Art Portfolio

 This is a selection of my art portfolio, mainly drawings but also some paintings. My work covers a wide variety of media, including charcoal, pastels, ink, mixed media, Conté crayons and some oil and acrylic paintings mixed in. These pieces represent a range of genre, from Realism to Surrealism to Cubism to Montage to Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism. I hope you will enjoy browsing.

Title: “Part Time” 
Notes: Colored pencil and pastel. 13 in. x 14 in. 
This cubistic piece displays simultaneous views of a watch. The shading contributes an element of ambiguity.

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Title: “Pickled-Banana”
Notes: Colored pencil. 9.5 in. x15 in.
This surrealistic representation of a floating pickle-banana was inspired by René Magritte, an artist who toyed with the juxtaposition of unrelated images, as well as by a dream I had of biting into a crunchy banana.

Title: “Prehistoric Man”
Notes: Conte pencil. 11.5 in. x 17 in.
caveman conte drawing pencil portrait

Title: “Chess 2.2”
Notes: Oil. 24 in. x 20 in.
Based on a photo reference.
oil chess surrealism painting perspective still-life

Title: “Bananas 2”
Notes: Acrylic. 30 in. x 18 in.
Still-life. Bananas were initially photographed and this painting was based on the photograph reference.  

Title: "Silhouette"
Notes: Charcoal and pastel

Title: “Hand”
Notes: Pastel. 13 in. x 11.5 in.
A drawing of my hand focusing on surface planes.
Hand. Contour drawing. drawings still-life pastel 

Title: "Models 3"
Notes: Pencil. 10.25 in. x 14.75 in.
models realism pencil drawings figurative
 

Title: “Pen and Notepad”
Notes: Paper collage. 15 in. x 12 in. Mar. 1997.
This collage was painstakingly assembled by pasting together hundreds of cut-outs from magazines. 
Collage. Notepad and pen.

Title: “Oranges”
Notes: Acrylic. 14.25 in. x 10 in. Spring 1994.
acrylic painting fruit orange

Title: “Sito”
Notes: Acrylic paint. 25 in. x 17 in.
After reading about German Expressionists and Fauvism in The Visual Arts: A History, I couldn’t help but undertake this Fauves-inspired, broad brush-strokes painting.  
abstract acrylic portrait painting

Title: "Teacups" 
Notes: Photograph. 6 in. x 6 in.

Title: “Troubled Woman”
Notes: Pastel. 17 in. x 23.5 in. 
The colors and worm-like scribble lines in this drawing create an unsettling atmosphere and add to the woman’s anxious state.  This drawing was done with a photo reference. 
Portrait. Troubled woman. Pastel. 

Title: "Zipper"
Notes: Pastel, Conte pencil.
pastel Conte pencil drawing 

Title: “Horse”
Notes: Pencil. 14 in. x 11 in.
This was one of the first pieces I undertook in my college drawing class. Based on a photo, this drawing was the fruit of hours of labor undertaken during breaks from reading Descartes, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Burke, Mill, Marx, Nietzsche, and the other readings of Contemporary Civilization.
horse animal pencil drawing

Reflections on the International Bar Association Annual Conference

The International Bar Association’s Annual Conference brought together leading attorneys and pioneers in international law, human rights, criminal law, international humanitarian law, sanctions, the rule of law and transitional justice to give updates on their fields, explore emerging ethnical issues and discuss innovations in justice and accountability.

Karim Khan addresses the creation of an international tribunal for the crime of aggression

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan joined the Annual Conference as a keynote speaker. In a session chaired by IBA Executive Director Mark Ellis, Mr. Khan addressed the proposal of establishing a tribunal with a mandate to investigate and prosecute the leadership of Russia for the crime of aggression. He argued that such a tribunal could lead to the fragmentation of the international criminal justice system, while also raising questions as to why such a tribunal would be set up to try Russia but not other states for the crime of aggression. He argued that the existing international legal framework embodied in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was sufficiently vigorous to hold the leaders of Russia accountable for international crimes. He also discussed the need to ensure an impartial investigation of both sides of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

My panel on corporate liability for international crimes

I spoke on two panels. The first, hosted by the Human Rights Law Committee and Criminal Law Committee and chaired by Melinda Taylor, an attorney practicing before the International Criminal Court, examined efforts to establish a hybrid African tribunal with jurisdiction to try both international crimes and human rights violations. The panel explored the Protocol on Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights (the Malabo Protocol), which was adopted by the African Union in 2014 to include international criminal jurisdiction within the remit of the proposed African Court of Justice and Human Rights. I addressed the Malabo Protocol from a comparative legal perspective, examining the human rights mechanisms available in the Middle East region through the Arab Charter on Human Rights and the proposed Arab Court of Human Rights.

