Greetings to Our Alumni and Friends
This fall brings a slow but steady return to normalcy for Columbia Law School and the Center for Japanese Legal Studies. The energy and enthusiasm for our programs has remained strong throughout the pandemic, even while national entry restrictions have limited academic travel and safety protocols pushed our events online.
We had the pleasure of welcoming CLS students and scholars interested in Japan back to campus with a well-attended in-person reception on September 12, and we look forward to hosting more events through the 2022-2023 academic year. We are also pleased to resume offering opportunities for faculty and students to travel to Japan to learn, teach, research and practice.
Nobuhisa Ishizuka
Executive Director, Center for Japanese Legal Studies
Center Activities
Exploring Asian American Attrition in U.S. Law Firms
The Center is working with Justice Goodwin Liu of the Supreme Court of California on a study of attrition among Asian American and other underrepresented groups at U.S. law firms. Columbia Law students Jerry Du, Sophia Han, Emma Li, and Emily Park were accepted as research assistants for the project, and they are expected to produce a report by the end of the year. This project is supported through the Columbia Law School Anti-Racism Grantmaking Program (ARGP).
Supporting Student Research
Law students Haley Klein and Avery Bashe were hired as research associates through the Columbia Summer Funding Program this summer. Their research focuses on Japan’s global and Asian regional policies as reflected in its multilateral and bilateral commitments under international agreements.
Student Activities
Morrison & Foerster Public Interest Fellowships in Japan
In previous years Morrison & Foerster LLP has supported the Center for Japanese Legal Studies in awarding fully funded public-interest fellowships with Japanese organizations. After temporarily suspending this program to comply with university safety guidelines and travel restrictions, we look forward to resuming this important program this spring.
Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu Fellowship
The Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu (NO&T) Fellowship helps Columbia Law School attract the top J.D. candidates in the country with a professional interest in Japan. The Center awarded two NO&T Fellowships to incoming students in the Class of 2025 to Viktoryia Bick, Michael Sosnick, and Joshua Kipps.
Shapiro Fellowship
The Center awards the Shapiro Fellowship to Columbia Law School students affiliated with the Center. The Isaac and Jacqueline Weiss Shapiro Fellowship supports research on Japanese law by Columbia Law School students working under the supervision of a Columbia University faculty member. This year’s fellowship will be awarded during the academic year.
NHK Student Group
The Center for Japanese Legal Studies would like to introduce the 2022-2023 leadership of Nihonhō Kenkyūkai (NHK) student group. Leadership includes Yanzhao Chang as President, Coco Wang as VP for Career Affairs, and Sahil Soni as VP for Social Affairs.
We extend our appreciation to the outgoing board in which Rochisha Togare served as President, Thomas Sipp as VP for Social Affairs, Amanda Yang as VP for Social Affairs, Zhendong Xu as VP for Academic Affairs, Nicolle Kwon as VP for Career Affairs, and Ross Nicklos as Treasurer.
Interested in NHK? Please feel free to contact NHK with any questions that you may have at [email protected].
University of Tokyo Faculty Exchange
One of the Center's flagship programs has been the Faculty exchange with the University of Tokyo. Although safety concerns and travel restrictions prevented us from undertaking the exchange this year, we look forward to resuming the program in the Spring.
Beyond Columbia Law School
In addition to the above-mentioned activities, Nobuhisa Ishizuka co-authored "Doctrinal Conflict in Foreign Investment Regulation in India: NTT Docomo vs. Tata Sons and the Case for “Downside Protection” with M. P. Ram Mohan and Sidharth Sharma which was published the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law.