Curriculum Vitae
Click CV for downloadable CV in PDF format
PROFILE
Phillip James Walker, Esq., is an attorney, businessman, scholar, political affairs consultant, and former U.S. diplomat. He has experience with international legal practice and legal reform efforts funded by most major international donors. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School, cum laude, with a specialization in international legal affairs and has taught International Law and Comparative Law of the Middle East in numerous venues. He has been a member of the bar since 1998 and maintains an ongoing legal practice focusing on international dispute resolution, personal status, and private international law. He is a member of the panels for arbitration and conciliation at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a member of the World Bank Group.
Among his current activities, Phil serves as expert on law of the Middle East for the Federal Research Division of the U.S. Library of Congress, and is a research affiliate and thesis adviser at the Harvard Center for Middle East Studies.
Recently, Phil served as Senior Justice Adviser to a major U.S. & European effort to support justice and police services in rebel-held parts of Syria. His special focus was on re-establishment of and support for civil registry services in Idlib and Aleppo Provinces. He also participated as a subject matter expert at UN-sponsored consultations on Syrian transition. Prior to this, he had been Senior Legal Adviser to the Afghan Ministry of Finance 2010-2014, where he had been intimately involved in that State’s most critical decisions in the area of economic and fiscal policy. These included participating in the resolution of Kabul Bank and the renegotiation of Afghanistan’s IMF agreement. 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.
Before 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.
Apart from law and foreign affairs consulting, Phil owns Walker Rentals, a real estate holding company with properties in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Illinois.
Phil was born in New Hampshire in 1962, and lives there with his wife and their four children in their 1783 farmhouse.
EXPERIENCE
Illustrative legal experience
Phil’s legal practice consists primarily of public international law, comparative law, international contractual matters, dispute resolution, and personal status. Some notable cases have included major international collection action to recover misappropriated funds, international arbitration of contract disputes, resolution of dispute concerning export of aircraft engine from U.S., expert witness on foreign and international law; international contract litigation against an internationally recognized entertainer; representation of a “Bollywood” film company production in USA, and representation of senior foreign officials in U.S. on sensitive personal matters.
Consulting & related experience
July 2018 – Present: Middle East Law Expert, United States Library of Congress.
September 2018-May 2019: Masters’ Thesis Adviser, Harvard University Center for Middle East Studies (CMES).
November 2014 – September 2018: Senior Justice Adviser & Justice Team Leader, Access to Justice and Community Security (AJACS) Project — Gaziantep, Turkey. Funded by US, UK, Netherlands, Denmark, Canada and Germany, through Adam Smith International. AJACS supported delivery of security and justice services to rebel-held areas in Syria. As team leader for justice, Phil was primarily responsible for re-establishing and supporting civil registry services (including birth, marriage and death certificates) in Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
January – November 2014: Counselor, Kabul Bank Receivership (KBR) and New Kabul Bank (NKB) — Kabul, Afghanistan. Phil provided legal advice and support in tracing and collection of debts owed to KBR, and also relating to the privatization of NKB. NKB and KBR are the successors to the insolvent Kabul Bank, which collapsed in 2010.
March 2010 – December 2013: Senior Legal Adviser, Afghan Ministry of Finance — Kabul, Afghanistan. Funded by the Asian Development Bank, Australia and UK, through Adam Smith International. Phil providing legal support on all aspects of the work of the Afghan Ministry of Finance. Notable activities included:
- Review of international financing agreements between Afghanistan and donor governments and agencies, prior to signature by the Minister of Finance. Most commonly reviewed agreements were with the World Bank, ADB, US, UK, EU and Germany. This was mostly routine legal review of standard documents, but there were occasions requiring interpretation, advocacy, dispute resolution skills, and creativity in solving problems.
