Climbing Above the Culture Clash

Howard Zhang (’93)
For Distinguished Service to the Profession
Dean Maureen O’Rourke, Jacqueline Jacobs Caster (’83), Howard Zhang (’93),
Carolina Trujillo (’01), Thomas Farrell (’91) and Cheryl Constantine
for more than a decade, performing economic feasibility studies for
large-scale urban renovation and cultural projects. Caster was given
the Humanitarian Award for three organizations: First Star in 2004,
The Optimist Youth Home in 2005, and Shane’s Inspiration in 2006.
She was also named Santa Monica/Westside YWCA Woman of the
Year for 2005. Caster received her B.A. from Pomona College, her
master’s in city and regional planning from the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University, and her J.D. from BU Law.
Thomas Farrell (’91)
For Distinguished Service to the School
Thomas Farrell has served for more than 14 years as a member of the
BU Law Alumni Association’s Executive Committee, including a term
as its president. He also helped found the Law Student Ethics Awards
Initiative, which is now entering its fifth year. The Initiative honors
students from 11 area law schools for their exceptional commitment
to ethics. Farrell remains active in helping Boston University School
of Management develop and market an innovative executive business
education training program for lawyers. He received the 2007
Corporate Counsel Excellence Award from the area’s in-house bar, and
served as a member of the board of editors of New England In-House,
an affiliate of Lawyers Weekly. He regularly meets with and assists
younger lawyers who are in transition or considering a professional
change.
Farrell is the founder and principal of Farrell & Associates, PC, a
solo practice law firm specializing in corporate transactional work.
Since its founding in 2006, he has handled more than $400 million
in transactions. Previously, he was associate general counsel of
Tyco International, where he served under Tyco’s new management
as co-lead attorney of the company’s merger, acquisition and
divestiture function, and had served as the deputy general counsel of
SimplexGrinnell, a Tyco operating company. Farrell received his B.A.
from Middlebury College and his J.D. from BU Law.
Howard Zhang is a resident partner of Davis Polk & Wardwell’s
Beijing office and a member of the firm’s corporate department.
Zhang represents leading private equity firms, venture capital funds,
investment banks, multinational companies and entrepreneurial
growth companies in complex cross-border transactions and financing
activities. He focuses on mergers and acquisitions, including
private equity portfolio investments, buyouts, joint ventures and
strategic investment transactions. He is listed in many legal industry
publications, including The Legal Media Group: Guide to the World’s
Leading Private Equity Lawyers; Practical Law Company’s Cross-border
Private Equity Handbook; International Who’s Who of Professionals; and,
as a leading lawyer in corporate finance, AsiaLaw (2004). He is also a
member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at BU Law. Zhang graduated
from Shanghai International Studies University in 1981, and in 1982
received his post-graduate certificate from the United Nations Training
Course at Beijing Foreign Studies University. In 1993, he received
his J.D. from BU Law, where he was a recipient of the American
Jurisprudence Award and the topics editor of the Boston University
International Law Journal.
Alan R. Stern (’09)
For Distinguished Service to the School
Alan Stern entered BU Law in the fall of 2006 with a B.A. from
New York University, graduating on the Dean’s List and magna cum
laude. He gained experience at the Brooklyn Legal Aid Society, where
he assisted victims of domestic violence, as an aide to New York
State Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, and at the Brooklyn District
Attorney’s Office.
After his first year at BU Law, Stern was designated a G. Joseph Tauro
Scholar, a recognition given to the top 10 percent of his section. As a
tribute to his exemplary work and dedication, he earned membership
on the Review of Banking and Financial Law, and he was elected to
serve as an articles editor. In the summer of 2007, he was selected as
a judicial intern for the Honorable Michael Dolinger, U.S. District
Court for the Southern District of New York.
BU Law professors said that Stern stood out with his love of learning,
breadth of interests and valuable contributions to class discussions. His
academic achievement and his devotion to friends and service were all
the more remarkable given his struggle with illness. Stern temporarily
left school to deal with his illness, but he stayed in touch with the BU
Law community.
He passed away in 2008. Although the length of his life was too
short, the impact he had on the law school and larger communities is
powerful and lasting. BU Law is honored to have known him, if for
only a short while. •
34 | Boston University School of Law | www.bu.edu/law