Lunchtime Lectures


LUNCHTIME DEBATE: Targeted for Death: Are drone attacks legal or illegal?

There is NO CLE credit for this program.
 

  • Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2013
  • Time: 1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
  • Location: Boardroom (W204)
  • Lunch: A free lunch will be provided.
  • RSVP: Michael.Rhee@nyls.edu


In its continuing fight against terrorism, the United States uses unmanned aircrafts called drones to carry out strikes against certain groups and specific individuals (even U.S. citizens) on so-called government “kill lists.” Using drones, say supporters, is a legal and effective way to protect America. But others argue that drone strikes violate both domestic and international law, and even undermine public support for the United States.

How do those who support drone attacks justify their use? How exactly do opponents respond? Do domestic and international law allow or forbid drone strikes in both combat areas and non-combat areas? Do they address whether the United States can target both foreigners and American citizens? Where does the debate stand today?

Come and discuss these questions and others during lunch!

LUNCH IN THE BOARDROOM: A Conversation about Immigration Law

There is NO CLE credit for this program.
 

  • Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2013
  • Time: 12:50 p.m.–1:50 p.m.
  • Location: Boardroom (W204)
  • Lunch: A free lunch will be provided.
  • RSVP: Michael.Rhee@nyls.edu


As more and more people come to the United States for business, study, and travel, immigration lawyers are playing a much more prominent role in the legal world. How do you break into the field of immigration law? Which courses should you take during law school? Are there certain skills which are helpful in this practice of law? Two graduates of New York Law School working at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP—the largest and leading immigration law firm in America—will answer these and many other questions.

Margaret Laufman-Saselu ’10 is an associate specializing in U.S. business immigration law, and provides advice pertaining to nonimmigrant visa petitions, permanent residency applications, corporate immigration policy, and business compliance issues.

Agata Ratajczyk ’10 is an associate specializing in employment-based temporary and permanent visa categories, family-based permanent residence applications, and U.S. citizenship applications. She has experience representing individual clients, Fortune-500 companies, and various-sized organizations.

LUNCHTIME LECTURE: How I Convinced the French Supreme Court to Cancel the First French Legislative Elections in the United States: A Conversation with Pierre Ciric ’09

There is NO CLE credit for this program.
 

  • Date: Monday, March 18, 2013
  • Time: 12:50 p.m.–1:50 p.m.
  • Location: W520
  • Lunch: A free lunch will be provided.
  • RSVP: Michael.Rhee@nyls.edu


The French Supreme Court recently voided the election results for a newly created legislative seat in the French Parliament which represents French people living in the United States. Pierre Ciric ’09, a New York lawyer, filed a lawsuit (Ciric v. Narassiguin) challenging the election results and won the case before France’s highest court. He will discuss the issues surrounding the lawsuit, explain the court’s decision, as well as discuss the legal implications of this ground-breaking case.

Pierre Ciric is the founder of the Ciric Law Firm, PLLC, and a board member of the New York Law School Alumni Association. A native of Paris, France, Mr. Ciric received an M.B.A. in 1986 from the École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris, the leading French business school. He held senior marketing and financial control positions in the United States at Pfizer, Inc., Sterling Winthrop, and Sanofi-Aventis. Mr. Ciric also gained significant litigation experience at Proskauer Rose and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. He received his Juris Doctor summa cum laude from New York Law School where he was an Executive Board Member and Notes Editor of the New York Law School Law Review.
 

SEMINAR DISCUSSION: Issues in Intellectual Property Rights in Chinese Law

There is NO CLE credit for this program.
 

  • Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2013
  • Time: 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
  • Location: C-250 (47 Worth St. building)
  • RSVP: Michael.Rhee@nyls.edu


Bing Cheng is a partner in the AnJie Law Firm in Beijing. Her practice areas focus on international arbitration and litigation, intellectual property, and general corporate law. She has been involved in numerous claims concerning patent and trademark infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, commercial defamation, securities litigation, and product liability before courts and arbitration tribunals.

