Joey Chbeir enrolled as the first Doctor of Juridical Science student at the Law School this fall.
Chbeir was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and earned his law degree at the Université La Sagesse in 1998. He received an LL.M. from the University of Minnesota in 1999 and a second LL.M. from The University of Alabama School of Law in 2005.
Chbeir began searching for J.S.D. programs several years ago, before Alabama developed its own program. At the time, the closest program was at Duke University and would have required him to move from his Birmingham home.
He applied to the School of Law because the degree will allow him to contribute in a scholarly way to an important practical problem. His dissertation will examine how U.S. constitutional principles could be used to improve nascent democracies in the Middle East.
“It will provide me with the ability to use my multicultural perspective to teach future lawyers in the Middle East,” he said. “I want to use my experience in the U.S., particularly the emphasis on the relationship between the rule of law, fundamental rights, and democracy, to help people understand its importance so that one day they can peacefully coexist.”
Chbeir is an attorney with Maynard Cooper & Gale PC in Birmingham. He focuses on matters involving international law, immigration law, and general litigation. Professor Bryan Fair is supervising Chbeir’s studies in Constitutional Law and International Public Law.
Applicants must submit a plan of study and a description of the topic of a proposed dissertation. For more information on the application process, please contact admissions@law.ua.edu.