Noted Attorney to Speak at New England College
Phillip James Walker, international lawyer and Senior Legal Adviser to the Afghan Ministry of Finance, will speak on the crisis surrounding the failure of the Kabul Bank and the potential consequences for the United States. The presentation will be held on Wednesday, April 18 at 7:15 p.m. at the New England College Simon Center at 98 Bridge Street in Henniker, New Hampshire, and is free and open to the public. The program is sponsored by the Friends of the New England College Library.
In August 2010, Afghanistan’s largest bank failed, precipitating a crisis that almost caused the government and the country to collapse. The ensuing investigation uncovered nearly $1 billion in theft and a trail of nepotism, corruption, and power politics. The scandal has the potential to derail U.S. plans to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan by 2014.
Attorney Walker has served as the Senior Legal Advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Finance since March of 2010, where he has been involved in critical decisions in the area of economic and fiscal policy, and the negotiation of Afghanistan’s current agreement with the International Monetary Fund. For more than 20 years Attorney Walker has focused on the reform and reconstruction of current- and post-conflict societies. His work has taken him to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, where he has provided advice in the areas of legislative and judicial reform, transition to civilian government, and constitutional drafting.
He has served as a U.S. diplomat in Cairo, Egypt, at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh during Operation Desert Shield/Storm, and at U.S. Embassies in Tunisia and Kuwait. He has taught courses on International Law and Comparative Law of the Islamic World, and writes and speaks frequently on international and comparative legal issues.
Attorney Walker received a J.D. from Cornell Law School, an M.Phil. from the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College), and a B.A. from Georgetown University.
