Eugenie C. Gavenchak, News Corporation deputy general counsel, and Elizabeth Stotland Weiswasser, a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, received the 55th Annual George A. Katz Torch of Learning Award (TOL), presented by American Friends of the Hebrew University (AFHU) at Cipriani Midtown on May 8.
The George A. Katz Torch of Learning Award is presented annually to distinguished members of the legal community and recognizes leadership, scholarship and dedication to the betterment of humanity. It embodies the high ideals and philanthropic commitment of the late George A. Katz, co-founder of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and a longtime AFHU supporter.
At the annual luncheon event, attended by nearly 300 guests, AFHU president Pamela Nadler Emmerich said, “Eugenie C. Gavenchak and Elizabeth Stotland Weiswasser are two exceptional recipients of the AFHU Torch of Learning Award. We are proud to honor their professional and philanthropic achievements in the centennial year of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.”
Eugenie C. Gavenchak is the senior vice president, deputy general counsel of News Corp, a global media and entertainment company. She began working at News Corp in May 1995, where she oversees litigation and other disputes domestically and abroad, assists in identifying and avoiding risk, and advises on matters of corporate and information governance. Gavenchak also serves on News Corp’s Information Governance Steering Committee and as senior vice president of a number of subsidiaries and affiliates of News Corp. She graduated with honors from Wesleyan University and earned her law degree from Boston University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Boston University Law Review.
David B. Pitofsky, general counsel and chief compliance officer at News Corp and a 2017 Torch of Learning laureate, presented Gavenchak with her award.
“I thank American Friends of the Hebrew University for this prestigious honor and for including me and my fellow recipient, Elizabeth Stotland Weiswasser, among the distinguished honorees who have received the Torch of Learning Award in the past,” Gavenchak said. “I applaud the Hebrew University for its commitment to excellence and for graduating so many distinguished legal scholars and judges dedicated to maintaining Israel as a democracy.”
Elizabeth Stotland Weiswasser is one of the nation’s pre-eminent life sciences litigators. Co-chair of the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP Litigation Department, she specializes in high-stakes patent litigation and strategic counseling for leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies, combining deep scientific expertise with sophisticated patent law knowledge. Following law school at the University of Chicago, Stotland Weiswasser clerked for Judge Alan D. Lourie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to her legal career, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and molecular biology from Northwestern University and conducted graduate studies in molecular biology at Princeton University.
Presenting Stotland Weiswasser with her Torch of Learning Award was Brad S. Karp, chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and a 2005 Torch of Learning laureate and NE Region board, AFHU.
“I am deeply honored to accept American Friends of the Hebrew University’s Torch of Learning Award, and to celebrate a century of fruitful partnership between AFHU and Hebrew University,” said Stotland Weiswasser. “AFHU has supported groundbreaking research and education experiences for generations of students, and with your help, we will continue to help ensure that Hebrew University continues to thrive for the generations to come.”
In addition, professor Tomer Broude, dean of the Hebrew University Faculty of Law, spoke about “Legal Resilience: Teaching, Practicing and Defending Law in Wartime.”
Hebrew University’s Faculty of Law is a dynamic institution where traditional legal research is conducted along with trailblazing programs in international law, multidisciplinary studies and human-rights research. Its law alumni include the majority of Israel’s former Supreme Court justices (many of whom are now faculty members), legislators, attorneys general, social activists and heads of NGOs.
The 55th Annual George A. Katz Torch of Learning Awards ceremony had an outstanding lineup of co-chairs and advisors supporting the event. They included:
Stephen M. Cutler, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Charles D. Day, UBS Private Wealth Management; Adam O. Emmerich, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; David I. Gindler, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP; Brad S. Karp, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Meredith E. Kotler, Freshfields US LLP; C. Scott Lent, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP; Sabina Lippman, CenterPeak LLC; Steven G. Mintz, Mintz & Gold LLP; David B. Pitofsky, News Corp; Jonathan D. Polkes, White & Case LLP; Ira Lee Sorkin, Mintz & Gold LLP; and Avi Weitzman, Paul Hastings LLP.
For more information, visit: http://www.afhu.org.
