Laurie Blank

Director, International Humanitarian Law Clinic

Curriculum Vitae

Biography

Laurie Blank is the director of Emory Law's International Humanitarian Law Clinic and was one of the principal founders of the clinic in early 2007. She supervises law students in their work assisting organizations, law firms and tribunals on cases, projects and issues related to humanitarian law and human rights.

Before coming to Emory, she was a program officer in the Rule of Law Program at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., where she ran an experts' working group on New Actors in the Implementation and Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law. Blank also worked as a litigation associate in the New York and Paris offices of Shearman & Sterling. In addition to her recent book, Law of War Training: A Resource for Military and Civilian Leaders (2008), she has published several articles on topics in international humanitarian law.

Education: Blank received her JD from New York University School of Law, where she was the Henry L. Boudin Fellow for Human Rights from 1996-1998, and her MA in international relations from The Paul H. Nitze Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in political science.

Laurie Blank

Publications

“Defining the Battlefield in Counterterrorism and Contemporary Armed Conflicts: Understanding the Parameters of the Zone of Combat,” 39 Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law (2010-2011)

“Characterizing United States Operations in Pakistan: Is the U.S. Engaged in an Armed Conflict?,” 34 Fordham International Law Journal (2010-2011) (with B. Farley)

“Finding Facts but Missing the Law: The Goldstone Report and Lawfare,” Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law (January 2011)

“In Counterterrorism, The Law of War is a Key Source of Law for the Courts,” 32 ABA National Security Law Report 1, 7-11 (Winter 2010); part of a dialogue with G. Corn, “The Problem With Law Avoidance,” 32 ABA National Security Law Report 1, 4-7 (Winter 2010)

“Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks: Operationalizing the Law of Armed Conflict in New Warfare,” 1 Harvard National Security Journal 45-85 (2010) (with A. Guiora)

“The Application of IHL in the Goldstone Report: A Critical Commentary,” 12 Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 347-402 (2009)

“Updating the Commander’s Toolbox: New Tools for Operationalizing the Law of Armed Conflict,” PRISM Vol 1:3, 59-78 (June 2010) (with A. Guiora)

LAW OF WAR TRAINING: RESOURCES FOR MILITARY AND CIVILIAN LEADERS; U.S. Institute of Peace, 2008 (with G. Noone)

“The Laws of War in Shakespeare: International vs. Internal Armed Conflict,” 30 NYU J. of Int’l Law and Politics 251 (Fall 1997/Winter 1998)

“United Nations Sanctions: Creating a More Effective Tool for the Enforcement of International Law,” 48 Austrian Journal of Public and International Law 161-195 (1995)

Laurie Blank