Arent Fox partner Mark (Thor) Hearne, partner in the firm’s litigation group, will participate in the Eighth Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference, sponsored by William & Mary Law School, in Beijing, China, October 14-15, 2011. The Conference brings together esteemed scholars, jurists, and practitioners from the United States and China to discuss the evolution of property rights on a global scale.

The conference is being held at and in cooperation with Tsinghua University School of Law, one of China’s top universities and law schools. Holding the conference in China "will foster a comparative framework for the discussion of property rights that is long overdue given the strong ties between the United States and China and China's dynamic role in the world economy," explained William & Mary Law School Professor Lynda Butler.

William & Mary Law School Dean Davison M. Douglas said the slate of participants comprised many scholars “whose work forms the foundation of contemporary American property law jurisprudence.” Mr. Hearne will participate in a panel entitled “Legal Protection of Property Rights: A Comparative Look,” which will examine the nature of property rights under global legal systems, including the systems, processes, or methods for determining and enforcing private property rights.

During the Conference, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will receive the 2011 Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize and will be a featured speaker. O'Connor served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 1981 to 2006. She made history in 1981 as the first woman nominated to serve on the high court. Her widely cited dissenting opinion in Kelo v. City of New London (2005) has been hailed as a pivotal opinion in property law jurisprudence. She became Chancellor of the College of William & Mary following her retirement from the judiciary. A formal reception will be held on October 13 at the United States Embassy in Beijing to honor Justice O’Connor and the conference’s Chinese host, Tsinghua University School of Law.

Thor Hearne has earned a national reputation for his work in three areas of legal practice: complex federal and state litigation and appeals, matters involving property rights, and constitutional law, and election issues. Hearne received his law degree from Washington University Law School and his BA from Washington University in St. Louis.