The second panel, hosted by the Business Crime Committee and the Rule of Law Forum and chaired by Sonya Maeder Morvant and Jonathan Mattout, addressed corporate liability for war crimes. I discussed the shift in recent years from prosecutions at international tribunals to the use of national proceedings at domestic courts to seek accountability for international crimes. I also addressed the role of civil society organizations in holding corporate actors liable for complicity in international crimes. The panel and audience debated whether corporations should be held criminally liable for the acts of their officers and directors. Raphael Pangalangan, who joined the audience from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, suggested that administrative actions such as fines may be better suited for holding corporations accountable.

The choir of the Budapest Bar Association performs a premium concert

Multiple bar associations hosted events throughout the week. The Choir of the Budapest Bar Association threw a Concert performed by Law Singers at the Conseil National des Barreaux. The choir performed an eclectic mix of classical and popular songs in English, French and Italian, among other languages. The Ukrainian Bar Association hosted a breakfast on 1 November that explored measures aimed at restoring the rule of law in Ukraine. The participants included Anton Korynevych, Ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, Executive Director of the International Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine; Jean-Marc Thouvenin, academic advisor, Secretary General of the Hague Academy of International Law; and Svitlana Romanova, Chief Legal Officer of Metinvest Group. Participants discussed the development of international legal mechanisms to compensate for damage caused to Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Homer Moyer launches the Rule of Law Forum with an opening address exploring the rule of law as a pillar of democracy

As always, the highlight of the Conference was the Rule of Law Forum, held on Friday, 3 November. Homer Moyer, Senior Counsel of Miller & Chevalier and Founder of the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative (CEELI), launched the forum, reflecting on the meaning of the rule of law and its importance as a pillar of democracy. He described rule of law societies as those in which all persons were subject to the law, which circumscribed the powers of a limited government. He contrasted rule of law societies with tyrannies that flout the rule of law, resulting in infringements of basic rights and the eradication of fundamental freedoms. 

A topic that emerged throughout the Conference was economic sanctions. Panelists wrestled with how lawfare could be waged to punish states that violate the basic rules of the international order. On 3 November, the Rule of Law Symposium held a session chaired by Steven Kay KC of 9BR Chambers on the question of whether the rule of law applies to sanctions. Discussants addressed the perceived sense of unfairness amongst many of the individuals on whom targeted sanctions have been imposed. They observed how governments are granted wide powers to impose sanctions, sometimes on the basis of contested information and with low burdens of proof. The consequences of sanctions can be drastic, yet designated persons are not given an opportunity to be heard before sanctions are imposed.

At the Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP reception

Among the highlights of the Annual Conference were the law firm receptions. Curtis Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP hosted a cocktail that brought together the international human rights and humanitarian law community at its historic Paris office adjacent to Parc Monceau. LPA-CGR Avocats hosted a reception at an immaculate hall modelled after the Palais de Versailles. The International Bar Association threw a Host Reception at the magnificent Tribunal de Commerce. The International Bar Association Annual Conference and socials strengthened existing friendships and forged new ones.

Celebrating 12 Years of Service with Dentons

This month, as I conclude 12 years of service with the international law firm Dentons, I am opening a new chapter in my career by joining a new global law practice. To all the Dentons attorneys and staff that invested in my career over the past decade: Thank You. To all the clients who entrusted me with their legal affairs: Thank You.

There was never a quiet moment in my 12-year career with Dentons. From my first year as a junior associate to my twelfth year as a senior consultant, I was detailed to advise on some of the most groundbreaking projects in the Middle East, from multibillion-dollar public-private partnerships to international investigations across a dozen jurisdictions to advising on the burgeoning field of international human rights law. Throughout the journey, I had the privilege of working on landmark cases that will shape the future of the Middle East for generations to come.

As I close this chapter in my legal career with Dentons, I want to highlight the firm’s advocacy work on behalf of the most vulnerable segments of society. There is a scripture that has always moved me. It is from the book of Isaiah, one of the prophets of the world’s three major monotheistic faiths. Isaiah writes, “Learn to do right. Seek justice. Free the oppressed. Defend the cause of the orphan. Plead the case of the widow.” It is the work at Dentons that pled the case of the vulnerable and invisible that I want to spotlight here.

