King Hall Welcomes 2015-16 Visiting Scholars

UC Davis School of Law is proud to welcome the newest cohort of Visiting Scholars to King Hall this fall. The Visiting Scholars program operates year-round, and fall is the most popular time for scholars to arrive and begin their research. Currently, UC Davis is hosting 12 scholars from Japan, South Korea and China.

Associate Dean Beth Greenwood leads the Visiting Scholars program at the School of Law. "Each year, we are fortunate to host talented scholars from around the world who are leaders in their areas of law," says Greenwood. "Their presence at King Hall allows for mutually enriching scholarly exchange with faculty and students, which supports the mission of UC Davis School of Law."

Visiting Scholar Kangjae Shin, Judge Advocate, comes from the Korean Ministry of National Defense. "I spend most of my time in the Mabie Law Library," says Shin. "It is the perfect place to study and access the many materials King Hall provides. The librarians are excellent and devoted to the students and the scholars. The outstanding professors are also friendly and ready to help us." Judge Advocate Shin will focus his studies  on the U.S. approach to military justice. "The Korean military judicial system modeled many things on the U.S. system. If a judge advocate understands the U.S. system, then he is well-prepared when the military court needs research or a decision on a new issue, for example. He can develop a creative legal basis and fundamentals for the case from a comparative law perspective. This is very helpful in my work."

Judge Han-Young Hayashi, from Japan, is studying the judicial system in the U.S. and contract law. "Studying at UC Davis helps me to understand Japanese law more deeply by looking at law concepts through another lens," he said. "By coming to the U.S., I am widening my horizons. In Japan, in civil cases, the judge not only applies the law but also finds the fact. This is different from in the U.S., where finding the fact is the duty of the jury. So, having a broader experience of law will help me in this responsibility."

Visiting scholars arrive throughout the year. For questions about the Visiting Scholars program, please contact Charlie Lemcke, the Visiting Scholars program coordinator, at [email protected].

For more information about the International Law Programs, please visit law.ucdavis.edu/international or contact Kate Asche at [email protected] or 530-757-8569.