TJSL alumnus and editor of the San Diego Lawyer Magazine Martin Kruming ’77 and Adjunct Professor and Director of the Graduate Programs at Thomas Jefferson School of Law Jason Fiske ’08 attended a prestigious "invitation-only" conference in Azerbaijan recently. The conference was the 5th Annual International Conference on E-Government, Innovations in Customs in Gabula, Azerbaijan. There were roughly 125 participants representing 56 nations. A sampling of countries present included: Fiji, Malawi, Uruguay, Latvia, Russia, Vietnam, Germany, Afghanistan and Mongolia.
The small delegation from the United States that traveled to Gabala in May included: Kruming; Fiske; Professor Colleen Graffy, Director of Global Programs for Pepperdine University School of Law in London; Dr. Robert Clarke, Associate Professor of Packaging at Michigan State University; and Lee Wakefield, a student in the counter-terrorism master’s program at San Diego State University.
"The 5th Annual International Conference on E-Government, Innovations in Customs in Gabala, Azerbaijan was absolutely fascinating in terms of all the issues surrounding the release of information today,” according to Kruming. “Equally as fascinating, though, was getting to know so many officials from such a diverse lineup of countries. We packed so much into our five days in Gabala and Baku. A million thanks to Azerbaijan and the Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, Professor Aydin Aliyev, for being such gracious hosts."
Fiske views the experience as one that led to some useful networking for TJSL. “The conference built in-roads with officials from around the world that will be the foundation for future co-operation on programs,” explained Fiske. “Opportunities abound from online learning to residential exchanges. Thomas Jefferson School of Law has the opportunity to be one of the first law schools from the United States to develop programs with the country in an official capacity. With technological advancements in Azerbaijan, it is an exciting time to connect the world.”