KU News Release

Judge, Kansas native to visit KU to discuss trends in international trade law

Judge Judith M. Barzilay

LAWRENCE — A U.S. Court of International Trade judge who hails from Russell will return to her home state this month to present a public lecture and speak to students at the University of Kansas School of Law.

Judith M. Barzilay will deliver her talk, titled “The Court of International Trade, Issues and Trends in World Trade, and the Challenges of Globalization,” from 12:30 to 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, at 107 Green Hall. A question-and-answer session will follow the talk.

Barzilay also will give a guest lecture to students in the Advanced International Trade Law class taught by Raj Bhala, the Raymond F. Rice Distinguished Professor of Law at KU.

“This is a very accomplished federal judge with years of experience at the highest levels of international trade law and policy in both the public and private sectors,” said Beau Jackson, president of KU’s International Law Society, which is sponsoring Barzilay’s talk. “From the standpoint of KU’s International and Comparative Law Program, generally, and ILS, specifically, it’s an honor to have the judge as our guest, and we’re proud of what her visit says about our state and our university.”

Since Barzilay was appointed by President Clinton to the U.S. Court of International Trade in 1998, she has handled cases in the areas of customs law, antidumping and countervailing duties, and trade adjustment assistance. She also has sat by designation of the chief justice on several U.S. appellate courts and for the Southern District of New York. Third-year KU law student Devin Sikes will start a two-year federal clerkship with Barzilay in September. Sikes’ classmate, John Foote, will clerk with Judge Gregory W. Carman of the same court.

Barzilay began her career in international trade law as a staff attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice International Field Office, where she served from 1983 to 1986. She practiced privately from 1986 to 1988, appearing regularly before courts and government agencies dealing with international trade.

Barzilay became the first in-house customs and international trade counsel at Sony Corporation of America in 1988 and was promoted to vice president for import and export operations in 1989. Under her direction, the department established Sony’s first professional international trade operations in the United States. In 1996, she became vice president for government affairs and represented Sony on issues ranging from high-definition television at the Federal Communications Commission to the export control of encryption technology at the Commerce Department.

Barzilay was born in Russell and educated in Russell and Wichita public schools. She received a bachelor’s in English and history from Wichita State University. At Rutgers University, she earned a master’s in library and information service and a law degree.

Barzilay and her husband live in North Bergen, N.J. They have two married sons and three grandchildren.

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