On February 13, 2020, the Washington Foreign Law Society (WFLS) hosted its Annual Gala honoring a distinguished individual associated with the Washington professional community, whose efforts and involvement in the development of international law exemplify the spirit of Harry LeRoy Jones, the founder of the Society. This year, the WFLS chose to award Meg Kinnear with the Harry LeRoy Jones Award. Meg Kinnear is a Vice President of the World Bank Group and Secretary-General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Her commitment to streamline procedures and advance the reform of investor-state dispute settlement system, including through the rules amendment project, advancing diversity, and the discussion of a possible investor court made her the right recipient for this distinguished award. Ms. Carolyn Lamm, partner at White & Case and former president of the ABA and the DC Bar, introduced the honoree.
The award ceremony was hosted at The Army And Navy Club in Washington DC where about 140 guests working in the field of international law enjoyed a great evening meeting colleagues and friends.
As part of the ceremony, the WFLS also awarded the Ibrahim Shihata Prize, established in honor of the late Dr. Ibrahim Shihata, former World Bank General Counsel, past recipient of the WFLS Harry Leroy Jones Award, and revered member of the Washington and international legal communities. The goal of the prize is to promote and recognize serious student scholarship in the United States and Canada in the area of Islamic jurisprudence and related legal developments in the Muslim World. This year’s recipient of the Ibrahim Shihata Prize is Ms. Aisha Saad, currently the Bartlett Fellow and Research Scholar in Law at Yale Law School and the American University in Cairo, for her article The Corporate WAQF in Law and in Practice, 10 Berk. J. Middle E. & Islamic L. 1 (2019).
We thank our sponsors and guests for their support of this amazing event.
