Amidst gorgeous New York City spring weather, twelve classes from 1955 to 2010 gathered at NYU School of Law last weekend to celebrate at Reunion 2015. The weekend schedule included academic programming, dining, dancing, and more. At dinners held for the various reunion years, four alumni were honored for their exceptional work at the Law School and beyond.
Thomas Buergenthal ’60, Lobingier Professor of Comparative Law and Jurisprudence at the George Washington University Law School and former judge of the International Court of Justice, was recognized with the Public Service Award. In presenting the award, Dean Trevor Morrison praised Buergenthal as a model of the values that the Law School hopes to instill its students. An influential figure in human rights for over four decades, Buergenthal has also served as a judge on the Administrative Tribunal of the Inter-American Development Bank, as judge and president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Truth Commission for El Salvador.
NYU Law Trustee Evan Chesler ’75, chairman of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, was honored with the Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes a graduate’s significant professional achievements and commitment to the continued development of the Law School. Chesler has been instrumental in a number of significant curricular initiatives at NYU Law in recent years. As the leader of the Strategy Committee of the Law School Board of Trustees, Chesler’s recommendations led to the creation of innovative study abroad programs, the launch of the Legislative and Regulatory Process clinic in DC, the development of broad leadership initiatives, and more.
Professor Troy McKenzie ’00 was presented with the Legal Teaching Award. McKenzie, who joined the faculty in 2007, has taught courses on bankruptcy, civil procedure, complex litigation, and the federal courts. He has previously been honored with the Albert Podell Distinguished Teaching Award for outstanding achievement in the classroom. McKenzie is currently on leave from the Law School, after joining the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel earlier this spring as a deputy assistant attorney general.
Beatrice Lindstrom ’10, a staff attorney with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, received the Recent Graduate Award. A former Root-Tilden-Kern scholar, Lindstrom has devoted her years since graduation to the pursuit of access to justice in Haiti for communities devastated by the 2010 earthquake. Most recently, she has been involved in litigation against the United Nations for its role in Haiti’s cholera outbreak—a suit she discussed recently at the inaugural conference of the Robert L. Bernstein Institute for Human Rights.
Posted May 6, 2015