Attorney from USAID Visits Lewis & Clark Law

On Friday, May 3, attorney Jun Jin from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of the General Counsel gave a talk at Lewis & Clark Law School.  He provided an overview of operational and legal challenges involved in delivering humanitarian and development assistance abroad, and also offered perspectives on careers in international development. 

Among the topics he addressed were:

• The legal work of USAID.
• The U.S. foreign assistance system, outlining the role of Congress, the larger Executive branch, and USAID.
• Structure of the Office of the General Counsel and some of the work attorneys do for USAID, including a focus on the day-to-day things such as negotiating international agreements with host governments and other donors, structuring awards with partners, living and working in difficult environments, and the unique challenges of implementing in non-permissive environments, such as Afghanistan, Syria, and Venezuela.
• Some of the ways the Agency is being transformed, with a particular focus on the Agency’s Journey to Self Reliance.
• Careers in international law, and how Mr. Jun got to where he is.

Jun Jin is the Acting Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Over his 14+ year career at USAID, Jun has served in various legal and non-legal capacities, including as the Acting General Counsel, the Assistant General Counsel for Acquisition and Assistance (GC/A&A), the West Africa Regional Legal Advisor to the U.S. Government’s President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and to the USAID Mission to Nigeria based in Abuja, Nigeria, the USAID Senior Development Advisor to the World Bank Group in the Office of the U.S. Executive Director, and Senior Counsel in GC/A&A. Jun is the U.S. Government’s lead representative to the Methodology for Assessing Procurement Systems (MAPS) Working Group.