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IU McKinney students, faculty, staff, and alumni met with the leadership of World Trade Center Indianapolis, members of a trade delegation from Saudi Arabia, and engineers from Purdue University. The visit took place over lunch in downtown Indianapolis in late February 2022. WTC Indianapolis president Doris Sadler organized the gathering.

“IU McKinney is the first and thus far only law school in the world with a World Trade Center partnership agreement,” said Professor Frank Emmert. He is the John S. Grimes Professor of Law, executive director of the Center for International and Comparative Law, and the faculty advisor for the Master of Laws track in World Trade Law at IU McKinney. LL.M. students who pursue this track are required to do a six-month internship at WTC Indianapolis to get exposure to real-world trade relations, case studies, and challenges. Students in IU McKinney’s J.D. program also may take part in a similar externship as an optional component of their studies.

Denise Chisveto (in the first row at the far right) is the first LL.M. student to study the LL.M. track at IU McKinney. She is from Zimbabwe and graduated from the University of Eswatini, formerly known as the University of Swaziland, where she found her niche in international trade and investment law. The first student to take part in the WTC Indianapolis externship program was Lin Zhu, LL.M. ’17. She organized a trade delegation visit from the World Trade Center in Harbin, China, and later worked for the organization after completing her legal studies. She presently works at the World Trade Center Shanghai.

IU McKinney J.D. student Max Mohr completed an externship with WTC Indianapolis in 2021. He created a webinar for government officials in less developed regions to advise them how to improve their country risk rating and attract more foreign investment.

Greg Zoeller, former WTC president and adjunct professor at IU McKinney, helped form the partnership between the organization and the law school. “The partnership between our World Trade Center and the McKinney School of Law provides unique opportunities for students to gain experience while developing a global network of future emissaries for Indianapolis and Indiana,” Zoeller said. “Having international companies such as Cummins provide educational opportunities for students in the World Trade Law program provides significant benefits for everyone involved and we are actively seeking more companies to partner with us to grow the program.”   

Others in the photo with IU McKinney connections include (first row) Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs Miki Hamstra (far left); LL.M. student Egbeichi Okoro (second from left) who is studying the World Trade Law track; Professor Emmert (fourth from left); Max Mohr (sixth from left); Min Du, LL.M. ’17; and Denise Chisveto (far right). In the second row are WTC president Doris Sadler (third from left), Greg Zoeller (fourth from left), and Dinesh Castellino, LL.M. ’17 (far right), deputy general counsel at Cummins, Inc.