Author
The Law Library of Congress produces reports on foreign, comparative, and international law in response to requests from Members of Congress, Congressional staff and committees, the federal courts, executive branch agencies, and others. Selected reports are provided for the public for reference purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. The information provided reflects research undertaken as of the date of writing, which has not updated unless specifically noted.
Biographical information on authors currently employed at the Law Library.
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Luis Acosta
Director, Editorial and Publishing Office
Mr. Acosta earned a BA from the University of Florida, a JD from the George Washington University, and an MSLS from Catholic University. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
Tariq Ahmad
Foreign Law Specialist
Mr. Ahmad holds an LLM degree in International Law from American University’s Washington College of Law and an LLB from University College London. He also holds a BA in Political Science from Ohio State University.
Stephania Alvarez
Foreign Law Specialist
Ms. Alvarez obtained a Juris Doctor from Icesi University (Colombia). She holds an LLM degree in Environmental and Energy Law from Georgetown University School of Law and an MIA in Environmental Policy from Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs. She is fluent in Spanish.
B
Barbara Bavis
Bibliographic and Research Instruction Librarian
Ms. Bavis holds a BA in history from Duke University, a JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and an MSLS with a specialization in law librarianship from Catholic University. She is an associate member of the Virginia State Bar.
Kelly Buchanan
Chief, Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Division II
Ms. Buchanan holds an LLB (Honors) and a bachelor’s degree in Social Policy from Victoria University of Wellington. Ms. Buchanan has been admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.
C
Emily Carr
Senior Legal Reference Librarian
Ms. Carr is a graduate of Trinity College (BA, History) and the University of Michigan (MILS, Law Librarianship). Before coming to the Law Library of Congress, she worked as Head of Reference and Government Documents Librarian at George Mason University Law Library; in the Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, and Hamilton Law Library; the Georgetown E.B. Williams Law Library; the University of Michigan Law Library; and the Executive Office of the President.
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Clare Feikert
Senior Foreign Law Specialist
Ms. Feikert holds an LL.M. in International Law from the American University Washington College of Law and a B.A. in Law with a minor in International Relations from the University of Lincoln, England (J.D. equivalent). In addition to being a native English speaker, she also is fluent in French.
Dante Figueroa
Senior Legal Information Analyst
Mr. Figueroa obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Concepción, Chile, and has LLM degrees from American University and the University of Chile. He is fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Italian, and has a working knowledge of German and Portuguese. He is a member of the Chile, District of Columbia, New York, and U.S. Supreme Court bars.
Iana Fremer
Legal Research Analyst
Ms. Fremer holds a master’s degree in Russian Language and Literature from Tbilisi State University and a master’s degree in journalism and media management from the Caucasus School of Journalism and Media Management.
Sarah Friedman
Legal Reference Librarian
Ms. Friedman holds a B.A. in English Literature and Criticism from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, a J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law, and is currently earning an MLIS from Valdosta State University (expected graduation May 2025). She is a member of the Massachusetts Bar.
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Jenny Gesley
Foreign Law Specialist
Dr. Gesley holds an LLM from the University of Minnesota Law School, and both a JD equivalent and a PhD in law from the Goethe University of Frankfurt, Germany. Her doctoral dissertation on financial market supervision in the United States was awarded the 2015 Baker & McKenzie Award.
Louis Gilbert
Foreign Law Specialist
Mr. Gilbert holds a JD from American University's Washington College of Law, a Masters of Law from Université Paris Nanterre, and an LLB from the University of Essex. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
Hanibal M. Goitom
Chief, Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Division I
Mr. Goitom holds an LLM in International Law from the New York University School of Law and an LLB from the University of Asmara, Eritrea. He is a member of the New York Bar. He is fluent in Tigrinya and Amharic.
Gustavo Guerra
Senior Foreign Law Specialist
Mr. Guerra holds an LLM in International Legal Studies from the Georgetown University Law Center and a Licenciado en Derecho (law degree, with honors) from the University of Sonora, Mexico. Prior to joining the Law Library of Congress, he served as a staff attorney and law clerk with the judicial branch of Sonora, Mexico and as a staff attorney with the federal judicial branch of Mexico.
