LIDS is a diverse group of students from Harvard Law School, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the Fletcher School at Tufts, Boston College Law, and other graduate programs in Boston who are passionate about the challenges and opportunities that lie at the intersection of law, policy, and international development.

The Harvard Trade Forum is an international platform discussing the foremost issues on trade. Our conversations and interests span from explorations on climate change to geopolitical shifts. Each year, Harvard Trade Forum hosts a spring conference inviting foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to bridge and engage with the next generation on global, regional and industry agendas. In the past, our guests have included:

  • H.E. Anabel González, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
  • John Denton AO, Secretary General of the International Criminal Court
  • Naboth van den Broek, Partner at Akin Gump in London
  • Goerge Riddell, Director of Trade Strategy at Ernst & Young (EY)

FOUNDERS

Maryan Hassan graduated from Harvard Law School in 2022. During her study at HLS, she co-founded the Harvard Trade Forum. Maryan is a UK lawyer, former chief negotiator to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the Federal Government of Somalia. She is the first Black woman to have served as president of the Harvard International Arbitration Law Students Association and is the co-founder of the Harvard UK Students Law Association (HUKSLA). Maryan is also an Obama Foundation Leader for Africa.

Prakhar Bhardwaj obtained his Masters in Law from Harvard Law School as a Nehru-Fulbright Scholar in 2022. During his studies at HLS, he co-founded the Harvard Trade Forum. Before Harvard, Prakhar spent three years as a Senior Research Fellow with the Center For Trade and Investment Law, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, advising on WTO disputes, regional trade agreements, and WTO compliance. Prior to that, he was a corporate attorney with Khaitan & Co and AZB & Partners, two of the premier law firms in India. Currently, Prakhar is a Consultant with the World Bank’s Trade and Regional Integration team.

CHAIRS

Xuejiao (Katniss) Li is an LL.M. candidate at Harvard Law School. Before Harvard, Katniss accumulated her experience in international trade-related matters by working as an associate at Fangda Partners, an intern at Clifford Chance and DLA Piper, and as a researcher at the China Development Bank. Her areas of practice and research include economic sanctions and export control, data privacy and cybersecurity, trade policy analysis, and reviews and investigations related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Having studied at Harvard Law School, Renmin University, and the University of Cambridge, Katniss embraces cultural diversities.

Katniss loves international law. She won the Best Oralist, National Champion, and Alona E. Evans Best Memo as a Jessup mooter and now serves as a judge in the Jessup Chinese rounds and international rounds. She is an Article Editor at Harvard International Law Journal and one of the youngest scholars participating in the Institut de Droit International annual conference. Katniss has been devoted to international volunteer work since 2014 and has made some lifelong friends at AIESEC and the Chinese Initiative on International Law. Katniss is a co-founder of Legal Youth, an NGO dedicated to promoting equal legal education opportunities in China.

Margaret Siu is a JD candidate at Harvard Law School. She is the recipient of the Marshall Scholarship, which funded her graduate education at the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics. Presently, she is spearheading The Cranes Project, a memorial honoring the lives lost to COVID-19 and providing a space for collective grief in the state of Texas. She is also on the board of directors for the Oxford Silk Road Society and acting as the chair of Apricity Magazine.

Previously, Margaret researched for Andrew Cainey, senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Director at the UK National Committee on China, on China’s Dual Circulation Strategy. From 2019-2020, she had researched for the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Human Rights Initiative as a Congressman Bill Archer Fellow. She was also a guest lecturer at Beijing Foreign Studies University and the University of Texas at Austin. Margaret began her career founding Apricity Magazine, an international arts journal, contributing to her interest in soft power diplomacy.