EDUCATION

LLM, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA (1999) (Law and Literature research; straight A transcript; published thesis).

 

J.D. cum laude, University of Houston, TX, Order of the Barons, Order of the Coif (1984) (attending law school while working full-time as Risk Management Executive Director for the Houston Independent School District).

 

B.S. Journalism/Communication, Highest Honors, Southern Illinois University (1978) (graduated from college in 2-1/2 years, at 20 years of age).

 

SUMMARY OF LEGAL CAREER: Twelve years of teaching (2001-2013) for ABA- accredited law school and for the U.S. Fulbright program as legal scholar. Four semesters of international teaching and research (France, Vietnam, and Russia). Eighteen years (1984-2002) of diverse legal practice, in progressive positions with U.S.-based international and national law firms, an elite U.S. federal agency, and a U.S-based multinational corporation. Experience included high profiled and complex litigation, multi-million-dollar transactions, and a Texas/Houston judgeship.

 

RESEARCH AREAS AND SCHOLARSHIP CONCENTRATION: Law of the Sea,

international territorial disputes, Law and Society movement, Law and Literature movement, Law and Cultural Anthropology interdisciplinary research, multiculturalism and gender studies, comparative legal education, international relations-Vietnam/Asia Pacific, cross-strait studies and market economy under communist ideology in Asia. Historical book project: proposed background reader on special issues in international business petroleum transactions, with emphasis on Asia-Pacific and trends from the 20th century.

 

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:

 July 2011-present:

--U.S. Fulbright Specialist to Russia: lecturer on law, economics and entrepreneurship (2013).

--U.S. Fulbright Legal Scholar, Core Program, 2011-12: guest lecturer and faculty trainer in Vietnam on “free enterprise” and U.S. business organizations (corporate, securities, commercial and banking laws; international trade/transactions; constitutional law; and overview of U.S. legal system, including ABA-sponsored “Rule-of-Law Initiative” seminars). Invited to speak at universities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, PRC, and

various cities of Vietnam. Guest lecturer giving input to the Vietnamese government, officials, lawyers, scholars, and students on U.S. constitutional amendments.

--Owner, Wendy Duong & Associates, Houston: selective legal service for clients in international trade and transactions; provided resource on bar passage, career counseling and professional development in law, education, and business, especially motivational factors for minority women.

 

 December 2001-July 2011: Tenure-tracked law professor, Sturm College of Law, University of Denver. Taught corporate and business organization, international law, international sales, and international business transactions (2d- and 3d-year curricula); supervised LLM and JD students’ directed research and senior writing projects; served on Ph.D. dissertation committee(s) for the Graduate School of International Studies as requested by candidate(s); trained law students for international moot courts competition; drafted bar examination questions in specialty topic areas as requested by state bars amd bar passage committees. Chaired Public Interest Committee and liaised with law firms, bar associations, community and student representatives on the “Public Interest” component of the law school. Member of Academic Standard Committee, Faculty Development Committee, Globalization Committee, and Search Committee for Endowed Chair in International Law. Tenure recommended by the Chair of the Law School’s Advisory Committee. Resigned to return to Houston to attend to parental caregiving in family emergencies.

 

March 1998-Dec. 2001: Senior Counsel, Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP & Owner, Duong & Associatesm, Houston, Texas. Practiced commercial, technology, international transactions (including global independent power projects (IPP) and related asset acquisitions); supervised and coordinated a team of junior lawyers to perform massive review of liability exposure for the international assets of energy multinationals in “Y2K” computer liability projects; performed due diligence review of corporate mergers, acquisitions, and sales of assets for energy corporate client.

 

1993-1987: Affiliation with and employment by Mobil Corporation:

--Senior Legal Advisor, servicing Mobil Eastern Exploration & Development, Inc./Mobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (Singapore): supported Mobil affiliates and new venture activities in Asia Pacific (including IPP work, offshore petroleum exploration and related service contracts); part of Mobil’s worldwide Major Transactions Group; part of industry group to help draft Southeast Asian host governments’ regulatory and statutory framework (petroleum, joint venture/foreign investment, and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)); managed all legal work for Mobil’s newly formed power generation subsidiary, and offshore petroleum exploration contracts for Mobil in Vietnam; handled the withdrawal of Mobil’s exploration commitment from Papa New Guinea, downstream oil/lubricant sales in Southeast Asian countries, and consortium work in connection with

(i) Mobil’s bidding for petroleum exploration and pipeline construction in Southeast Asia, and (ii) Mobil’s onshore petroleum joint venture in Kazakhstan.

--From June 1993-December 1994: Senior Attorney, Baker & McKenzie, Singapore (subsequently assigned to Mobil as outside counsel until December 1994, when I was recruited to join Mobil legal staff as in-house counsel operating from Singapore). During Baker & McKenzie employment: expanded Southeast Asian practice of Baker & McKenzie by obtaining and servicing Mobil Eastern Exploration & Development, Inc. as client; also obtained, managed, and serviced international transactional work for other multi-nationals doing business in Asia such as Mitsubishi.

