Date & Time: Thursday March 8, 2012 – 7:30 PM
Location: Montgomery Community College (Rockville Campus) – Humanity Building (HU), Conference Room 009 ( Get Directions, Campus Map )
Speaker: Dr. Morad Eghbal 
On February 28, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in this very case, Kiobel v. Royal Ducht Shell Company. In 2010, the Second Circuit ruled in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum that the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”), which allows lawsuits in U.S. courts for violations of international law, does not create a legal basis for suits against corporations. This decision is now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court with oral arguments heard on Tuesday, February 28. The Court’s ruling could have major ramifications for the future of litigation against corporations in U.S. courts for human rights violations that take place outside the United States. The discussion delves into what questions the Court asked, what the oral argument suggests for a decision later this year, and what lies ahead for the ATS.
About the Speaker:
Morad Eghbal received his degrees in geology, geophysics, Germanic Literature and minor in B. Admin. from GWU and graduate degree in philosophy and social policy with an area concentration in natural resource management. He worked as a geologist with Stephan Riess, a world-renowned mining engineer and geologist. Both focusing on water and mines in West and Southwest US. Following a decade of work, he studied law at Howard Law School and earned his Juris Doctorate. He briefly joined a law firm in Switzerland working on cases in international banking and finance law, then worked as a Federal judicial law clerk at the US District Court for the District of Columbia. He relocated to Sacramento, CA to join a law firm with responsibilities that included litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and international trade. He also earned a post-doctoral law degree, LL.M. in Transnational Business Practice, from McGeorge School of Law, and a number of diplomas from various law schools in Europe. After relocating to Washington, D.C., he taught for 20 years at Howard University and 15 years at the University of Baltimore (UB) as a faculty in the Business School, the College of Liberal Arts and the Law School. In 1999, he began serving as the Assistant Director and later as Deputy Director for International and Comparative Law, developing a graduate law program for UB, aimed at further training academicians and judicial personnel worldwide. Upon completing this tour of duty, he joined Plasmera.
Fee (including dinner): $5 Students, $15 Public
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