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Ann Hemmens
Senior Legal Reference Librarian
Ms. Hemmens earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois and her law degree and library science degree from the University of North Carolina. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar (inactive status).
Elin Hofverberg
Foreign Law Specialist
Ms. Hofverberg holds an LLM in International and Comparative Law from the George Washington University Law School and a Juris kandidatexamen (Master of Laws, JD equivalent) from Uppsala University, Sweden. She is a member of the New York Bar and is qualified to practice law in Sweden. Ms. Hofverberg is bilingual in English and Swedish and is fully proficient in Danish, Icelandic, and Norwegian. She also has a basic understanding of South Sami.
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Olivia Kane-Cruz
Legal Reference Librarian
Ms. Kane-Cruz holds a B.A. in political science from Humboldt State University (Cal Poly Humboldt), a J.D. and a masters of environmental law and policy from Vermont Law and Graduate School, and an M.L.I.S. from the University of Washington.
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Ruth Levush
Senior Foreign Law Specialist
Ms. Levush holds a Master of Comparative Law (American Practice) from the George Washington University National Law Center and an LLB from Tel Aviv University Law School, Ramat Aviv, Israel. She was admitted to the Israeli Bar and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. She is a native speaker of Hebrew.
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Louis Myers
Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian
Mr. Myers earned a BA in history from Kent State University, a JD from the University of Idaho, and an MLIS from Kent State University. He is a member of the Alaska Bar Association (inactive status).
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Elizabeth Osborne
Chief, Public Services Division
Ms. Osborne holds a BA in justice from American University, a JD from Brooklyn Law School, and an MSIS from the University of Tennessee. She is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut (retired status), and Virginia (associate status).
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Anna Price
Senior Legal Reference Libarian
Ms. Price earned her undergraduate degree from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, where she majored in communications with minors in legal studies and politics. She earned her JD from the University of Washington School of Law, and practiced as a trial attorney for five years. She received her MLIS from the University of Washington iSchool. She is a member of the Washington State Bar (inactive status).
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Peter Roudik
Assistant Law Librarian of Congress for Legal Research
Mr. Roudik holds an MA in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, a JSD from the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Science, and a joint degree in history and law from the State University of Moscow. He completed the LLM Program in Comparative Constitutional Law at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. He is fluent in Russian, some other Slavic languages, and German. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
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George Sadek
Foreign Law Specialist
Mr. Sadek earned his JD equivalency degree from George Mason University. He also holds an LLM in International Law from American University’s Washington College of Law and an LLB in Comparative International Law from Cairo University.
Eduardo Soares
Senior Foreign Law Specialist
Mr. Soares holds an LLM in International Legal Studies from the American University Washington College of Law and a JD from the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is admitted to practice law in Brazil.
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Sayuri Umeda
Senior Foreign Law Specialist
Ms. Umeda holds an LLM in Intellectual Property from the George Washington University National Law Center, as well as an LLB from Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan. She is a member of the New York Bar and was a registered attorney in Japan from 1994 to 1998. She is a native speaker of Japanese.
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Jason Zarin
Legal Reference Librarian
Mr. Zarin has a BA in economics from Tufts University, an MA in economics from UCLA, a JD from the University of Southern California, an LLM in tax from Georgetown University, and an MSIS from the University of Texas at Austin. He is an inactive member of the Texas and DC bars. Prior to joining the Law Library, he worked as a tax litigator in government and law firm settings, and as a law librarian at the Georgetown, University of Richmond, and Cardozo law schools.
Laney Zhang
Senior Foreign Law Specialist
Ms. Zhang graduated from Duke Law School with an LLM degree and did her postgraduate research as an Edwards Fellow at Columbia Law School. She holds an LLB and a Master’s in Jurisprudence degree from Nanjing University Law School. She is a member of the New York Bar. She is a native speaker of Chinese.