From research into migrant employment in Saudi Arabia to analysis of solitary confinement reform, students in Fordham Law’s Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) program are pursuing a wide range of innovative legal scholarship. Four students—Yusra Alshanqiti ’21, Alison Gordon ’21, Irina Ilyuk ’21, and Mohammed Sweify ’21—recently completed their dissertation work after conducting extensive legal research under the supervision of Fordham faculty.
Assistant Dean Toni Jaeger-Fine, who oversees the S.J.D. program, said the following about the candidates who have recently completed their doctoral work: “They have produced a body of work that is scholarly but also deeply impactful, and they have been extraordinary members of the academic community at Fordham Law.”
The Class of 2021 S.J.D. Candidates
Yusra Alshanqiti ’21
S.J.D. Fieldwork Focus: Four cities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Dissertation Title: High-Skilled Migrants in the Healthcare Sector in Saudi Arabia: A Critique and a Proposal
Supervisor: Professor Jennifer Gordon
Alshanqiti’s dissertation describes and documents the legal implications of highly-skilled migrants’ (HSM) employment in Saudi Arabia. It particularly investigates discrimination based on nationality and gender toward HSM, as well as other areas of employment and working conditions.
Looking ahead, Alshanqiti intends to continue her research. “I am planning to continue answering—in more detail—some of the questions my dissertation discussed,” Alshanqiti explained, “including, the question of Sharia law and migrant workers, the question of women migrant workers, and the broader questions of socio-legal aspects of migrant workers’ presence in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.”
Alison Gordon ’21
Dissertation Title: Analysis and Investigation of Solitary Confinement Reforms
Supervisor: Professor Youngjae Lee
Plans for the Future: Continue to pursue research and scholarship on prison conditions and reform while working at the United Nations
In her dissertation, Gordon learned that solitary confinement reforms in U.S. prisons have been limited by a number of factors—including federal jurisprudence and legislation. However, through her research, she has also discovered underexplored avenues for pursuing challenges to solitary confinement in state courts under state constitutions.
“With only a few exceptions, most recent solitary confinement reforms—whether legislative, litigation-based, or policy-based—have not resulted in significant improvements,” Gordon explained. “Of particular concern is the failure of most recent reform measures to take account of the systemic racism that is so prevalent in the use of solitary confinement, or to meaningfully address the risks of physical and emotional harm that result from the practice.”
“Many of the issues that arose during the historical experiments with solitary confinement in 19th and early 20th century penitentiaries remain relevant today,” she added.
Gordon says she is very grateful to Fordham for the opportunity to carry out her research and that she learned a great deal from the faculty, staff, and students at the Law School.
Irina Ilyuk ’21
S.J.D. Fieldwork Focus: Comparative finance law and further examining the roles of corporations in the development of a particular market or a financial instrument
Dissertation Titles: Agency Risks and their Mitigation in Syndicated Lending; Legal Borrowing through Private Contracting; and Developing Syndicated Lending in Russia: The Paradigm Shift from a Demand for Exhaustive Laws to Corporate Initiative
Supervisor: Professor Nestor Davidson, Albert A. Walsh Chair in Real Estate, Land Use, and Property Law
In her dissertation, Ilyuk analyzes agency risks arising in syndicated lending, which is not well understood or regulated—despite being one of the major sources of financing worldwide. She also explores the role of corporations in legal development and argues the effectiveness of legal borrowing through private ordering.
“I examine whether the existing market practice to opt out of fiduciary duties that are traditionally invoked to protect principals from the agent’s wrongdoing is optimal in the syndicated lending context and detect the scenarios that may represent regulatory arbitrage,” Ilyuk said.
Mohammed Sweify ’21
Dissertation Title: “Third Party Funding in International Arbitration: A Critical Appraisal & Pragmatic Proposal”
Supervisor: Professor Jacqueline Nolan-Haley
Plans for the Future: Practicing in the field of arbitration funding and joining academia to teach third-party funding and international arbitration
From his dissertation, Sweify concludes that current funding practices originate in two common fallacies—the exaggeration of the funder’s role at the expense of the funded party, as well as the erosion of arbitral justice to favor economic values.
“The funding practice is both theoretically wrong and practically harmful,” Sweify said. “By excluding the possibility of the funders’ control, the dissertation advocates for an institutional-based approach that is the optimal choice to consider in aligning the interests and visions of the funding arrangements.”
Sweify says he is beholden to Fordham Law School for its high standards, competitive environment, superb faculty, resourceful database, and the incredible facilities it provides, which collectively made his mission accomplishable.