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Gwynne Skinner Visiting Clinical Professor Room 122, Seattle University School of Law Phone: (206) 398-4111 E-mail: skinnerg@seattleu.edu

Teaches International Human Rights Law Clinic, International and Comparative Law on the Rights of Women, and Human Rights Advocacy

B.A., Political Science, summa cum laude, University of Northern Iowa; M.A., American Studies, University of Iowa; J.D. University of Iowa College of Law (High Distinction); M.St. International Human Rights Law (LL.M. equivalent), Oxford, expected 2007.

Professor Skinner has several years experience litigating human rights cases under the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act, as well as other federal and state civil rights statutes. She is currently lead counsel in the case of Corrie et al v. Caterpillar, for which the Center for Constitutional Rights in co-counsel. She is working on other ATS cases as well, and has been a volunteer attorney with the Center for Justice and Accountability for several years. She is also currently doing extensive work on the issue of detention and detention conditions for immigrants and refugees, work she has been involved in for several years. Ms. Skinner has also recently done work on the issues of gender, HIV, and access to justice for women in Africa.

Ms. Skinner has given several presentations on international human rights issues at various conferences, CLE’s and programs, including:

• “The Nuremberg Precedents and Their Impact on Civil Claims of War Crimes Against Individuals and Corporations in U.S. Courts,” The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial and Its Policy Consequences Today, Bowling Green State University, October, 2006
• “Bringing Human Rights Home: Using International Human Rights in Domestic Advocacy,” Affecting Change: Tools for Your Generation Conference at Seattle University, January 2006
• “War Crimes and Litigation: The Caterpillar Case,” 2005 Palestine Center Annual Conference, Palestine and the Middle East in a Global Context, Washington D.C. (comments published), November 2005
• “Corrie et al v. Caterpillar – A Civil Suit Concerning Aiding and Abetting International Human Rights Violations,” Washington State Bar Association (CLE presentation), June 2005
• “International Fora for Practicing Human Rights: What are the Options?” ABA Section of International Law Spring Meeting (CLE Co-Chair), April 2005
• “Human Rights and Violence Against Women in Conflict and War,” Third Western Annual Regional International Health Conference, Puget Sound Partners for Global Health (presentation), February 19, 2005

Ms. Skinner is also the founding partner of the Public Interest Law Group, PLLC, where she focused her practice on public interest litigation in the areas of human rights (international and domestic) and civil rights. Before founding PILG, she was an attorney in the litigation group of Dorsey and Whitney LLP, and an associate with what is now Frank, Freed, Subit and Thomas LLP. Early in her career, she was criminal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice and the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

In 2006 and 2007, Ms. Skinner was named a “Super Lawyer” by Washington Law and Politics, and in January of 2005, she was named one of Seattle’s top civil rights lawyers by Seattle Magazine. She has received several other awards for her work on behalf of immigrants, including Hate Free Zone’s Law and Justice Award in April 2005, and the annual Pro Bono award from the Newcomer’s Project of the King County Bar Association for her continued representation of immigrants in wage claim cases.

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