I can fill many pages with examples of our award-winning work as we pioneered human rights advocacy across the Middle East in ways that had never been done before, by establishing legal clinics in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Lesvos for refugees fleeing armed conflict in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and beyond and by setting up partnerships with international organizations and NGOs to advise on international human rights and humanitarian law. I will forever be grateful to all the Dentons attorneys across the Middle East who selflessly donated their time to those initiatives.

One example I will highlight is the legal clinic we co-founded on the Greek Island of Lesvos, photographed above, with a consortium of other law firms. I served as a volunteer project lawyer for that project in 2017, where I advised over 100 refugees and asylum seekers on the Refugee Convention and family reunification under the Dublin Regulation. That work made a significant and concrete positive impact on countless lives. In the Lesvos project alone, approximately 70% of clients supported were granted asylum. That’s more than double the national average in Greece. It’s a testimony to the value of legal advocacy and representation, and how lawyers can leverage the law as a tool to promote justice and human rights.

I vividly recall my visit to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2015 with a box of wooden stars painted in beautiful, bright colors by attorneys and staff in Dentons’ New York and Middle East offices. The stars bore messages such as “hope,” “peace,” “courage,” “safety” and “light,” written in Arabic and English. I visited refugee camps throughout northern Iraq, where I distributed those “Stars of Hope.” I still remember the excited look of the face of each Iraqi child as I handed them a Star of Hope. Their eyes lit up as though I had given them a priceless treasure.

Dentons partnered with the Norwegian Refugee Council in establishing legal clinics across the Middle East that supported refugees living in informal tented settlements and UNHCR refugee camps, like the one photographed below.

As the Iraqi security forces recaptured large swathes of territory that had been previously occupied by ISIL in 2016-2017, thousands of suspected members of ISIL were detained. The Iraqi courts were preparing to try them for the international crimes that they had committed. They looked for instructors to teach judges international humanitarian law and international criminal law as they prepared for the first-ever war crimes trials to be held in Iraq. Judges had no experience in adjudicating war crimes, crimes against humanity and other international crimes; international criminal law had not yet been domesticated into Iraqi law. I was tapped by the United Nations to teach those courses in Arabic to prosecutors, police investigators and judges, who would be adjudicating those cases. I gave workshops both virtually and in person across Iraq, both through UNITAD and later with UNAMI, as shown in the picture below with Iraqi police investigators.

Following the conclusion of those trainings, I attended dozens of the trials of captured members of ISIL by courts interspersed throughout Iraq as a trial monitor through a program jointly developed by the Clooney Foundation for Justice and the UN. I served as the eyes and ears of the international community, ensuring that the due process rights of detained members of armed groups were upheld.

Some of those trials echo in my mind like a bad dream that keeps returning to haunt me. I remember the trials of young boys, some barely teenagers, who were being charged on suspicion of terrorism. Those boys were born into armed conflict in the late 2000s and early 2010s. They never saw a day of peace in their lives. They fled Mosul after ISIL’s occupation in 2014, making Al-Hol refugee camp in northeast Syria their homes. When Al-Hol camp became overrun by ISIL in the last couple of years, the Syrian Democratic Forces began dismantling the camp and deporting refugees back into Iraq. Those boys were among those forcibly returned to Iraq, but rather than being reintegrated into Iraqi society, they were detained on suspicion of having joined ISIL. Attending those trials as a trial monitor, and witnessing some of the detainees, some of them still young teenagers, break down in tears during interrogations before investigative judges, reminded me of the fragility of the human condition, and the extent of the tragedy unfolding all around us as armed conflict rages on in Iraq, in Syria, in Yemen, in Sudan and beyond. Those young children, victims of the failure of the international community to provide them with the safe, loving and nurturing environments that every child needs to flourish and thrive, have been robbed of their childhoods, loaded with burdens too heavy to bear.

I can only hope that our work as advocates for prisoners, for the detained and for refugees has brought hope to the vulnerable. I believe it has, and am grateful to Dentons for relentlessly supporting my work over the past decade, both by financially supporting my projects and by allowing me a flexible work arrangement and time off to pursue human rights advocacy through the United Nations and partner organizations, and for all those who volunteered countless hours on a pro bono basis to UN Women, the Clooney Foundation for Justice, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the Public International Law and Policy Group, the International Law Institute, the International Refugee Assistance Project and the International Development Law Organization.

My hope is that the work I have done will inspire in others a love for international human rights law and fall in love with the field as I have. There is both truth and beauty in the idea of universal, first order, inherent rights that we all enjoy at all times, simply by virtue of our being human, rights that cannot be earned, lost or altered. Rights based on the equal moral status of all individuals, rights to life, equality and human dignity; gifts freely given to us, simply by virtue of our being human. This is a remarkable idea, a beautiful one that I hope every attorney will find worthy of defending.

