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On January 12, 2019, the world lost a champion of justice, H.E. Judge Patricia McGowan
Wald. Judge Wald was a staunch advocate of international peace and justice and inspired
young lawyers and advocates to follow in her footsteps. In the United States, she practiced
as a lawyer in the Department of Justice, served in the District of Columbia Circuit, and
became the first woman appointed to the U.S. District Court of Appeals in the District of
Columbia. She went on to become the first female Chief Judge of any U.S. Court of Appeals
and later served as an Obama appointee to the Privacy & Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
Judge Wald served at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, issuing
some of the Tribunal's most noted judgments. Throughout her career, she was a fierce
supporter of women's rights and used her extraordinary legal talent to focus on the special
The Harris Institute is pleased
to welcome Professor Kim Thuy
Seelinger to its Faculty Advisory
Board. Professor Sellinger
was the Director of the Sexual
Violence Program at the Human
Rights Center at Berkeley School
of Law. She is joining the
Washington University Brown
School of Social Work where
she will serve as the Founding Director of the Center for
Gender, Migration and Human Rights, within the Institute
for Public Health, and will also teach at the School of Law.
Kurt Dirks, Vice Chancellor of International Affairs at
Washington University, and Professors Lee Epstein, David
Konig, Brian Tamanaha, and Katie Herbert Meyer from the
School of Law have also joined the Faculty Advisory Board.
Faculty Advisory Board member Professor Peter Cramer,
Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs, has retired from
Washington University as of August 2019. Professor Cramer
was responsible for recruiting and advising international
students for the law school's International Graduate
Programs, which grew significantly under his leadership.
Comings and Goings
In Memoriam: Judge Patricia M. Wald (1928-2019)
Photo by Slowking
Alumni Spotlight
WashULaw Alum Gilbert C.
Sison, JD '00, was appointed
as a United States Magistrate
Judge for the Southern
District of Illinois in spring
2019. Mr. Sison was selected
unanimously by the judges of
the Southern District of Illinois
from over 80 applicants for
this position. He previously
served as an Assistant United
States Attorney.
In addition to his professional achievements, Mr. Sison
continues to give back to WashULaw. Since fall 2000, he
has coached the school's Philip C. Jessup International
Moot Court team, over which time the school has won 10
regional championships, and advanced to the international
rounds of the competition 11 times. Washington University
has placed among the top 16 in the world three times and in
the top eight twice. His teams have also won every writing
award given by the Jessup competition and WashULaw
oralists have often placed
in the top spots.
suffering of women in war time. In addition to her service at home and abroad, Judge Wald served as a member of the Harris
Institute’s International Council, providing invaluable advice and support, and was a frequent visitor to the School of Law.