Curriculum Vitae
Click HERE for downloadable CV in PDF format
PHILLIP JAMES WALKER, ESQ.
P.O. Box 1019, Concord, NH 03302-1019 USA
Office: +1 (603) 774-3905, US Mobile: +1 (603) 867-9039
US Fax: +1 (603) 774-3907
Skype: pjwesqnh, Skype VOIP/Worldwide: +1 (603) 397-3892
Roaming Fax: +1 (206) 600-1741
phil@rushingwalker.com; www.rushingwalker.com
Phillip James Walker, Esq., is an accomplished attorney, scholar, and former U.S. diplomat. He has
extensive experience in international legal practice and legal reform and training efforts funded by most
major donor organizations, including ADB, EC, USAID, DFID, Danida, and United Nations, among
others. Phil earned his Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School, cum laude, with a specialization
in international legal affairs. He studied Islamic law at Harvard Law School, and subsequently has
taught and lectured on International Law and Comparative Law of the Muslim World in numerous
venues. He frequently speaks on Middle East law and politics, and has published several articles on
international law issues relating to the Middle East. He has been a member of the bar in New
Hampshire since 1998, where he maintains an ongoing legal practice focusing on immigration, dispute
resolution and private international law. He is also a NH certified court-appointed mediator.
Among his development consulting activities, Phil is currently legal adviser to the Afghan Ministry of Finance. Recently, he has provided legal and judicial affairs advice to a major judicial reform effort in Saudi Arabia. He also lead a team of experts in Pakistan to formulate an 8 million Euro legal reform initiative in the area of access to justice, and served as Human Rights Program Expert for the Danish Development Agency in Yemen, where he reviewed ongoing human rights programs. Over the course of his career, Phil has worked or consulted in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Israel/Palestine,Iraq, Lebanon, Macedonia, Tunisia and Kuwait, among other places.
Prior to establishing his private legal and consulting practice, Phil served as a U.S. diplomat in Cairo, Egypt. Elsewhere in the region, he served at U.S. Embassy Riyadh during Operation Desert Shield/Storm, and U.S. Embassies in Tunisia and Kuwait. Phil trained at the U.S. Department of State language institute, and speaks Arabic fluently.
Phil was born in Nashua NH in 1962, and lives in NH with his wife, Maya and their four children.
EDUCATION
Doctorate of Law (J.D.), with honors, Cornell Law School, Ithaca, New York, 1997
Visiting Scholar, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA 1997
Masters of Philosophy in International Law and Relations, Oxford, UK, 1986
Bachelor of Arts, English Literature, Georgetown University, Washington DC, 1984
LANGUAGES
Arabic (3/3), Spanish (1/1), English (native)
FIELD EXPERIENCE
Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia,
Macedonia, Yemen, Afghanistan
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
November 1998-Present: Attorney at Law & Legal Consultant, Concord, NH. Combining private
practice with international development consulting (consulting assignments below). Practice consists
primarily of international law, immigration, contractual matters, entity formation, and dispute
resolution. Some notable recent cases have included: expert witness on Egyptian and international law
for major international litigation; lead counsel in international litigation against top blues performer; representation of Indian film company production in USA, and representation of senior official of Nigerian government in U.S. legal matters.
March-June 2010: Legal Adviser, Afghan Ministry of Finance, Kabul, Afghanistan. Providing general legal advice on all aspects of Ministry work. Funded by ADB.
April-June 2009: Counselor, Adel Project, Saudi Arabia. Providing strategic advice to Ministry of Justice and Supreme Judicial Council in $2 billion legal reform effort involving construction of new courts, development of new IT and court management systems, development of new processes, establishment of judicial practices and procedures, and establishment of judicial training system.
March-April 2009: Team Leader, EC Formulation Team for Access to Justice, Pakistan. Met all key stakeholders in effort to expand access to justice for the poor and disadvantaged, led team effort to develop programmatic recommendations, and prepared all technical formulation documents for issuance of tender by the EC.
June & October 2008: Human Rights Program Expert, Danida, Yemen. Reviewed and appraised ongoing human rights activities supported by the Danish government.
August-September 2007: Project Legal Advisor, IDLO Afghanistan. Developed intensive curriculum in international legal theory and practice for legal personnel from the Afghan foreign ministry and selected others, and implemented that training. Focus of training on practical skills, including especially security assistance agreements and international economic support agreements.
Nov. 2005-April 2007: Chief of Party, Family Justice Project, Cairo, Egypt.