IBA War Crimes Committee shines a light on corporate liability cases

I had the privilege to join a panel that was hosted by the IBA War Crimes Committee on corporate liability for violations of international humanitarian law, international criminal law and international human rights law at the IBA Annual Conference in Miami last month. The panel, which was moderated by Danya Chaikel, Co-Vice Chair of the IBA’s War Crimes Committee, explored past and current cases where corporate entities or their officers have been investigated and, in some cases, criminally charged and convicted or faced civil suits for core international crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In my remarks, I spoke about prominent international criminal law cases brought against corporations in Canada, Europe and the United States. The criminal cases I highlighted include the complaint filed against TotalEnergies in France in October 2022 for complicity in alleged war crimes in Ukraine; the prosecution against Lafarge in France and the United States for crimes against humanity in Syria; and the case filed this year in France against Dassault and other defense contractors for alleged complicity for war crimes in Yemen. I also discussed civil cases brought under statutes, such as the Alien Tort Claims Act, that permit victims of atrocity crimes to seek monetary damages. Among the cases I highlighted are the Nevsun Resources case, which was brought in Canada in 2014 for alleged complicity for crimes against humanity in Eritrea; the case filed against BNP Paribas in France in 2017 for alleged complicity for war crimes in Rwanda; and the case filed against Meta Platforms (Facebook) in 2021 in California alleging complicity for genocide in Myanmar. I noted a trend marked by an acceleration of international criminal law cases filed recently and predicted that within the next five to seven years, every major law firm would have a human rights department to represent clients accused of violations of international human rights law, international criminal law and international humanitarian law.

The panel brought together the following specialists in international humanitarian and criminal law:

-       Danya Chaikel, Co-Vice Chair of the IBA’s War Crimes Committee, as moderator;

-        Reena Devgun of the War Crimes Unit of the Swedish Prosecution Authority in Stockholm, Sweden;

-        John Balouziyeh of Dentons in Riyadh and UNAMI in Baghdad and North American Regional Forum Liaison Officer of the War Crimes Committee;

-        Tom Hamilton of the University of Amsterdam, The Hague, the Netherlands;

-       Kristin Rosella of Global Diligence LLP, a member of GD Alliance, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA;

-       Jamie Williamson of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA) based in Geneva, Switzerland.

For a summary of the session and a discussion on the general framework for corporate liability for violations of international criminal law, current cases, trends, challenges and recommendations, see the IBA’s web story covering the session at https://www.ibanet.org/IBA-War-Crimes-Committee-shines-a-light-on-corporate-liability-cases.

Following the panel, I was invited to speak on a second panel discussing how companies can mitigate their risk of liability for human rights violations by implementing human rights due diligences, adopting human rights policies and participating in human rights reporting frameworks.

The panel, which was moderated by Maria Fernanda Mierez of Beccar Varela in Buenos Aires and organized by the IBA Business Human Rights Committee, brought together Nina Gardner of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC and Lillian Rae Lindsay of Clifford Chance LLP in London. Further details and presentation materials and a reading list can be found at https://www.ibanet.org/session-details/se_100004.

Global law firm Dentons collaborated with UN Women on survey of international policy measures

Dentons offices supported UN Women by conducting research in 30 jurisdictions across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia on gender-responsive procurement (GRP) as a tool to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals. Last week, I was given the opportunity to present our findings at Dubai Expo 2020, where I was joined by my colleague Mhairi Main Garcia, Head of Dentons’ Middle East Energy, Transport and Infrastructure Group, in discussing the report findings in a panel session titled, “Emerging trends in GRP in the public and private sectors.” Raghad Aljughaiman, Project Expert in the Office of Entrepreneurship at the UAE Ministry of Economy, and Nihal Hashish, Senior Purchasing Manager at P&G, joined our panel, which was moderated by UN Women Entrepreneurship Expert Jennifer Bland.

Our multi-year research across 30 jurisdictions around the world makes clear that it won’t be possible to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals unless women’s economic participation is promoted, and women’s rights are protected.

To read more, see Dentons’ press release at https://www.dentons.com/en/about-dentons/news-events-and-awards/news/2022/january/global-law-firm-dentons-collaborates-with-un-women-on-survey-of-international-policy-measures.

Dentons and UN Women plan to launch the multi-jurisdictional GRP report on International Women’s Day on 8 March, 2022.

Our panel highlighted best practices found in Dentons' research across 30 jurisdictions.

