Spring 2009 - Seattle University

Legal Mind
, ’89
Rufus Yerxa’s law school education has led him in
unexpected but exciting directions, from U.S. ambassador
to a high-ranking post with the World Trade Organization
(WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland.
The WTO notwithstanding, Yerxa’s résumé is impressive.
He’s been a senior trade official in past Republican
and Democratic administrations, and has held posts
including as an ambassador, permanent representative
to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and
deputy trade representative in Washington, D.C.
How does a 1976 graduate of the School of Law
end up working for the WTO, a position he’s had at the
organization’s Geneva headquarters since 2002?
While serving as a U.S. negotiator for the Uruguay
Round WTO agreement, he received an unexpected call.
“I was actually working in the private sector in
Washington, D.C., when a call came in from the new
director general of the WTO offering me the deputy position,”
Yerxa says. “After intensive family discussions, I
collectively decided to accept.”
As one of four deputy director generals with the
WTO Yerxa holds the second-ranking position in the
organization.
A holistic approach to legal education prepared Yerxa
for his ability to change professions. He says, “[I gained]
the knowledge that I could use my legal training and
the other tools a legal education bestows in any number
of ways.”
Receiving an Alumni Award from SU “means a great
deal to me,” Yerxa says.
“My career has taken me far from my law school roots,
but it is important to me that I can reconnect with today’s
students and faculty and hopefully inspire others.”
—Tina Potterf
Rufus Yerxa is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and was
unavailable for a photo shoot in Seattle.
Prof e s s ion a l Ac h i e v e m e n t
Rufus Yerxa, ’76 JD
Jim Theofelis with Ashlie Lanier and Leona Bill of the Mockingbird Society.
SU Magazine Spring 2009 | 23