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Web Story:
2008 Women’s Forum highlights globalization; honors alumnae, professor
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By Ann W. Parks
The 2008 Women’s Forum, “Globalization 2008: Georgetown Alumnae Staying Ahead of the Curve” was a daylong celebration of women graduates whose careers have taken them well beyond the geographic and gender boundaries that once existed in the legal profession. “We’ve been very active on the global front, and to have the Women’s Forum this year devoted to issues of global practice is just a terrific thing,” said Law Center Dean Alex Aleinikoff. Aleinikoff noted that the Women’s Forum began more than a decade ago to address issues of importance to women law professionals and to create networking and mentoring opportunities for alumnae and students. He also described the numerous new projects relating to globalization at the Law Center, including the school’s new Center for Transnational Legal Studies in London; an enhanced first year curriculum exploring transnational problems; and new institutes dealing with global issues. The highlight of the morning was a keynote address by Dr. Shavit Matias (LL.M. ’91), who presently serves as the deputy attorney general for the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Matias noted that one only has to look at the kinds of issues that are presently on her desk to learn that the line between domestic and international law is gradually changing — negotiations with the Palestinians; relations between Israel and Lebanon; Israel’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; trade relations with the European Union; jurisdiction over Israelis in foreign courts, and more. “Practicing international law should be an exhilarating experience for a lawyer … it carries with it today the possibility of being part of shaping and transforming the world,” Matias said, adding that lawyers nowadays are likely to be involved in transnational legal matters that are unrelated to treaty law or the laws of war, including environmental law, labor law, even criminal law. And Georgetown, she noted, has more than 100 courses dealing with globalization. “Each and every one of them are relevant and instrumental to the work we are involved in today as a state,” she said. Commuting Luncheon speaker Kathleen Nealon (C’75, L’78), who in her 30-year law career worked in three different international law firms and an international bank, described the lighter side of being a woman in the legal profession — whether it was being advised to hide pictures of her children from the senior partners in a firm, or deciding what to do with her family when she was offered a job at the London headquarters of her New York bank. “I did what any lawyer in a two-lawyer family with three children would do,” she laughed. “I decided I would take the job, but commute.” (She did eventually move her family to London). Matias, Nealon, and three other extraordinary women were honored with this year’s awards: Georgetown Law Professor Elizabeth Hayes Patterson; Celia Roady (L’78), a partner in the tax practice group at Morgan Lewis; and Lucinda K. Treat (L’96), executive vice president and general counsel of Madison Square Garden. The day’s panels discussed “Representing Global Corporations in Government Proceedings; Transnational Practice Across Borders” and “Advancing your Career by Moving Abroad.” The panelists were Carol Fuchs (L’79); Adriana Koeck-Fuenzalida; (L’99); Barbara Linney (L’91); Joanna Young (L’74); Deborah Burand (L'85, G'85); Susan Kovarovics (L’96); Chang Oh Turkmani (L’86); Marcia Wiss (F’69, L’72); Marian Hagler (G’90, L’90); Linda Horton (L’97); Veronica Pastor (L'92) and Eileen O’Connor (B’81, L’05). Marilyn Tucker, director of alumni careers and international internships, was instrumental in putting the day together, as was Larry Center, executive director of Georgetown Law’s CLE program; and Kim Kettig, associate director of alumni affairs.
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