Who am I?
I am a US-educated and qualified international attorney and a social scientist. I combine my social science training with my legal education and have been involved in international human rights and the rule of law research and advocacy. I hold a J.D. in law, an M.A. in history, and a Ph.D. in evolutionary anthropology/archaeology. I was the director of a large multi-year multidisciplinary research project in Peru and participated in several other research projects in Latin America and Europe. In addition to my academic interests in evolutionary theory and international law, I have been a practicing attorney for over twenty years, initially at Hogan Lovells, later at Morgan Lewis, and finally as an Assistant General Counsel at GlaxoSmithKline.
I have held several public offices, among them chair of the International Human Committee of the Philadelphia Bar and a member of the Working Group on Law and Anthropology for the Commission for Human Rights for the American Anthropological Association (AAA). I am a chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) International Law Section Women’s Interest Network and the International Human Rights Committee of the ABA’s International Law Section. From 2019 to 2021, I was a presidential appointee to the Advisory Committee for ABA’s Center for Human Rights. I am a member of the Ukraine Task Force organized by the New York State Bar Association and a member of ABA’s Afghan Judicial Resettlement Task Force.
On March 8, 2022, I received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Third Annual International Law Conference on the Status of Women organized by the New York City Bar with the co-sponsorship of the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.
What do I teach?
I have taught social science courses at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Pennsylvania, and Rutgers University, as well as international law and human rights law at the Georgetown University Law Center. I also teach interdisciplinary courses and courses on research methods used by historians, anthropologists, and archeologists.
What are my academic interests?
I am interested in the theoretical foundation of modern human rights laws and their applicability in a diverse world, especially in cases of culturally disadvantaged and discriminated groups such as women, minorities, and indigenous populations.
Why ISSC?
We live in an increasingly complicated and diverse world. It is essential to understand how legal regimes operate within various cultural contexts, have familiarity with modern research methods and data collection techniques, and, most importantly, it is crucial to know how to think like a researcher to recognize current sociocultural and legal trends at work and be able to contribute to the society meaningfully. ISSC is a perfect fit as it advances multidisciplinary research and cooperation and promotes critical thinking.
My links:
https://emory.academia.edu/ElizabethMZechenterhttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizabeth-Zechenter
