Visiting International Public Interest Lawyers Program

SLS’ visiting international public interest lawyers program (2012-2016) offered leading human rights and rule of law practitioners from transitional societies an opportunity to visit Stanford Law School for a week, engage with our faculty and students, and experience the diverse and dynamic social justice community here in the Bay Area.

This program has been replaced with the Global Practitioner in Residence Program, which awards one leading practitioner in the field of human rights, rule of law or law and development the opportunity to spend one academic quarter at Stanford Law School as a practitioner-in-residence.

Previous Visiting Public Interest Lawyers

Visiting Public Interest Attorneys 8

Spring 2016: Deyaa Alrwishdi is a founder of the Free Syrian Lawyers Association, whose mission is to train diaspora Syrian lawyers in human rights and reform the Syrian justice system in order to lay a foundation for a transition to rule of law. Deyaa has also defended human rights activists at the domestic and international level and serves as a researcher with the Damascus Center for Human Rights. Deyaa spoke on “Prospects for Peace and Transitional Justice in Syria” during his visit to SLS.
Visiting Public Interest Attorneys 1

Fall 2015: Dmitri Holtzman is the founding Executive Director of Equal Education Law Centre in South Africa. EELC’s mission is building a society in which the quality of education received by learners is not dependent on their socio-economic status and their parents’ ability to pay school fees. Its overriding goal is to ensure the realization of every learner’s right to an equitable, safe and adequate basic education by operationalizing the South African Constitution and other laws. Dmitri spoke on “Organizing and Litigating for Education Quality and Equity in South Africa” during his visit to SLS.
Visiting Public Interest Attorneys 2

Fall 2015: Hou Ping is the Vice President and Founder of LesGo, a nonprofit organization working on LGBT rights in China. LesGo advocates for recognition of and equality for the LGBT community in Suzhou and surrounding areas. She has a particular focus on the rights of female migrant workers in China. Hou Ping spoke on “The Crackdown on the Chinese Legal Profession” during her visit to SLS.
Visiting Public Interest Attorneys 7
Spring 2014: Seife Asfaw leads a network of legal aid centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. His primary responsibilities include daily assessment and monitoring of the activity of legal aid centers in Addis Ababa, mentoring and supervising legal aid service providers and paralegals, conducting human rights training and building relationships with donors and collaborative partners. Faced with a challenging operating environment, Asfaw works within the framework of Ethiopian law to advance human rights, specifically by expanding citizens’ knowledge of and access to legal services. Seife spoke on “Human Rights Challenges and Opportunities in Ethiopia” during his visit to SLS.
Visiting Public Interest Attorneys 4

Summer 2012: At the time that Wendy Zhang visited SLS, she served as the Deputy Director of Beijing Children’s Legal Aid and Research Center, Chief Program Officer of Beijing Zhicheng Migrant Workers’ Legal Aid and Research Center, and Secretary General of Rural Areas Rule of Law Institute of Beijing Law Society. Beijing Children’s Legal Aid and Research Center is the largest legal aid provider in China and played a significant role in the development of the public interest lawyering field in China. Wendy is now a faculty member of Jindal Global Law PISchool in India and Executive Director of the Center for India and China Studies