Press release
his month, a Yale Law School delegation made the School’s first ever official visit to Asia, as part of a broader effort to build relationships internationally. Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law Heather K. Gerken, as well as Yale Law faculty, visited Japan and China Jan. 6–10.
The trip affirmed the Law School’s commitment to broadening access to legal education, said Gerken. “At a moment when, across the globe, there is enormous pressure to close the doors of universities, now is the time to open ours still wider,” she said.
Visits with university and law school administrators and faculty in Japan and China offered many opportunities to explore common ground and build new relationships.
During the first stage of the trip, Gerken visited the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Law, where she met with Vice Dean Shusuke Kakiuchi, Professor Kichimoto Asaka, and Professor Masami Okino to discuss the shared goals for training the next generation of lawyers and leaders. Among other issues, the group spoke about the challenges and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence and faculty work on this issue at both institutions.
Dean Gerken also visited Waseda Law School, where she met with university officials to discuss international affairs and the unique challenges facing higher education institutions. Following this meeting, Gerken met with Aiji Tanaka, President of Waseda University, to discuss interdisciplinary educational approaches at Waseda and Yale, and to affirm the enduring friendship between the two institutions.
Michael Wishnie ’93, the William O. Douglas Clinical Professor of Law at Yale Law School, joined Gerken for a fireside chat with alumni as part of an evening reception hosted by Yale Law School with support from the Yale Club of Japan. Wishnie spoke about his clinical work serving the veteran and immigrant communities, and the value of hands-on training for future lawyers.
The next stage of the trip brought Gerken to Beijing, where Tsinghua University law students gave her a tour of their campus and law school library.
Following the tour, Gerken met with Tsinghua Law School Dean Guangquan Zhou and several faculty members and administrators with experience in international affairs. The wide-ranging discussion touched on the benefits of a global perspective for future lawyers and leaders, the shared challenges posed by artificial intelligence, and the importance of exchanges where students and scholars can experience new cultures and approaches to legal education.
The capstone of the trip was the Peking University-Yale Law School Forum on Legal Scholarship and Education, held Jan. 9 at Peking University Law School, for which Gerken delivered the keynote address. Gerken was introduced by Peking University Law School Dean Guo Li.
In her remarks, Gerken spoke about the importance of training lawyers who are good global citizens — whether in New Haven or Beijing.
“As partners in the project of legal education, we cannot do better than to remember that our shared legacy is our students, and we must ensure that they have the tools they need to create a bright future,” she said during her address.
More at
https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/dean-gerken-visits-japan-and-china-strengthen-international-ties
