Shortbursts: Hampden-Sydney visit, LENS Conference update, and more!

Shortbursts is an occasional feature of Lawfire® designed to provide short news pieces or updates on a variety of matters.

Terrific visit to Hampden-Sydney College

On Thursday, February 1, I had the privilege of talking to an audience of young men at Hampden-Sydney College, VA, about “The Law of War and 21st Century Conflicts” focusing on the phenomena of lawfare. 

Prior to the presentation, I was able to meet at a dinner with several students, along with the director of the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest Director Vinton Bruton IV, and Communications and Programs Coordinator Jennifer Meitz. 

Joy and I with our student dinner companions

The young men at Hampden-Sydney truly impressed me with their interest in world events along with the myriad of ways they serve their own community.  The students I had the opportunity to spend time with exhibited a caliber of leadership, vision and desire to serve, as well as a keen interest in learning that was exciting to see. 

With Ms. Meitz and Prof Bruton

And, they are fortunate to have US Marine Corps veteran Vinton Bruton IV now leading their Wilson Center on Leadership in the Public Interest with his energy, expertise and ideas.

The Wilson Center has the vital mission of Preparing men of character for lives of consequence,” so it was great to hear about the activities Vinton currently offers students (and his involvement in the college’s national security minor), as well as his plans for the future.

Though I had spoken at Hampden-Sydney many years ago, I was re-connected by the Honorable Dr. John Hillen, a friend from way back. 

John, who has a BA from Duke, enjoyed enormous success in the military (where we crossed paths), the State Department, business, and now in academia. Equipped with a PhD from Oxford University he holds the James C. Wheat Professor in Leadership Chair at the Wilson Center where he is no doubt making quite an impact.  A military/Duke connection can often make it a small world!

Hampden-Sydney is a historic college dating back to 1775, but today it’s helping our country build a strong future through the young men it’s educating.  It was an honor to be in the midst of that, and I was thrilled to learn that some students will be joining us for the 29th Annual National Security Law conference.   

NSLS and LENS Luncheon with Bobby Bishop

One of the aims of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) is to help students connect with experts in the many aspects of national security.  Last Wednesday LENS co-hosted a luncheon with Duke’s National Security Law Society (NSLS) which featured Duke Law’s own Robert “Bobby” Bishop. Professor Bishop has had a remarkable career which he discussed with the students at the luncheon. 

And there was a lot to talk about: just prior to coming to Duke Law he served as the senior advisor on financial markets at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the COVID-19 pandemic.  That’s not all.  His resume also includes advising a Commissioner at the SEC and serving with the Department of Defense.

And, wow, what an education he has had!  He holds an AB from the University of Chicago, JD and MBA from Columbia University, and MA, MPhil, and PhD from Yale University. After law school, he clerked on the Delaware Court of Chancery. Students very much enjoyed hearing his advice for succeeding in a variety of different legal and non-legal careers, as well as his current research interests and ultra-marathoning hobby.

Commissioner Crenshaw

As I say, this is exactly the kind of in-person event that the NSLS and LENS love to sponsor, especially since many of the issues Professor Bishop addressed in his career illustrate the myriad of ways national security can impact business matters. 

Along that line, Bobby will be doing a ‘fireside chat’ with Security and Exchange Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw at the National Security Law conference.  Their discussion topic is “Business and American National Security” so you don’t want to miss it!.

New participant for the “Careers in National Security Law” panel

In connection with our Annual Conference, we traditionally have what we call an “Early Arrival Event.”  This year’s will address “Careers in National Security Law” and will be held here at the Law School on Thursday, Feb 22 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

I’m excited to tell you that Mr. Tom Lee has kindly agreed to join the panel!  Here’s Tom’s incredible bio:

Thomas H. Lee is Special Counsel in Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s New York office and the Leitner Family Professor of International Law at Fordham Law School. He has litigated petitions, appeals and dispositive motions in the U.S. Supreme Court, other federal courts, and New York state courts; advised U.S. and other non-Korean companies on doing business and investing in Korea; advised the U.S. and foreign governments on international law; has expertise and experience in international commercial and investor-state arbitration; and has litigated and advised private and government clients on data protection and cyberlaw.

He has written dozens of articles about international law, U.S. foreign relations law, constitutional law, and federal courts. He has also been a visiting law professor at Columbia, Harvard, and the University of Virginia; U.S. law adviser to the Constitutional Court of Korea; and Special Counsel to the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense, for which he received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.

Before joining the firm, he served as a law clerk to Justice David Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge Michael Boudin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and as a U.S. naval cryptology officer deployed in the Western Pacific Ocean and ashore in Korea and Japan and with the National Security Agency. 

Tom will join these terrific people on the “Careers in National Security” panel.  NOTE:  This pre-conference event does NOT require LENS Conference registration.

New Undergrad Liaison for LENS!

Ms. Faith Austin has been selected as the new Undergraduate Liaison for the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security.  She will work various projects for LENS, and will be the point of contact for Duke undergrads.  Ms Austin has an awesome bio: as a first-year undergraduate student she’s studying International Comparative Studies and Economics between both the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University, made possible by the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program.

Growing up in Indiana, Faith was first exposed to conversations surrounding national security while living in Munich, Germany on the U.S. State Department’s Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange scholarship. She is currently a cadet at Duke’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 585, a student in the Department of Defense’s Russian Flagship Program, and program coordinator for the Carolina Women in National Security Association. Faith seeks to go to law school in the future. 

LENS Conference fully booked!

Our 29th Annual National Security Law conference set for Feb 23-24 is now fully booked – thank you to those who registered!!!.  If you are still interested in attending, watch this space as we will announce any openings that may arise.

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