Andrew T. Strong works as a member of Haradinaj defense team

Andrew T. Strong, having completed his first year at Chicago-Kent College of Law, withdrew from law school to continue his work, begun in June, 2005, as a member of the legal team defending former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj against charges that he violated international humanitarian law while he was a commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army. Mr. Strong is in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, working directly for Michael O’Reilly, who heads Mr. Haradinaj’s legal defense team.

Mr. Strong is assisting Mr O’Reilly in reviewing the evidence against Mr. Haradinaj and helping to organize the defense’s investigation of the charges. Mr. Strong received academic credit for his work during the summer and fall of 2005 under a “Rule of Law Externship,” which provides the opportunity for Chicago-Kent students to get involved in practical legal activities associated with nationbuilding and international interventions in post-conflict and transition societies. In January, 2006, Mr. Strong withdrew from his law studies to continue his work on the case.

He became involved in Kosovo in March, 2005, through Operation Kosovo, supervised by former dean and Professor of Law Henry H. Perritt, Jr. Operation Kosovo has provided opportunities for several dozen Chicago-Kent and undergraduate IIT engineering students to work on rule-of-law, economic development and political institutional development activities in Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, now under international administration and widely expected to become independent in 2006.

Mr. Strong grew up in the Geneva, Illinois area, attended Geneva High School, and graduated from Middlebury College. He is a musician, having performed in a number of “indie” performing groups and produced and sold CDs with his music before coming to Chicago-Kent. Some of his papers, essays, and oral vignettes about Kosovo and the Balkans are linked to the main website.