- Facilitate resolution of tax and customs disputes. Phil would often at the request of the Minister of Finance seek to resolve revenue disputes brought to the attention of the Minister. Notable among these, Phil facilitated negotiation of (and drafted) the current Afghanistan-UK agreement regarding regulation and taxation of UK-funded activities in Afghanistan. This agreement resolved a major ongoing dispute between UK and Afghanistan that threatened all UK assistance to Afghanistan.
- Support the Government of Afghanistan in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and reviewing IMF agreements and program documents prior to signature by the Minister of Finance. The IMF program was of critical importance to Afghanistan during this period as all other aid was tied to satisfactory IMF performance. The IMF program was in jeopardy due to the 2010 collapse of Kabul Bank and related national crisis. Phil was a part of the core negotiating team and also key actor in promoting Afghan compliance with agreed objectives across ministries. Compliance issues in the 2010-2014 period commonly revolved around the Kabul Bank resolution, discussed below.
- Supported the Government of Afghanistan in the resolution of Kabul Bank (KB). Phil was the lawyer on the core team for the Afghan government that restructured Kabul Bank after its collapse in August 2010. The restructuring involved separation of KB into good and bad assets, establishment of a “good” bank, New Kabul Bank (NKB), and “bad” bank, Kabul Bank Receivership (KBR), as well as a complete guarantee for depositors and recapitalization of $840 million USD.
- Supported the Government of Afghanistan in the privatization of New Kabul Bank. This included participation in establishing the parameters of the bid process, drafting the bid documents and establishing governance structures for the bank in preparation for sale.
- Support for the Government of Afghanistan in the civil collection of debts owed to Kabul Bank Receivership. This included negotiation with creditors regarding repayments, drafting repayment agreements and structuring compensation terms, facilitating sale of seized properties, and where necessary preparing filings for lawsuits against debtors. Notably, Phil represented KBR in the first international cash recovery of stolen Kabul Bank money.
- Support for Government of Afghanistan in prosecution of perpetrators of Kabul Bank fraud. This included coordination between the Attorney General of Afghanistan and international law enforcement agencies, coordination between the Attorney General and interested donors and the IMF, and drafting of Mutual Legal Assistance requests.
- Supported revision of numerous pieces of legislation regarding economic governance. Notable among these revised were the state-owned corporations section of the Companies Law, governance sections of the State-owned Enterprise Law, parts of the independent auditor legislation, and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terror Finance (AML/CFT) laws. Phil also participated in the planning of proposed Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
- Developed several training courses for Ministry personnel, notably on negotiation of international agreements in context of relevant international law principles.
September 2009 – May 2010: Adjunct Professor of International Law, New England College, Henniker, NH. Developed and taught graduate level course in Public International Law.
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.
July-August 2005: Legal Education Strengthening Expert, Chemonics, Palestine. Developed proposed system for practical legal education to be implemented in Palestinian law faculties.
Dec. 2004 – August 2005: Iraq Constitutional Affairs Advisor, Iraq Legal Development Project, American Bar Association (ABA). 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 conduction 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.
Non-Legal
2007 – Present: Walker Rentals — NH/MA/IL. Phil has acquired and manages (with a small team) a number of residential and commercial properties located in NH and MA, and most recently in Chicago.
Early Career
Law Clerk, U.S. District Court, Concord NH — 1997 – 1998
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.
U.S. Foreign Service Officer, U.S.I.A., Washington DC — 1989-1995
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.
EDUCATION
Cornell Law School, Ithaca NY — Juris Doctor 1997
University of Oxford, Oxford UK — M.Phil. 1986
Georgetown University, Washington DC — A.B. 1984
Publications
“Consequences of the HTS Take-Over in Northwest Syria,” in SyriaSource, Atlantic Council, January 30, 2019 (https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/syriasource/consequences-of-the-hts-take-over-in-northwestern)
“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
Lectures/Media
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, NH Fulbright Association, NH public radio & TV. Featured presenter at U.C. Boulder Conference on World Affairs, 2012 & 2013. Featured presenter at Crested Butte Public Policy Forum, 2013.
REFERENCES available upon request