57th Annual Winter Luncheon

Honorees R. Randle Edwards and Wei Sun Christianson ’89 will receive the Medal for Excellence at the annual event.


Columbia Law School Association’s Medal for Excellence will be awarded to two outstanding leaders in international and Chinese law at the 57th Annual Winter Luncheon, to be held Friday, January 20, 2006 at the Waldorf-Astoria. Columbia Law School Dean David Schizer will provide opening remarks.

The awardees for 2006 are R. Randle Edwards, Walter Gellhorn Professor Emeritus of Law, Columbia Law School, and Wei Sun Christianson ’89, Chairman, China, Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited.

R. Randle Edwards

Professor Edwards created one of the leading Chinese law programs in the country at Columbia Law School. Edwards joined the Columbia Law School faculty in 1973 and was subsequently designated the first Walter Gellhorn Professor of Law; he also became a faculty member of Columbia University’s East Asian Institute. Professor Edwards established The Center for Chinese Legal Studies in 1983 (under the aegis of the Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law) and served as Director until he retired. The Center hosts one of the largest concentrations outside of China of experts in Chinese law, including legal scholars, lawyers, and government legal specialists.

Professor Edwards served as Chairman of the Committee on Legal Education Exchange with China from 1983-91 and acted as editor-in-chief from 1987-96 of the Journal of Chinese Law (now the Columbia Journal of Asian Law). His publications include "Human Rights in Contemporary China" (Columbia University Press, 1986) and "Essays on China's Legal Tradition" (Princeton University Press, 1980). Columbia Law School established the Edwards Fellowship in his honor.

Wei Sun Christianson ’89

Wei Sun Christianson ’89 is Chairman, China, Citigroup Global Markets Asia Limited. Prior to joining Citigroup, Ms. Christianson worked as a Managing Director, Chairman of China and Country Manager for Credit Suisse First Boston. Previously, she was an Executive Director of the Resources, Power and Transportation Group and the Beijing Chief Representative at Morgan Stanley.

Ms. Christianson has played a leading role in many landmark privatization transactions involving restructurings and IPOs of China’s state-owned enterprises in the US, London and Hong Kong, including China Life, Sinopec, Chalco, Sinotrans and China Oilfield Services Ltd. She also has led the execution of several significant M&A transactions by overseas listed Chinese companies to date. Ms. Christianson previously was an Associate Director of the Corporate Finance Department of the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. While at the SFC, she helped to formulate the rules and regulations of the Hong Kong securities market in preparation for the listing of the first batch of Chinese companies in Hong Kong in 1993. Prior to joining the SFC in Hong Kong, Ms. Christianson was a lawyer in New York with Orrik, Herrington and Sutcliffe.

Ms. Christianson graduated from Amherst College cum laude. She received her JD degree from Columbia Law School in 1989, with honors, in international law. She is a lawyer admitted to practice in the State of New York.

About the Award

The Medal for Excellence is awarded to alumni and faculty whose professional accomplishments reflect the qualities of character, intellect, and social and professional responsibility that Columbia Law School nurtures. Previous winners include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59, Federal District Court Judge Jack B. Weinstein ’48, former U.S. District Attorney Mary Jo White ’74, Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger ’71, and Professor Louis Henkin.