Tom Graham Appointed to WTO Appellate Body

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Nov 18, 2011) - Thomas R. Graham, the former chair of King & Spalding's international trade practice, has been appointed to serve as a member of the seven-person World Trade Organization Appellate Body. Graham, who was nominated for the position by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, will begin serving a four-year term of office in December 2011.

Graham, currently a senior counsel at King & Spalding, in Washington, D.C., represents respondents in non-U.S. trade remedy cases, negotiates the settlement of disputes and assists in WTO dispute-settlement proceedings. He earlier served as deputy general counsel at the U.S. Trade Representative's office during a period that laid the foundation for the WTO dispute settlement system. He also helped draft significant parts of U.S. trade legislation. Graham has taught at the Georgetown Law Center as an adjunct professor and written extensively on international trade as a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and as a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He holds an undergraduate degree from Indiana University and a law degree from Harvard Law School.

"The firm and our trade practice are extremely proud of Tom's appointment to the highest global trade body," noted King & Spalding's international trade practice chair Stephen A. Jones. "His experience and guidance have contributed to the significant growth and development of our trade practice, and we are confident that WTO Members will now benefit greatly from his expertise and sound judgment."

Joe Dorn, who established the firm's international trade practice, added, "I have had the pleasure of working with Tom as a partner since the 1980s. He is a great lawyer, with impeccable character and integrity, and will be a tremendous asset to the work of the Appellate Body."

The WTO Appellate Body was established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1995, to hear appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought by WTO members. It can uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings and conclusions of a panel, and WTO Appellate Body reports, once adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body, must be accepted by the parties to the dispute.

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