“Doing well by doing good: Human rights as a pillar of corporate social responsibility”

I’m delighted to share a new series of articles on business and human rights, entitled, “Doing well by doing good: Human rights as a pillar of corporate social responsibility.” In Part 1 of the series, my coauthor Catherine Gilfedder and I offer guidance on how multinational corporations, drawing on international best practices, can pioneer socially responsible business models. We pay tribute to the late John Ruggie, the UN Special Representative on human rights and business enterprises, who passed away last month, and explore his legacy. The article discusses how corporations, following the frameworks Ruggie designed, can partake in human rights reporting, monitor their supply chains and implement human rights policies. 

Photo by Eric Bridiers, U.S. Mission to the U.N. in Geneva, taken on December 4, 2012.

Read the full article, published by The Oath: The Middle East Law Journal for Corporates, at https://theoath-me.com/doing-well-by-doing-good-part-1.

In Part 2 of the series, to be published next month, Catherine and I will explore how human rights compliance is increasingly evolving into a legal obligation rather than a voluntary undertaking. We will examine laws that have already been passed in the EU requiring multinational corporations to partake in human rights monitoring and compliance, and the potential future of this trend in the Middle East.

Remembering 9/11 Twenty Years Later

I reported to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst today, as I have on countless other occasions, but on this occasion, everything looked different. The barracks have been converted into makeshift housing for hundreds of refugees who have been evacuated from Afghanistan. Tracks that once hosted 6:00 am runs have been converted into tented settlements for thousands of Afghan evacuees. Fields that were once barren have become a city of refuge, teaming with children flying kites and kicking soccer balls.

Today is the 20^th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. Those violent attacks brought destruction that forever altered history. They triggered America’s longest-standing armed conflict. The humanitarian relief being carried out at the joint military base symbolizes the polar opposite of 9/11; it embodies love and mercy, and demonstrates the humanity of the American people, a people who will sacrifice their resources and comfort and stand with the oppressed, carrying their burdens with them.

What I witnessed today was surreal: thousands of Afghans walking to and from their tents, men wearing the traditional shalwar kameez, women and girls wearing bright yellow and red hijabs, deep green abayas and ocean blue robes fluttering in the summer wind. The US military has built an entire city at Doughboy field, a field with which I have grown intimately familiar. The tarmac that once hosted our Army combat fitness tests, our 6:00 am sprints, ruck marches, deadlifts and shuttle runs now hosts Liberty Village, a city whose new residents will face persecution if returned to Afghanistan.

Twenty-foot tall tents have sprung up overnight across Liberty Village. Some of them serve as shelters. Others serve as cafeterias. Still others are storage facilities distributing clothing, shoes, sandals, even toys to the thousands of refugees who fled their nation, many without a moment for preparation, having abandoned all their possessions as they scrambled to board one of the last military flights to leave their nation. Some tents are dedicated to translators, others to information management offices, still others for logistics, coordination, and the distribution of supplies from relief organizations. Everything from tee shirts to diapers to baby formula to Pedialyte can be found in these tents.

The new refugee settlement spans several acres. It has become a city within a city, with its own micro-economy. Some refugees can be found standing in lines at food trucks serving traditional Afghan meals; others at cafeterias that have sprung up in the past days. Children can be found playing in playgrounds, swinging on swings. Around the settlement, soldiers are stationed to attend to the needs of evacuees. Some soldiers serve as translators; others as civil affairs liaisons; some are assigned to retrieve the occasional stray soccer ball.

The sprawling lawns across the base, once empty, are now teeming with life and movement. All around the tented settlement, bulldozers and diggers are working around the clock to lay the foundations for new buildings and tents that will accommodate the growing influx of refugees. Passersby hear the laughter of Afghan children who greet soldiers, calling out to them, “salam!”

While witnessing these scenes, I remembered the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” The world was forever changed by the attacks of 9/11. It is my hope that the assistance being given to Afghan refugees on this twentieth anniversary of 9/11 will similarly change the world, that it will sow seeds of reconciliation. It is my hope that every Afghan will know plenty rather than famine, kindness rather than cruelty and peace rather than war; that they will know a world where love overcomes all things.

Postscript: A wide range of NGOs and humanitarian organizations, including the American Red Cross and Team Rubicon, are collecting financial and in-kind donations to support Afghan evacuees. For the most up-to-date information on how to give, visit the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USAFEC.

Notice: The views expressed herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. government, the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center or any other branches or organs of the U.S. military. Photos appearing herein are U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center public domain images and/or are posted herein under the fair use doctrine for non-commercial, educational purposes.