Straus Institute Welcomes Two New Staff Members

We are pleased to announce that Pashtana Abedi began in January as Assistant Director of Student Recruitment, Marketing, and Global Outreach for the Straus Institute at the Pepperdine University School of Law. She will serve as part of the Straus Institute’s efforts in recruiting students from around the world to continue its legacy of creating an enriching and diverse experience for students. Pashtana Abedi holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Southern California and a Master of Dispute Resolution from the Straus Institute. After completing her studies at the Straus Institute, she went on to build her own mediation practice where she mediates a variety of cases including cross-cultural and faith-based disputes. Her passion for conflict resolution led her to work at the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California to develop a mediation program and to author a book on faith-based mediations entitled "Mediation and Islam." Furthermore, Pashtana’s work in conflict resolution paved the way to her election as member of the Board of Directors for the Southern California Mediation Association.

We are also pleased to announce that Sammy Liu, began in January as Head of China Program. She will serve as the ambassador of Pepperdine to the Chinese universities, government institutes and students, with a focus on recruiting and marketing. Prior to Pepperdine, Sammy Liu was a senior legal counsel at Mannheimer Swartling specializing in international dispute resolution. She has worked in various international law firms in Hong Kong since 1996. Sammy is a member of the New York Bar Association and holds a J.D. degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law, an LL.M. from University of Washington and a Master of Laws from Beijing University, China. Sammy has worked at major US law firms in Hong Kong, a UK law firm in China and Swedish law firms in Sweden. She has worked more than a decade in the foreign direct investment area in the Asian market. In addition to her extensive experience in advising multinational companies in cross-border transactions, she has gained in-depth knowledge of the Chinese industries, law, policies and culture through advising major international companies in entering into the Chinese market.