Santa Clara University

Law Briefs

Law School Adopts a Village Near Bangkok

Responding to the devastation left behind by the recent tsunami, the School of Law teamed with the law firm of Tilleke & Gibbins International, Inc. to adopt a Muslim fishing village in Ranong Province, north of Phuket, near Bangkok.

The village was virtually wiped out, with more than 40 people dead, its fishing fleet severely damaged, and most of its dwellings destroyed. Survivors are being housed and cared for in the facilities of a nearby wild animal preserve. As a working fishing village, it does not have tourist facilities and will likely not receive much national and international attention and funds. The funds donated by the School of Law and by Tilleke & Gibbins will go directly toward rebuilding homes, purchasing new fishing boats, and other efforts to reconstruct and rehabilitate the village. Professor Philip Jimenez, deputy director of the Institute of International and Comparative Law at SCU, helped to facilitate the village adoption partnership with Tilleke & Gibbins.

The School of Law has a long history with the Bangkok firm of Tilleke & Gibbins International, Inc. In a memo to law school faculty and staff, Dean Donald Polden wrote: “We are pleased to partner with the firm once again, this time to assist communities destroyed by the tsunami.” The firm is the largest in Thailand, and has a significant presence throughout Asia. The firm has worked closely with SCU students and faculty in summer law studies in Bangkok, helping to provide students with quality internship opportunities and encouraging SCU’s presence in Thailand’s legal community.

Elizabeth Enayati Powers B.S. ’80, J.D./MBA ’89, assistant dean of international and comparative law at the School of Law, says, “We at the Institute are grateful to have this opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to an area of the world that has been so welcoming to our students.”