Founded and directed effort to strengthen the Egyptian system of family justice and improve access to
justice by strengthening court ordered mediation, through technical assistance, training of family court
personnel, and overhaul of infrastructure in pilot areas. The effort is a multi-year $18 million dollar
effort funded by USAID. Managed a staff of 25, as well as numerous
consultants.
Oct.-Nov. 2005: Yemen Judicial Affairs Advisor, British Development Agency (DFID). Participated in DFID assessment of Yemeni legal system, and drafted plan for support of legal reform.
Dec. 2004-August 2005: Iraq Constitutional Affairs Advisor, Iraq Legal Development Project,
American Bar Association (ABA)-Amman, Jordan.
Provided strategic advice to the ABA. Concentrated on the integration of Islam as the state religion into
a constitutional and legal structure that meets international norms for respect of human rights and
religious freedom. Worked with Iraqi NGOs and other civil society actors to mobilize support for the
constitutional process. Instrumental in the establishment of the Iraqi Civic Forum, a consortium of Iraqi
NGOs and professional groups supporting an open and inclusive constitutional process in Iraq.
Organized and led conferences for drafters and others in the constitutional process. Wrote both
analyses and advocacy pieces on some of the constitutional issues facing Iraq.
Sept-Oct 2003: Consultant, Pre-Election Assessment, International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), Baghdad, Iraq. Member of the team assembled by IFES to devise a plan for
conduct of elections in Iraq, serving as the technical legal expert. Interviewed numerous Iraqi political
leaders, reviewed Iraqi electoral and constitutional law and history, and drafted legal section of the
final report that was presented to the occupation administration.
Sept. 2002: Election Observation, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Macedonia. Observed Macedonia’ parliamentary elections, deployed in the Albanian-majority region east of Skopje.
June 2000-May 2002: Chief of Party, Project to Strengthen the Palestinian Legal Profession,
West Bank/Gaza. Directed the development of the project to strengthen the Palestinian legal
profession. Worked with the Palestinian Bar Association in the West Bank and Gaza to strengthen
internal management structures of the bar association, promulgate a Palestinian code of legal ethics and
disciplinary system, improve clinical legal education and apprenticeship programs and establish Arabic
law libraries at the bar centers. Managed staff of six to accomplish objectives despite the outbreak of
war, and the collapse of the Palestinian government during this period.
Spring 2000: Visiting Instructor, Cornell Law School. Co-taught seminar on Comparative Law of the Middle East/Islamic Law.
1997-1998 Judicial Assistant (Law Clerk), Federal District Court, Concord, NH. Assisted the Judge with all aspects of his work, including the research and drafting of orders and opinions; participated in Court proceedings. Assisted with the Court’s nationally-recognized mediation program in which judges served as mediators as an alternative to litigation.
1989-1995 Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State, Washington DC
Cultural Officer, U.S. Embassy, Cairo, Egypt (1992-1995). Oversaw U.S.-Egyptian academic exchange programs and Arabic language book translation program. Operated the Embassy’s legal exchange initiative, promoting comparative study of constitutional traditions and civil procedural reform with the Egyptian Ministry of Justice. Published first major
Arabic book on the Arab-Israeli peace process.
Press/Cultural Officer, U.S. Embassy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1990-1991).
Served during the Gulf War. Duties included briefing reporters, drafting press releases, and political
reporting. Was among the first U.S. diplomats to re-enter liberated Kuwait.
Language Training, Foreign Service Institute, Tunis, Tunisia (1991-1992) and Washington DC
(1989-1990).
Achieved professional proficiency in spoken and written Arabic at the Department of State’s language
and area studies institute.
PUBLICATIONS
"Iraq and Occupation," in New Wars, New Laws?, David Wippman, ed. (Transnational Press 2005)
"Iraq, Failed States and the Law of Occupation" in International Law News, Winter-Spring 2004
Numerous Op-Eds on legal and political topics, available on request.
“New Approaches to Arab-Israeli Peace” (in progress, funded by the New Ideas Foundation, due out March 2010)
LECTURES/MEDIA APPEARANCES
Regular speaker on issues related to Middle East law and politics, peace-making and inter-cultural
understanding at numerous venues including (among others): Vermont Law School, Cornell Law
School, Franklin Pierce Law School, New England College, University of NH, NH Humanities
Council, Southern NH Interfaith Council, and NH Fulbright Association. NH public radio & TV.