 

--From Dec. 2006 to March 2008: serviced Mobil Asia Pacific as legal contractor/outside counsel on a per need basis, operating from the U.S.).

 

August 1991-June 1993: Senior Associate, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Houston (handled legal work for the corporate restructuring of Republic Bank/Mbank and Circle K Corporation; appellate counsel for labor disputes involving Greyhound Bus Lines).

 

Concurrent municipal judicial appointment (March 1992-March 1995): Magistrate for the State of Texas and Associate Municipal Judge, City of Houston (honored as first Vietnamese American appointed to the judiciary, 1992); presided and managed night- court docket in urban environment; reviewed search and arrest warrants for constitutional compliance, and conducted “probably cause” hearings and inquests.

 

December 1988-July 1991: Special Trial Attorney, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, Washington, D.C: prosecuted defendants and represented the SEC in disciplinary proceedings against lawyers and CPAs practicing before the SEC; reviewed corporate transactions and drafted Commission orders and opinions in appeals from the NYSE and NASD; represented Commissioners in subpoena proceedings; advised EEOC pro tem Director on Title VII matters and employee relations; represented the SEC in contractor protest involving EDGAR computerized filing system for public corporations; supervised junior lawyers, legal assistants and interns. Received performance salary awards for outstanding service; promoted to GM14 within 3 years of employment (the federal government’s General Management (GM) grade has since been abolished).

 

September 1986-December 1988: Associate, Wilmer Cutler & Pickering (now Wilmer Hale), Washington, D.C: Practiced securities litigation, general litigation, appellate litigation, administrative litigation (FERC), international banking and entertainment law; pro bono lead counsel for Vietnamese asylees in immigration law/deportation proceedings; part of team handling pro bono work in connection with academic freedom/college tenure denial, and in First and Fourth Amendments constitutional disputes involving mandatory drug-testing of U.S. Department of Justice employees.

 

May 1984-August 1986: Senior Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Hugh Gibson (now deceased), Southern District of Texas: legal writing and research for the court in aid of judicial decision-making in motion hearings and in trials on the merit; responsible for admiralty, social security benefits, and prisoners’ civil rights dockets.

June 1979-May 1984: Executive Director for Risk Management, Houston Independent School District (promotion from Staff Analyst, Administrative Services, at 23 years of age). Full-time executive career with the Houston ISD while attending law school at night; also served as in-service trainer/instructor for administrative personnel in business communication (in-service training programs in collaboration with the Houston Community College). Responsible for the Houston ISD’s $6 million insurance budget; developed strategic planning and presented solutions and program structuring to Board of Education for approval; supervised professionals, claim managers and support staff; oversaw five operational units: Safety/Loss Control, Workers and Unemployment Compensation, Property/Assets, Liability, and Employee Benefits Risk Management; responsible for asbestos abatement in school buildings in compliance with EPA mandates, and in the management of insurance coverage for school bus fleet and more than 200 school buildings; handled interaction with the press, defense lawyers, patrons, teacher and worker unions.

 

HONORS AND SPECIAL INTERESTS: published author/novelist and winner of International Book Awards (2012) without the help of literary agents. Finalist for Columbine Award for short stories, surrealist drama, Moon Dance Film Festival (2001, 2018); Houston Bar and D.C. Bar writing awards (Stuart Stiller contest) (1998); Who’s Who in the World (1996); honored at the ABA’s “Minority Women in the Judiciary” conference as first Vietnamese American to hold a judgeship (NYC 1992); White House Fellowship regional finalist representing Southwestern states (1990-91) (withdrew from competition due to extended federal employment restriction); Outstanding Lawyer Performance Cash Award(s), Office of General Counsel (SEC) (1989, 1990); Alumnus, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Pasadena, CA (1990).

 

HONORS DURING HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF

(SOUTH) VIETNAM: National valedictorian (1973-73 (junior high) and 1974-75 (senior high); South Vietnam’s Honor Prize in Literature Awarded on Trung Sisters’ Day (March 1975).

 

BAR MEMBERSHIPS: Scored in the top 10 percent of all Texas bar examinees (1984); member, Texas and D.C. bars (currently inactive); admitted for practice in the Southern District of Texas, 5th Circuit, D.C. Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Court (inactive).

LANGUAGES: English, Vietnamese (fluent), French (general knowledge; excellent reading comprehension of French literature).

 

SPECIAL INTEREST: Published novelist (2012 International Book Award); bilingual poet (English-Vietnamese); singer and musician; self-taught L’Art Brut visual artist; alumnus, American Academy of Dramatic Arts (1991-92).