Bill Dodge is the New Counselor in L

Last week, we were pleased to host a great discussion of the book International Law in the U.S. Supreme Court.  This week, I’m pleased to announce that one of its editors — Bill Dodge — is taking a leave from his faculty post at Hastings to become the newest Counselor in International Law to the State Department Legal Adviser, Harold Koh.  Bill’s replacing Sarah Cleveland, who returns to Columbia this year.

The Counselor is one of the best positions in the Legal Adviser’s Office (or “L” as it’s widely known).  It grants academics a year or two window into the ways in which international law plays out in practice, while also giving the attorneys in L the (substantial) benefit of working alongside someone who’s spent a great deal of time on international and foreign relations law questions in ways that are, frankly, impossible to replicate within L given the near daily fire-drills that so often drive the workload there.  I think Bill is fantastically suited to the job and wish him all the best in putting out those fires in the coming year.