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Wednesday 27 February 2019 11:48am

As the academic year got underway the Faculty of Law was delighted to welcome new staff members Dr Lili Song, Professional Practice Fellow and Otago alumna Brenda Thom and Dr Stephen Young.

Dr Lili Song

Before entering academia, Lili Song worked in Shanghai, China as a lawyer at an international law firm and then as an in-house counsel at an international commercial bank.

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Dr Lili Song

She has law degrees from Chinese and New Zealand universities, and her research interests include refugee law, law of the sea, Pacific law, Chinese law, and public international law issues relating to China or South Pacific island states.

Prior to joining the Faculty, Lili taught at the University of the South Pacific in Vanuatu for about three years. She has held research or visiting positions at Oxford University, Melbourne University, the Michigan Law School, the Australian National University, the Humanities Institute in Myanmar, and Northwestern University in the US.

She currently teaches contract law and will also teach two electives in the next few years.

She is a member of University of Otago’s Centre for Global Migrations and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network.

Brenda Thom

Brenda is a qualified Barrister and Solicitor with 25 years' post-qualification experience. The Otago Law and Economics alumna has practised law in New Zealand, the UK, the US and Canada in both private practice and in-house counsel capacities.

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Professional Practice Fellow Brenda Thom

Brenda worked overseas for a large multinational as a key member of their senior management team, returning home to New Zealand to raise her family in 2008. On her return to Dunedin she worked as a litigation associate, prior to starting her own practice where she specialises in employment law and in-house counsel services.

She has joined the University of Otago Faculty of Law as a Professional Practice Fellow to help develop the professional legal skills programme. Brenda is a member of the Otago Women Lawyers’ Society and the In-house Lawyers' Association of New Zealand.

Stephen Young

Before joining the Faculty of Law, Stephen Young was a Teaching Fellow at the University of New South Wales where he also completed his PhD.

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Dr Stephen Young

His dissertation focused on understanding how Indigenous peoples have been claiming free, prior and informed consent – an international human right – against natural resource development projects in various jurisdictions.

Prior to researching his PhD in Australia, Stephen worked as a civil litigator focusing, primarily, on tort disputes in Denver, Colorado US. He obtained a JD from the University of Colorado, a MA from Colorado State University, and a BA from Bucknell University.

“I’m happy to be in New Zealand and at the University of Otago, where I am fortunate to teach in my research and practice areas. Over the next two years, I plan to teach papers on Law and Indigenous Peoples and Torts. My current research continues to build upon the work I did during my dissertation, but is, if anything, a bit broader and involves the intersection of indigenous peoples and law, human rights, and duties and obligations, drawing from critical and social theories.”

Faculty of Law Dean Jessica Palmer says the trio bring a wealth of practical and academic experience to their roles, which will greatly enhance teaching and research at Otago.

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Professor Jessica Palmer

“It is very exciting to have Lili, Brenda and Stephen join us. They bring extra strength to core teaching areas in Contract Law and Torts. In addition, they both expand the Faculty’s research expertise: Lili’s work in refugee law and Pacific law are exciting new areas for the Faculty, and Stephen’s work in indigenous rights, particularly in Australia, the Philippines and the US adds to the valuable work being done in the Faculty by Professor Jacinta Ruru on indigenous rights in New Zealand and internationally.

"Brenda's position is a new role created to develop the Faculty's professional legal skills programme to help our graduates prepare for entering the workforce.”

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