Celebrating 10 Years in Fort Worth - Texas Wesleyan School of Law ...

Photo by Paul B. Scudder
To question Professor Joe Spurlock
about Mongolia is to open the door
to history, passion, and unmitigated
enthusiasm from a man who says he has
found familiarity in a country halfway
around the world. Having recently
returned from his seventh journey to
Mongolia, Professor Spurlock is wellversed
in the nation’s past and present
happenings. But his interest in this
faraway land is more than a personal one.
A 1995 meeting with Mongolia’s former
president laid the foundation for a project
that will – for all intents and purposes –
change the shape of a nation.
The Asian Judicial Institute is part
of Texas Wesleyan University School
of Law’s international community
outreach program. Also referred to as
the AJI, the program was formed under
Spurlock’s direction after he met former
President Orchibat of Mongolia in
Houston in 1995.
Just three years prior to this encounter, in
1992, Mongolia’s people had elected to
establish a democratic form of government,
and the country’s leaders were looking for
guidance that would help their Supreme
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How One Professor’s Love of Law is
Helping Reshape a Nation
Professor Joe Spurlock in his office at the law school. The national flag of Mongolia behind him is one
of many treasures he has collected during his time as director of the Asian Judicial Institute.
Court develop programs to further the
reforms of the judiciary.
The initial meeting between Spurlock
and President Orchibat led to further
introductions, and Spurlock soon found
himself in the company of Ambassador
Choinhor, the Mongolian ambassador to
the United States, Chief Justice Ganzorig
of the Mongolian Supreme Court, and
other diplomats in the Mongolian
Embassy in Washington, D.C. With
Spurlock as the acting director, the AJI
was officially formed in 1996.
“Through a series of fortunate events,
they found this law school and us,”
Spurlock said. “As an individual, I have
no power. It takes an institution to back
up a professor.”
Journeys across the World
Spurlock made his first trip to Mongolia
in 2000. Since that time, a well-worn
path has been tread between Mongolia
and Texas by Spurlock and members of
the Mongolian legal community. The law
school hosted its first group of Mongolian
Supreme Court judges in 2000 and
has since welcomed seven groups of
judges and lawyers to its downtown
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by Abby E. Dozier
campus. During their time here, these
individuals attend classroom lectures
given by Spurlock and other members of
the law faculty, and visit local law firms,
government offices, and courthouses.
They are “seeing American law in action”
as Spurlock says.
“Just being in the courts and the law
offices was worth being in the program,”
Mr. Batjav, of the Mongolian office
of the president, said at the end of
the July 2007 training. “It was great
meeting the practitioners.”
With so many components of the legal
system to choose from, narrowing in
on one area to advise could have been
a challenge. However, Spurlock said
Professor Joe Spurlock receives the Mongolian Medal of Friendship from
the Hon. Ch. Ganbat, chief justice of the Mongolian Supreme Court.
Photo by Lauren O. Burkett