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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.