Former Ka Huli Ao Post-JD Fellow Julian Aguon ʻ09 served as the Fall 2024 Dan & Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals, administered by the Law School and the Department of American Studies. Aguon, an Indigenous human rights lawyer and writer from Guam, is a 2009 graduate of Richardson Law School and the visionary behind Blue Ocean Law, a progressive firm that works across Oceania at the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental justice. He and his firm serve as legal counsel to the Republic of Vanuatu, which has spearheaded the historic pursuit of an advisory opinion on climate change from the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”). Julian argued on Vanuatu’s behalf before the ICJ on December 2, 2024. While the Inouye Chair, Julian delivered a keynote, On Earning Hope for the Future, on September 4, 2024, and co-taught Pacific Island Legal Systems with Professor Susan Serrano during the Fall 2024 semester.