Cheng received her LL.B. from Capital University of Economics and Business in the People’s Republic of China. She received her LL.M. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Ritsumeikan University in Japan; completed her studies at the College of Law (Guildford) in the United Kingdom; and is a Ph.D. candidate in Law at China University of Political Science and Law. Cheng is currently a visiting scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Cheng is admitted to practice in New York, the People’s Republic of China, and in England and Wales where she is a solicitor. Before becoming a partner at the AnJie Law Firm, she was an associate at Jones Day and a senior associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Cheng was Legal Counsel for the Omron Corporation in its Beijing office, and also a partner at other law firms in Beijing.
 

LUNCH IN THE BOARDROOM: A Conversation with Jenifer Joyce ’90, U.S. Foreign Service Officer

There is NO CLE credit for this program.
 

  • Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013
  • Time: 12:50 p.m.–1:50 p.m.
  • Location: Boardroom (W204)
  • Lunch: A free lunch will be provided.
  • RSVP: Michael.Rhee@nyls.edu


Working on nearly every continent in the world, Foreign Service Officers promote American interests through public diplomacy, protect U.S. citizens traveling and working abroad, and maintain economic and political relations with other nations. Along with people from a wide range of careers, the ranks of the Foreign Service include many lawyers. In her talk, Jenifer Joyce ’90 will discuss her career as a Foreign Service Officer and explain how she uses her legal background to carry out her work in various posts around the world.

A 1990 graduate of New York Law School, Ms. Joyce has served as Consular Officer in Colombia; Embassy Political Officer in India and Israel; Program Officer in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration at the U.S. State Department; and as the Chief of the American Citizens Services Unit in Taiwan. She is currently a U.S. State Department Fellow in the Office of Congressman Joseph Crowley (NY-14). Before entering the Foreign Service, Ms. Joyce served as Counsel to the Committee on Transportation of the New York City Council.
 

LUNCH IN THE BOARDROOM: The Supreme Courts of France and the United States: A Comparative Perspective

There is NO CLE credit for this program.
 

  • Date: Thursday, January 24, 2013
  • Time: 12:50 p.m.–1:50 p.m.
  • Location: Boardroom (W204)
  • Lunch: A free lunch will be provided.
  • RSVP: Michael.Rhee@nyls.edu


Anne-Emmanuelle Deysine, Professor at Paris Ouest Nanterre University, will give an overview of the Supreme Courts of France and the United States, and compare and contrast these institutions within their respective cultural and political contexts.

Professor Deysine received her Juris Doctor from the Paris II Law School, and her Ph.D. on comparative campaign finance from the University of Paris. At Paris Ouest Nanterre University, she is Director of the Master’s Programme of International Business and Cross-cultural Negotiation. She had worked in the U.S. Senate for Senator Lowell Weicker Jr., as a legal adviser in Paris, and as a journalist. She has written books and articles on comparative political and legal systems, lobbying in the United States and the EU, international business transactions, and drafting and negotiating of international contracts, among other topics.
 

LUNCH IN THE BOARDROOM: A Conversation with F. Peter Phillips, International Arbitrator and Mediator

There is NO CLE credit for this program.
 

  • Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2013
  • Time: 12:50 p.m.–1:50 p.m.
  • Location: New York Law School, 185 West Broadway, Boardroom (W-204)
  • Lunch: A free lunch will be provided.
  • RSVP: Michael.Rhee@nyls.edu


F. Peter Phillips will discuss the challenges that cross-cultural business presents to attorneys who consult clients in forming deals; in monitoring and recalibrating deals in light of changed circumstances; and in negotiating and obtaining the value of deals in international enforcement proceedings. Peter Phillips is an arbitrator, mediator, and consultant practicing through Business Conflict Management LLC.

A former Senior Vice President of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, Mr. Phillips is the author of the chapter on “International Mediation” in The Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Guide (West) and a contributor to the volume Mediation Techniques. He is a writer and co-director of a series of films on the use of mediation in disputes between corporations and communities available at www.BASESwiki.org. Mr. Phillips is also a member of the UIA's World Mediation Forum, the London College of International Arbitration, and the International Mediation Institute. At New York Law School, he teaches International Commercial Dispute Resolution.