
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"Why Raisina Hill and India Inc. need to study the Brexit Deal" January 12, 2021
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"Budget 2021: An import substitution relapse?" February 10, 2021
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"Three areas for Modi and Biden to get working on right away" March 9, 2021
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"Modi’s urgent agenda for India’s diplomats in America" April 1, 2021
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"Why a peaceful Indo-Pacific needs a U.S.-Taiwan Trade Deal" May 8, 2021
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Christopher Drahozal is the John M. Rounds Professor of Law at KU Law. Drahozal is the author of multiple books and numerous articles on commercial arbitration. He has given presentations on the subject in Europe, Asia, South America, Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and has testified before Congress and state legislatures on arbitration matters as well. His recent work in international and comparative law includes:
- Drahozal's book chapter entitled "Empirical Findings on International Arbitration: An Overview" appears in the Oxford Handbook on International Arbitration, which was published in October 2020.
- Drahozal published "Empirical Legal Research and Arbitration Associates" in Surviving in the Field of International Arbitration: War Stories and Lessons Learned in 2020.
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Drahozal co-presented "Ethics in the International Arbitration Restatement," an event hosted by the American Law Institute in February 2021.
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Virginia Harper Ho is the Associate Dean for International & Comparative Law, Professor of Law, a past Docking Faculty Scholar, and the Director of the Polsinelli Transactional Law Center. She was named as an Earl B. Shurtz Research Professor in 2019. Her research focuses on the intersections of corporate governance, sustainability and finance from a comparative perspective. She has written recently on financial disclosure, shareholder activism, comparative corporate governance and China's green finance reforms.
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In October 2020, Harper Ho began a new role as the secretary for the Executive Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law (ASCL).
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Harper Ho is an associate editor for the American Journal of Comparative Law, the flagship journal of the ASCL and the leading journal dedicated to comparative law.
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Harper Ho is a member of the steering committee that is guiding KU’s participation in the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Internationalization Laboratory for 2020-2022.
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Harper Ho published "Board Duties: Monitoring, Risk Management & Compliance" in the Handbook of Comparative Corporate Governance in 2021.
- Harper Ho presented “The Belt & Road and ESG Standards” with Chi Zhang at the Lower Saxony – Scotland Joint Forum in November 2020.
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Harper Ho discussed "What's Happening to Democracy in Hong Kong?" during an event hosted by the Student Advisory Board at the Dole Institute of Politics in November 2020. Watch the event.
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Stephen Mazza is the Dean and a Professor of Law at the University of Kansas School of Law. Mazza has expanded the number of tax offerings at KU, teaching courses in Taxation of Mergers and Acquisitions, Tax Procedure and Tax Policy. He is a frequent speaker on tax issues. Dean Mazza's recent work in international and comparative law includes:
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Mazza presented "Statutory Analysis Remotely: A Case Study Involving U.S. Tax Law" in August 2020, alongside faculty from the University of Bahçeşehir in Istanbul, Turkey. KU Law hosts a Study Abroad Program in Istanbul in cooperation with the University of Bahçeşehir.
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Uma Outka works at the intersection of energy law and environmental law. Outka is the associate dean for faculty and a William R. Scott Law Professor. Her scholarship explores the legal context for the low-carbon energy transition, with particular interests in energy and environmental justice, renewable energy, and electricity regulation as it evolves to advance a clean, modern electric grid. Outka's recent work in international and comparative law includes:
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Outka wrote a chapter, "Ethical Drivers in the Renewable Energy Transition," in the forthcoming international volume of the Research Handbook on Energy Law and Ethics. The handbook will be published in 2022.
- Outka published an article, "Accelerating Energy Transition in India: A Comparative Perspective," in the Environmental Law Reporter in 2020.
- Outka delivered a guest lecture in April 2021 to the Energy Law Institute and Centre for Commercial Law Studies at the Queen Mary University of London on the topic of “Law and Renewable Energy in the Critical Decade.
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Outka is an invited network affiliate for the COP26 Summit's Scotia Group, an international network of leaders in politics, academia, law and business who convened to contribute to the success of international climate action at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
- Outka is contributing a chapter, "Energy Communities in the U.S. and the EU" with Annalisa Savaresi for an international volume of De Gruyter Handbook of Energy Law in the Low-Carbon Transition. The handbook will be published in 2022.
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Kyle Velte is an associate professor of law at the University of Kansas School of Law. Her scholarship, which examines the intersection of sexuality, gender and the law, has appeared in law journals, including the Yale Law & Policy Review, Cardozo Law Review and Connecticut Law Review. She filed or coauthored amicus briefs in four United States Supreme Court cases and has appeared in the media discussing issues of religious liberty and its connection to antidiscrimination law, Title IX and marriage equality. Velte's recent work in international and comparative law includes:
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Velte was featured on a “Law According to a King” podcast in April 2021. The podcast is hosted by a law student at King's College London. In the podcast, Velte discussed LGBTQ+ protections in the U.S., the conflict between religious freedom and anti-discrimination, and the map forward for equality for the queer community.
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Anne Bloomfield Fischer, L’92, retired from the U.S. Navy in October as a captain with over 28 years of service. Bloomfield Fischer has been stationed in San Diego; Seattle; Naples, Italy; and Washington, D.C.
Owen Newman, L’04, is a partner at Duane Morris LLP in the firm’s Chicago office. Newman is a litigation attorney focusing on complex, multijurisdictional disputes and international arbitration.
John Foote, L’08, joined Kelley Drye & Warren LLP as a partner in the firm’s international trade practice group. Foote’s practice includes customs and international trade policy, compliance and enforcement.
Devin S. Sikes, L’08, has been reappointed to the U.S. roster for U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Chapter 10 disputes. Sikes serves as international trade counsel at Akin Gump.
Cody Wood, L'17, was promoted to managing associate at Dentons US LLP. He is a member of the firm's federal regulatory and compliance practice. Wood recently worked with Professor Raj Bhala on a remote CLE presentation to in-house corporate counsel titled, "International Trade Law and Policy in the New American Administration: What's Changed, What's Not, and What to Expect?" The presentation attracted 650 registrants.
Leah Lewsader, L’21, will join an immigration law firm in North Kansas City, after taking the bar exam this summer. She will focus on asylum and working with unaccompanied minors who cross the U.S. border. Learn more about Lewsader's post-graduation plans.
Report your alumni news and update your contact and employment information at law.ku.edu/keep-touch. Have a story of interest to fellow alumni? Contact Margaret Hair at mhair@ku.edu.
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