News Archive

The Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law marked the 15^th anniversary of its Master of Laws Program with a daylong symposium at Inlow Hall on September 8. Since launching the program in 2002, more than 650 students from 71 different countries have earned LL.M. degrees from IU McKinney. The celebration featured panel discussions with LL.M. alumni, many of whom traveled from their home countries to serve as speakers and share their unique expertise on a variety of subjects. The event was followed by a reception at which some of the program’s most illustrious alumni were honored.

The symposium’s first panel discussed the topic, “The Challenges and Opportunities of Global Legal Practice.” Panelists were Fernanda Beraldi, LL.M. ’15, who serves as the Director, Ethics and Compliance - International, and Corporate Counsel, at Cummins, Inc.; Azalea Assaf DeFord, LL.M. ’12, who is the Director of Strategic Planning and Programming at the Indiana Department of Revenue; and Jeff Papa, J.D. ’99, LL.M. ’10, who is a partner in the Indianapolis office of law firm Barnes & Thornburg.

The second panel of the day focused on the topic, “Challenging International Issues and Role of Law.” Panelists were Ruben Castillo Roner, LL.M. ’14, from Panama, who is an associate in the law firm Mendoza Arias Valle & Castillo; Shuai Leng, LL.M. ‘07, from China, who is a partner at the DHH Law Firm, and a Ph.D. candidate at Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Law; and Tian Feng, LL.M. ‘06, who is a Professor of Law at Beijing Institute of Technology Zhuhai Civil and Commercial Law School, and General Council at Zhuhai Financial Investment Holding Group Corp. of China.

The day’s keynote speaker was former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. Peterson served as Indianapolis mayor from 1999 through 2007. He then served as a fellow at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics, where he led study groups on urban political issues he confronted during his time as mayor, including building arts communities, education reform, creation and maintenance of sports facilities, and homelessness. Peterson then joined Eli Lilly and Company as senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications, a post he held until March 2017.

“Development, and Human and Victim Rights: Domestic and International Perspectives,” was the topic for the symposium’s third panel. Discussants were Rahma Hersi, LL.M. ’08, from Kenya, who is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Awal Consulting Group; Achim Förster, LL.M. ‘06, from Germany, where he is a professor at the University of Applied Sciences Wuerzburg Schweinfurt; and Irene Victoria Massimino, LL.M. ’05, from Argentina, where she is an officer of the High Criminal Court of Buenos Aires Provence.

The program’s final panel of the day talked about “IU McKinney’s Graduate Studies Program: Celebrating our Past and Looking Toward the Future.” Panelists included the founding dean of the LL.M. program, Professor Emeritus Jeffrey W. Grove; Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark Massa, ’89; Indiana Court of Appeals Judge John Baker; Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and International Affairs Karen Bravo; Associate Director of Professional Development and Pro Bono Jennifer Thuma; and Founder and Chairman of the World Trade Center Indianapolis Greg Zoeller.

In the photo at right, are some of the panelists and honorees from the event. They are, from left, Shishir Deshpande, LL.M. ’06; Associate Director of Professional Development and Pro Bono Jennifer Thuma; Indiana Supreme Court Justice Mark Massa, ’89; Irene Victoria Massimino, LL.M. ’05; Tian Feng, LL.M. ’06; Professor Emeritus Jeffrey W. Grove, the founder of the IU McKinney LL.M. Program; Azalea Assaf DeFord, LL.M. ’12; Achim Förster, LL.M. ’06; Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and International Affairs Karen Bravo; Founder and Chairman of the World Trade Center Indianapolis Greg Zoeller; IU McKinney Vice Dean Antony Page; and Shuai Leng, LL.M. ’07.

Awards honoring distinguished LL.M. alumni, as well as celebrating the early career achievement for Master of Laws graduates, were presented during a reception at the conclusion of the symposium.

Fernanda Beraldi, LL.M. ’15, received one of the awards for early career achievement. 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. She is in the photo at right, on the right, with Dean Bravo.

Milkah Murugi Cheptinga, LL.M. ’14, also received an award for early career achievement. She is in the photo at right, on the left, with Dean Bravo. 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.

Achim Förster, LL.M. ’06, in the photo at left with Dean Bravo, was the recipient of one of the Distinguished LL.M. Alumni Awards. Förster 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, also was presented with a Distinguished LL.M. Alumni Award. She is in the photo at right with Dean Bravo. 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, in the photo at left with Dean Bravo, also received a Distinguished LL.M. Alumni Award. 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.

Ujala Akram, LL.M. ’07, who was unable to attend the event, also was honored with a Distinguished LL.M. Alumni Award. 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.

An Honorable Mention Award was presented to Shishir Deshpande, LL.M. ’06, for service to IU. He is in the photo at right with Dean Bravo. 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.

Raio Krishnayya, LL.M. ’11, received an Honorable Mention Award. He is in the photo at left with Dean Bravo. 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.

Finally, the Recognition of Founding Faculty Award was presented to Professor of Law Emeritus Jeffrey W. Grove. IU McKinney Dean Andrew R. Klein, in the photo at right, presented the honor to Professor Grove.