LOS ANGELES – On March 31, 2011, Robert C. O’Brien, managing partner of Arent Fox’s Los Angeles office, received the 2011 Stefan A. Riesenfeld Memorial Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of international law and his service as Co-Chair of the US Department of State Public-Private Partnership for Justice Reform in Afghanistan. Mr. O’Brien received the award from UC Berkeley Law School, Boalt Hall, at the 2011 Stefan A. Riesenfeld Symposium on March 31. He was the keynote speaker at the symposium which will examine justice reform initiatives in some of the world’s most volatile regions.

The text of his keynote address may be read by clicking here.

“Robert is deeply devoted to human rights issues and to establishing the rule of law in regions of the world where little or none exists,” said David D. Caron, C. William Maxeiner Distinguished Professor of Law at UC Berkeley and President of the American Society of International Law. “He is a skilled diplomat and lawyer with extensive international experience, who has served in key posts in both Republican and Democratic administrations.” Caron added: “The Riesenfeld Award is Berkeley Law’s highest recognition of service and accomplishment in the field of international law and relations, that Robert O’Brien is a graduate of Berkeley law is for us a wonderful coincidence. We are immensely proud of all Robert has done.”

Previous recipients of the Stefan A. Riesenfeld Memorial Award include H.E. Lakhdar Brahimi, former under-secretary general of the UN; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, who led efforts to rewrite Iranian laws discriminating against women; Judge Charles N. Brower, a judge of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, and Justice Louise Arbour of the Supreme Court of Canada.

“I feel privileged to be among the remarkable individuals who have received the Stefan A. Riesenfeld Memorial Award in the past, and to have had the opportunity to play a part in justice sector reform in Afghanistan,” said Mr. O’Brien. “I knew Professor Riesenfeld as a student at Boalt Hall, and I am honored and humbled to be associated with his legacy through this award.”

Mr. O’Brien, a former US Representative to the UN, also serves on the US Cultural Property Advisory Committee where he advises the Department of State on the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act. He is a member of the panel of neutrals for the International Center for Dispute Resolution/American Arbitration Association as well as several other international panels, and he regularly serves as counsel and arbitrator in domestic and international arbitration and foreign claims proceedings. O’Brien is currently the federal court-appointed special Discovery Master in the high-profile MGA v. Mattel (“Barbie-Bratz”) litigation pending in the Central District of California.

Every Spring, the Berkeley Journal of International Law hosts the Stefan A. Riesenfeld Symposium at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and presents the keynote speaker with the honored Stefan A. Riesenfeld Memorial Award. The 2011 Riesenfeld Symposium, Justice Under Construction: Contemporary Initiatives and the Future of Efforts to Form and Reform Justice Systems, will examine justice reform efforts by both public and private actors around the world. To learn more about the 2011 Riesenfeld Symposium or to register, click here.

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About Arent Fox:
Arent Fox LLP (www.arentfox.com), with offices in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and New York, is a recognized leader in areas including government relations, intellectual property, real estate, telecommunications, health care, automotive, sports, white collar, international trade, bankruptcy, and complex litigation. With more than 350 lawyers nationwide, Arent Fox has extensive experience in corporate securities, financial restructuring, labor and employment, finance, tax, corporate compliance, and the global business market. The firm represents Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, trade associations, foreign governments and other entities.