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Mutua named one of most influential black attorneys in U.S.
Makau Mutua, dean of the UB Law School, has been named one of the 100 most influential black attorneys in the U.S. by the social media company On Being a Black Lawyer (OBABL).
Mutua was included in OBABL’s “The Power 100 Special Edition” published Feb. 15 in honor of Black History Month. The publication is available online and features profiles of the nation’s most influential black attorneys working in government, academics, and both the public and private sectors. Read “The Power 100 Special Edition” here.
OBABL’s editorial team, together with a group of advisers, spent months researching prospective candidates. The selection committee read trade publications, blogs and critical reviews to arrive at their choices.
SUNY Distinguished Professor and the Floyd H. & Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar at the Law School, Mutua teaches international human rights, international business transactions and international law. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, the University of Iowa College of Law, the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica and the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain.
Mutua was educated at the University of Nairobi, the University of Dar-es-Salaam and at Harvard Law School, where he obtained a doctorate of juridical science in 1987. He was co-chair of the 2000 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) and is currently a vice president of the ASIL. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
In 2002-03, while on sabbatical in Kenya, Mutua was appointed by the government of Kenya as chair of the Task Force on the Establishment of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. The task force recommended a truth commission for Kenya. During the same time, Mutua was a delegate to the National Constitutional Conference, the forum that produced a contested draft constitution for Kenya.
He serves as the chair of the Kenya Human Rights Commission and sits on the boards of several international organizations and academic journals such as the Leiden Journal of International Law. He is a frequent commentator on politics, human rights, law and current affairs in the print and electronic media.
Founded in 2008 as a news and resource center, OBABL has grown into a social media firm providing research, career development and brand marketing opportunities to clients. In addition to naming the 100 most influential black attorneys, the committee also included profiles of 10 up and coming black attorneys.
Honorees will be toasted at a cocktail reception at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington D.C., on Feb. 29. Michelle Miller, CBS News correspondent, will serve as mistress of ceremony.
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