Law School Announces 2005-06 Drapers' Scholar
Yuval Rubinstein, who will graduate from the William & Mary School of Law in May, has been named the 2005-06 Drapers' Scholar.
The scholarship competition enables a member of each graduating class at the William & Mary Law School to study law and earn an LL.M. at Queen Mary and Westfield College in the University of London. The scholarship is made possible by the Drapers' Company of London.
"We are very pleased the Law School's 2005-06 Drapers' Scholar is Yuval Rubinstein," said Law School Dean Taylor Reveley. "Thanks to the generosity of the Drapers' Company, we can provide an extraordinary opportunity each year for a member of the Law School's graduating class. Yuval's interest in international legal issues, reflected in his work with the State Department's NATO policy group, the World Jurist Association and the Law School's International Law Society, will be significantly furthered by his time at the University of London."
As the 2005-06 Drapers' Scholar, Rubinstein receives a tuition waiver, living expenses and travel allowance. His appointment will be for one academic year, and classes begin in September 2005.
"Throughout law school, I have taken a number of classes in comparative and international law, and I have also acquired ‘hands-on' experience through my internships," Rubinstein said. "The Drapers' Scholarship offers a unique opportunity to both further my academic study of international legal issues, and also to interact with practicing lawyers and academics who are involved in this field. At the University of London, I will be concentrating my studies in the areas of international trade law and comparative commercial law."
Before coming to William & Mary Law School, Rubinstein graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his undergraduate years, he received the university's highest honor, a Bronze Tablet, was an elected representative to the University of Illinois Senate, was named a James Scholar in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and earned membership in Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society.
At William & Mary, Rubinstein has been a staff member of the William & Mary Law Review, and served as president of the International Law Society.
During summer 2004, Rubinstein interned at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C., in the Bureau of European Affairs. There, he worked on NATO policy and legal issues, including drafting an annual report submitted to Congress on the Partnership for Peace program, and providing diplomatic guidance to the U.S. NATO mission in Brussels. Prior to that, he served as an intern at the World Jurist Association in Washington, where he wrote an article about courtroom technology for the Law/Technology quarterly journal, and helped plan the organization's biennial conference in Sydney, Australia.
"I am both humbled and honored to be awarded the Drapers' Scholarship," Rubinstein said. "Being able to study at the University of London will serve as an invaluable first step as I begin a career in international law. Thus, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Drapers' Company, Dean Reveley, and William & Mary for giving me this tremendous opportunity. When I return to the United States, I intend to work in the legal counsel office of a government agency such as the State Department or the Agency for International Development."
As a Drapers' Scholar, Rubinstein can take courses in Queen Mary and Westfield College, or any of the other three law faculties of the University of London. These include King's College, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University College of Oriental and African Studies.
From its origins as a medieval guild, the Drapers' Company today has wide-ranging interests and responsibilities. The Drapers' Company acts as trustee for almshouses with some 200 residents and has strong links with a number of schools, supports a miscellany of charitable institutions and annually makes grants for the education and welfare needs of hundreds of people. The Company also manages the Hall's catering business thereby providing for the comfort, convenience, refreshment and enjoyment of all who use the Hall. This activity enhances the Company's capacity to further its charitable work.