News

Duke Law faculty and staff traveled the globe this past year for a number of regional alumni gatherings.

Japan: In March, Dean David Levi and Judy and Jennifer spent several days in Tokyo visiting law firms whose members include several Duke alumni. Dean Levi gave a faculty seminar at Tokyo University and Jennifer gave a presentation on legal writing to students at Chuo University. A visit to the Supreme Court of Japan and a meeting with the Chief Justice were especially significant for Dean Levi. The highlight of the Japan trip was the reunion held on March 7 in celebration of Judy’s 30 years at Duke Law School. The reunion was arranged by Hideyuki Sakai (LLM ‘82), the first Duke LLM graduate from Japan and currently head of the Duke University Alumni Association, with the assistance of Yuri Ide (LLM ’08). Approximately 90 alumni attended the anniversary party, which included remarks by Dean Levi, Jennifer Maher, Sakai Hideyuki, Professor Yasuhei Taniguchi, and several alumni.

Japanese alumni from the LLM class of 2010 continue to meet regularly and spend time together. They are Kazumasa Nagayama, Yosuke Takenaka, Yuji Moriguchi, Eriko Yokota, Kazuhide Ohya and Makoto Uda.

Hong Kong and Shanghai: The Peking Garden restaurant at Alexandra House in Hong Kong was the site of a well-attended, lovely alumni event on July 13, 2011. The reunion was arranged by alumna Desiree Sumilang (JD/LLM ’01). Judy and Don Horowitz presented news from Duke.  On August 5, Judy and Don attended an elegant dinner for alumni and incoming Law School JD students at The Tang Dynasty Restaurant in Shanghai. Tony Shaw (JD ‘88) delivered the Keynote Speech and announced the establishment of the Shanghai Duke Law Alumni Club. Arrangements for the event were handled by Danian Zhang (JD ’98 ). Judy was very pleased to have the opportunity to meet individually with several alumni in both cities.

Geneva: Also in July, several alumni in the Geneva area joined the Duke-Geneva Institute boat cruise and met Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who taught constitutional law at the Institute, at a special reception for faculty and alumni.

Tel Aviv and Ramallah: While on a trip to interview prospective Palestinian Rule of Law applicants in Ramallah in early January, Judy was able to visit with alumni in Ramallah and Tel Aviv. Alumni from Palestine attended a reception in Ramallah sponsored by the Open Society Institute. The Tel Aviv event was arranged by Eran Sarig (LLM ‘03 ) and brought together several alumni from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for a lively evening. The big news was that on the day of the event an announcement was made that Daphne Barak-Erez, dean of the Tel Aviv Law School, was appointed to the Supreme Court of Israel. She has taught at Duke Law School, at the Hong Kong summer institute, and instructed many Duke alumni at Tel Aviv University.

Vienna: Again this year the Duke team traveled to Vienna, Austria, for the Vis international arbitration competition. 281 universities from around the world competed in Vienna, including 51 U.S. universities. The Duke team did very well, winning the four preliminary rounds to be one of the 64 teams making it to the final elimination rounds. There, Duke defeated a very good U.C. Berkeley team, but lost in the round of 32 to a team from St. Cyril, Macedonia (which was coached by an alumnus of the Duke-Geneva Institute). The team received several comments from neutral observers that it was considered one of the best ones there.

Duke alumni in the Vienna area hosted the team, Coach Charles Holton (JD ’73), several prospective international LLM candidates, and alumni connected with the competition as coaches of other teams, at a dinner party.

Taiwan: During the 2012 Asia Law Institute Conference in Singapore, Professors Ralf Michaels and Deborah DeMott attended an alumni gathering with Chia-Jung (Lois) Lin (LLM ’01), Andre Lin (LLM & SJD ’97), Lung-Tzung (Oliver) Hung (LLM ’98), Chih-Chieh (Carol) Lin (LLM & SJD ’05), Shao-Wen (Charlotte) Hu (LLM ’02), Lisa Lin (LLM ’10), Shih-Min Lo (LLM ’06), and Pei-Kan Yang (LLM ’06).