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Pepperdine Law Celebrates Commencement 2009
Pepperdine University School of Law will celebrate commencement at 10:30 a.m. on May 22 in Alumni Park on the Malibu campus. From the class of 2009, John J. Gehart, III, will give the invocation, Jeffrey C. Wyss will lead the Pledge of Allegiance, Rachel A. Rossi will lead the National Anthem, and Steven R. Houchin will give the student address.
Barbara A. Jones (JD '89), a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, will receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Gary A. Haugen, the founder, president, and CEO of International Justice Mission, will give the commencement address.
About Gary A. Haugen
Gary A. Haugen is the founder, president, and CEO of International Justice Mission (IJM), a human rights agency headquartered in Washington, D.C. Established in 1997, IJM works with national governments to provide rescue and restoration efforts for victims of violent abuse, and to ensure that public justice systems work to protect the poor from slavery, sexual exploitation, and other violent forms of oppression.
IJM maintains 14 field offices throughout Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Prior to founding IJM, Haugen served as a senior trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1994 he was detailed to the United Nations Center for Human Rights to direct the genocide investigation in Rwanda where he developed investigative strategy and protocols for obtaining eyewitness testimony and evidence from mass-grave and massacre sites across Rwanda.
Previous to that appointment he held positions with the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and with the National Initiative for Reconciliation in South Africa. Haugen currently serves on the Human Rights Leadership Coalition and on the Board of Overseers of the Berkeley Journal of International Law. He is the 2007 recipient of Prison Fellowship's annual William Wilberforce Award.
As a renowned authority on human rights Haugen has appeared on television shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and Dateline NBC, and been featured on CNN, FOX News, and National Public Radio. He has published numerous articles which have appeared in such publications as Forbes and the New York Times; and he is the author of several books including Just Courage: God's Great Expedition for the Restless Christian (2008).
Haugen received his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University, and he received his juris doctor, cum laude, from the University of Chicago, where he was the Ford Foundation Scholar in International Law. Haugen resides with his wife, Jan, in Washington, D.C.
About Barbara A. Jones
Barbara A. Jones is a partner in the international law firm of McDermott Will & Emery in Boston, Massachusetts, where she heads the Securities Practice Group. Jones maintains a diverse corporate and securities law practice specializing in international and domestic transactions. She has represented some of the largest corporations in the world, serving as counsel to investment banks, financial institutions, and private equity groups, as well as public and private companies in the biotechnology, information technology, energy, telecommunications, media, and entertainment industries.
Jones began her career with Sullivan & Cromwell in Los Angeles and transferred with that firm to London in 1990. She headed Kirkland & Ellis' international capital markets practice in London from 1999 to 2003. Previous to that she was with J. P. Morgan Securities, also in London, where she served as vice president, assistant general counsel, and regional counsel for capital markets in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
As a securities law expert, Jones is in high demand as a speaker at conferences on cross-border securities and alternative financing strategies, and has published widely on these topics. Jones is the current chair of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Subcommittee on International Securities Matters. She has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in corporate and mergers and acquisitions, and noted for her private equity work by The Legal 500.
Jones received her bachelor's degree, with honors, from Michigan State University. She earned her J.D, magna cum laude, from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1989, where she served as editor of the Pepperdine Law Review. A strong supporter of the School of Law, Jones serves as an active member of the Board of Visitors and has also established a scholarship to assist members of the law review. Barbara Jones resides with her children in Needham, Massachusetts.
For more information on commencement, visit the School of Law Web site.
