News Archive

IU McKinney’s Master of Laws program will commemorate its 15th anniversary with a daylong symposium, capped by an awards reception for some of its most illustrious alumni, on September 8 at Inlow Hall.

LL.M. Early Career Achievement Award:

Fernanda Beraldi, LL.M. ’15

Beraldi is Director of International Ethics and Compliance and Corporate Counsel at Cummins, Inc. Prior to enrolling at IU McKinney to study for her LL.M., she was Senior Legal Counsel for Embraer, an aircraft manufacturer based in San Jose dos Campos, Brazil.

Milkah Murugi Cheptinga, LL.M. ’14

Cheptinga is Project Coordinator for the Legal Aid Centre of Eldoret in Kenya, where she has worked since 2009. She is a member of the Law Society of Kenya, and the Federation of Women Lawyers of Kenya.

Distinguished LL.M. Alumni Award:

Ujala Akram, LL.M. ‘07

Akram is the founding dean of Blackstone School of Law, in Lahore, Pakistan. Prior to this role, she was an assistant dean at Santa Clara University, where she also served as a director of admissions and financial aid. She also taught at and headed an academic department with the United States Department of Defense.

Achim Foerster, LL.M. ‘06

Foerster is a Professor of Copyright Law, Media Law and Policy at the University of Applied Sciences Wuerzburg-Schweinfurt. Prior to his current position, he was a Public Prosecutor with focus on Computer and Internet Crime and held a position as a Judge at the District Court Schweinfurt, Germany.

Rahma Hersi, LL.M. ‘08

Hersi is an Islamic finance lawyer, consultant, and trainer now working as director of Awal Consulting Limited. She is a founding member of the organization, which is the first Islamic advisory and consulting firm in Kenya.

Irene Victoria Massimino, LL.M. ‘05

Massimino as an officer of the High Criminal Court of Buenos Aires Province (Tribunal of Cassation) in Argentina. She also is currently a Head Professor of Human Rights in Latin American in the Department of International Education at the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, Argentina.

Awards for Honorable Mention will be presented to:

Service to IU: Shishir Deshpande, LL.M. ‘06

Deshpande is an attorney practicing in the Supreme Court of India. His practice areas include appellate litigation in civil, commercial, real estate, banking and laws relating to employment and industrial disputes. He is the current President and co-founder of the Indiana University Alumni Association, Delhi chapter.

Social Justice: Raio Krishnayya, LL.M. ‘11

A magna cum laude graduate of IU McKinney, Krishnayya founded the Center for Victim and Human Rights (CVHR), a nonprofit legal services and educational outreach organization, in 2008. In 2016, he was awarded the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for his work.

The celebration will offer panel discussions that feature LL.M. alumni as speakers, with IU McKinney faculty serving as moderators, in addition to the keynote address, featuring former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. A total of 6.0 hours of Indiana CLE credit are available.

To learn more about the event, visit the IU McKinney website.