William Dodge
George Washington University Law School
William S. Dodge (@ProfBillDodge) is Lobingier Professor of Comparative Law and Jurisprudence at the George Washington University Law School. He served as Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State from 2011 to 2012 and as Co-Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Restatement (Fourth) of Foreign Relations Law from 2012 to 2018. He is currently a Reporter for the second phase of the Restatement (Fourth), an Adviser for the Restatement (Third) of Conflict of Laws, and a member of the Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Law. Professor Dodge is the co-author of Transnational Business Problems (7th ed. 2024) and Transnational Litigation in a Nutshell (2d ed. 2021). His articles on international law and transnational litigation have appeared in journals such as the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal.
Supreme Court CVSGs in Terrorism Case
On January 13, 2025, the Supreme Court called for the views of the Solicitor General in Borochov v. Islamic Republic of Iran. (This is commonly known as a “CVSG.”) The question presented is whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s (FSIA) exception for state sponsors of terrorism, 28 U.S.C. § 1605A, extends to cases in which…
Continue ReadingSDNY Stays Action Based on International Comity
Lower federal courts have developed several forms of abstention based on international comity. Some courts have adopted a doctrine of prescriptive comity abstention to dismiss federal statutory claims when facing a “true conflict” with foreign law. Some have embraced doctrines of adjudicative comity abstention that permit dismissals or stays of federal proceedings in favor of…
Continue ReadingDistrict Court Applies Securities Fraud Provision to Foreign Transactions
Does § 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act apply to securities on foreign exchanges? Generally, the answer is no. The Supreme Court held in Morrison v. National Australia Bank (2010) that § 10(b)—the Act’s principal antifraud provision—applies only to transactions on U.S. exchanges and to transactions in unlisted securities that occur in the United States….
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