On February 27, 2024, the Philadelphia Bar Association International Law Committee held its annual reception to honor the international LLM students at Temple, UPenn, and Drexel Law Schools. Hosted by Troutman Pepper, this was the first International Law Committee reception since 2020.

Philadelphia Bar Chancellor Jennifer Coatsworth, JD ’03, Vice Chancellor Ezra Wohlgelernter, JD ’81, and Jeremy Heep, Troutman Pepper partner and chair of the International Law Committee, presided over the event.

Michael Reyes Alvarez, LLM ’24 (expected) received the Philadelphia Bar Association International Law Committee Award for outstanding contribution in the area of international law. Reyes Alvarez hails from Mexico and earned his first law degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in 2007. He went on to become Managing Counsel with Chubb Group in Monterrey and was transferred to Chubb Group’s Philadelphia office, where he is Senior Counsel.

In his remarks, Reyes Alvarez said, “I have had an amazing experience while studying at Temple Law and this city has earned a very special place in my heart…I’ve had the opportunity to meet new and exciting people and make great friends from all over the world. The friends I’ve made come from many different backgrounds, areas of practice, and they speak different languages too. Yet, despite having all these differences, and accents, one thing that we have in common, is that we share the same passion and love for what we call, as a community, the international practice of law.” 

Many of the participants at the event said that Michael’s remarks were very moving.

Karen McMichael, Director of International Law Programs, said, “Michael has impressed us since he enrolled as a part-time Temple LLM degree student during fall 2022. Despite this busy schedule, he has generously helped us welcome new LLM students from Mexico and Latin America. We consider Michael to be a role model for international law students in part, because of his demonstrated devotion to transnational law work, study, and teaching. Michael is set to graduate in May 2024 and we cannot wait to see what he accomplishes in the future because we know that he will succeed.”

Temple Law School thanks Michael for his valuable contributions to our community and congratulates him on this award and professional success.