Boston University School of Law

Dr. David Nersessian

Education

Boston University School of Management
B.S., Business Administration, summa cum laude, 1992

Boston University School of Law
J.D., magna cum laude, 1995

Oxford University
M. St. (LL.M.) in Law, 2000

Oxford University
D. Phil. (Ph.D.) in Law, 2005

Experience

Teaching

Boston University School of Law
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law (2009 - present)
Lecturer in Law (2003 – 2009) (on leave 2005-06 and 2007-08)

St. Benet’s Hall & St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University
Instructor in Criminal Law (2000-01)

Academic & Professional

Harvard Law School
Executive Director, Program on the Legal Profession (2007 – 2009)
Executive Director, Center on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry (2007 – 2009)

Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court Fellow (2005-06)

Harvard Law School
Visiting Researcher (2004-05 & 2001-02)

Legal Practice

St Catherine’s College (Oxford) Foundation
Vice President & General Counsel (2002-08) (on leave 2005-06)

Robinson & Cole LLP
Associate (2001-03)

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP
Associate (1997-99)

Day, Berry & Howard LLP
Associate (1995-97), Summer Associate (1994)

Selected Publications

Books

Genocide and Political Groups (Oxford University Press – forthcoming 2010)

Works in Progress

International Human Rights Litigation in Federal Courts, in International Civil Litigation: A Reference Guide for the Federal Judiciary (Federal Judicial Center – forthcoming 2010) (book chapter)

Articles & Conference Papers

Comparative Approaches to Punishing Hate – The Intersection of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity, 43 Stan. J. Int’l L. 221 (2007)

The Armenian Genocide and Human Rights Litigation in US Federal Courts, Conference paper – International Law and the Armenian Genocide: Recognition, Responsibility and Restitution, Institute of Armenian Studies, University of Southern California (Sept 07)

Whoops – I Committed Genocide! The Anomaly of Constructive Liability for Serious International Crimes, 30 Fletcher F. World Aff. 81 (2006)

The Case for a Crime of Political Genocide Under International Law (2005) (PhD dissertation)

The Razor’s Edge: Defining and Protecting Human Groups Under the Genocide Convention, 36 Cornell Int’l L.J. 101 (2003)

The Contours of Genocidal Intent: Troubling Jurisprudence from the International Criminal Tribunals, 37 Tex. Int’l L.J. 231 (2002)

The Genocide Convention: Defining the Parameters of the Crime of Crimes (2000) (M St thesis)

Mom versus Grandma -or- Parent Preference versus Best Interest: An Examination of the Case for Grandparent Custody, 13 Prob. L.J. 133 (1996) (note)

Essays

Challenges and Opportunities for Young Lawyers, 53 Boston Bar Journal -- (forthcoming 2009) (with Dean Maureen O’Rourke)

Asking, Volunteering and Writing your way to an International Legal Career, in Careers in International Law (American Society of International Law – forthcoming 2009)

The following entries in the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (David S. Tanenhaus, ed. Macmillan Reference 2008):

  • Appellate Briefs
  • Appointment of Attorneys
  • Budget of the Supreme Court
  • Judicial Conference of the United States
  • Public Understanding of the Supreme Court
  • Reporter of Decisions
  • Staffing at the Supreme Court
  • Supreme Court Historical Society

Rethinking Cultural Genocide Under International Law, 12 Hum. Rts. Dialogue 7 (2005)

Practitioner Materials & Reports

Overview of the Professional Services Industry and the Legal Profession, A report provided to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation by the Harvard Law School Center on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry (2007) (with Sean Williams)

To Snitch or Not: The Obligations and Implications of Mandatory Fraud Reporting, 16 Int’l Risk Mgmt. Inst. CGL Rep. 1 (2004)

Penalty by Proxy: Holding the Policyholder Liable for Fraud by Coinsureds, Claims Professionals, and Other Agents, 38 Tort, Trial & Ins. Prac. L.J. 907 (2003)

Issues in Insurance Fraud: The Innocent Coinsured, Conference paper – Defense Research Institute Fire and Casualty Law Conference, New Orleans, LA (Sept 02)

Selected Presentations

Forthcoming

The Armenian Genocide: A Study of International Rights and Remedies, Dimensions and Possibilities in Turkish-Armenian Relations, Near Eastern Studies Department, Princeton University (Oct 09)

Genocide Against Political Groups: Perpetrators, Victims and International Law, Genocide Studies Program, Yale University (Nov 09)

Globalization and the Professional Development of Lawyers, NALP Professional Development Institute, Washington, DC (Dec 09)

Presentations – 2006-09

Law Firm Culture and Associate Expectations as Reflected in Recruiting Terminology, Global Transformation of Legal Actors and Institutions: New Faces of Authority, Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (May 09)

What's the Bang for the Harvard Buck? HLS Graduates and AJD Lawyers – A Comparison, Careers in Transition: JD Lawyers after Seven Years in Practice, Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (May 09)

Tearing up the Rulebook: Globalization, Financial Crises, and the Future(s) of Lawyering, Suffolk Inn of Court, Boston, MA (May 09)

The Harvard Law School Career Study: HLS Graduates and AJD Lawyers – Early Comparisons, After the JD: An International Conference on Research on Legal Careers in Transition, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA (May 09)

Panel Moderator and Convener, Judging International Law as Law, American Society of International Law 103rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (Mar 09)

Globalized Standards for Lawyers in the Far East?  The Legal Landscape in China, Boston University School of Law (Feb 09)

Global Changes in the Legal Profession – An Overview, Symposium – Globalization of the Legal Profession, Harvard Law School (Nov 08)

International Law – An Overview for Federal Judges, Federal Judicial Center National Workshop for District Judges, Boston, MA (Jul 08)

Legal Implications of the Treaty of Sèvres Under International Law, Armenian Bar Association Annual Meeting, New York City (May 08)

The Power of a Word – Recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a Path to Reconciliation,Denver, CO(Apr 08)

The Academy's Perspective on Law Practice Management, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, New York City (Dec 07)

The Armenian Genocide and Human Rights Litigation in US Federal Courts, International Law and the Armenian Genocide: Recognition, Responsibility and Restitution, Institute of Armenian Studies, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (Sept 07)

The Armenian Genocide – Law and Remembrance, Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA (Apr 07)

The Evolution of the Act of State Doctrine – Legal Accountability for Governmental Cruelty, The Work of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen – A Conference at Boston University’s Editorial Institute, Boston University, Boston, MA (Apr 07)

Panel Moderator and Convener, Oliver Wendell Holmes and the Path of the Law in 2006, Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA (Mar 06)

The American Legal System and the United States Supreme Court, Recurring briefings for high-level foreign dignitaries, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington DC (2005-06)

Professional Associations & Memberships

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Working Group on Foreign Lawyers

American Society of International Law
      Co-chair, Private International Law Interest Group

International Association of Genocide Scholars

Law & Society Association

Bar Admissions

US Supreme Court

US Circuit Court of Appeals (First Circuit)

US District Court (D Mass; D Conn)

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Alumni and Pro Bono

St. Catherine’s College (Oxford) Foundation
      Trustee (2002-2008)
      Vice President & General Counsel (2003-08)

Academic Advisory Board, Lead America Youth Leadership Program

Alumni Mentoring & Career Assistance Programs, Boston University School of Law