"A lot of people in the past practiced law, and their only concern was maybe which U.S. states they were dealing with," said Barry Carter, Director of International and Transnational Programs at Georgetown University Law Center, in an interview with the National Law Journal. "But now, so many legal issues anywhere in this country are going to involve issues including foreign law." In order to better prepare their students for the field of international law, law schools are creating new classes based on this ever-broadening area, offering double-degree programs and more opportunities for students to study abroad. They are also asking for advice from legal scholars in the international realm on how to update existing courses so that they are relevant to current international practices. "Your large law firms or the ones in major cities want people who have this transnational perspective," Carter said. "That's where the future is." As a way of getting students involved and interested in international law at Georgetown, school officials created "Week One," a program that takes place before the second semester of students' first year. At the beginning of the seven-day series, students are given a scenario involving a transnational legal issue; and by the end, they have to devise a solution or plan of action. Georgetown has had international law curriculum and study-abroad programs for several years; but recently, school officials have been attempting to delve deeper into the subject—even considering a yearlong study-abroad program with a law school in Paris. Other schools, such as the University of Michigan Law School, require their students to study transnational law before graduating. An example of a school with an excellent international program is Columbia Law School. Amanda Maurer, Senior Director of International Programs for Columbia, told the National Law Journal that the school is working on deepening its involvement with law schools abroad. "I was at the Association of American Law Schools' annual meeting in D.C. in January, and one of the major topics was incorporating international legal studies into the curriculum," she said. "That is what schools are starting to do. It's becoming part of the American law school curriculum. We're bringing international law home, not just study abroad." Columbia currently offers a double-degree program in conjunction with a university in Paris, a program in which students study in the U.S. and abroad and receive law degrees from both countries. The University of Southern California Law School modeled its international law program on Columbia's and is set to launch a double-degree program in the fall. Students will then have the option of spending their last year of law school studying at the London School of Economics. However, the choice does come with a price. Students studying abroad during their last year of school will not be able to participate in activities such as moot court and law review. Harvard Law School's joint degree program is in conjunction with Cambridge University in England. The program makes it possible for students in their third year of law school to study abroad and be immersed in England's legal field. The school also offers semester-long study-abroad opportunities. "Participating students immerse themselves in a foreign legal culture, study substantive areas of law that may be covered in greater depth overseas, learn about a legal system in which they may be planning a career, and/or obtain broader exposure to the civil law system," the school said in a statement on its website. With numerous law schools jumping on the international bandwagon, many students are wondering if they will be required to have international experience or in-depth knowledge of international law to find a job when they graduate. Carey Bertolet, Managing Director of BCG Attorney Search's New York office, doesn't think all practice areas are affected by the trend toward international law and therefore doesn't think the study of international law is absolutely essential to a law school education just yet. "If someone wants to do large-scale corporate work, they would benefit from understanding the tax, antitrust, and regulatory aspects of doing business abroad. It really depends on what a law student wants to do," she said. "Large corporate-oriented practices require some knowledge of international business implications. A family law lawyer probably doesn't need to know much international law." Even though she considers "international law" too broad a term, she does acknowledge that the legal field is becoming more involved in global affairs. "First of all, I think that 'international law' is a misnomer," she said. "It isn't a practice area in and of itself, but defines the character of certain practice areas. For example, certain corporate transactions can be international if they involve multinational corporations. 'Competition law' generally describes Europe's version of antitrust law, so as to American lawyers, it's international." "Having said that—large corporate practices are generally more likely to have international elements since large corporations tend to do business outside of the United States," she said. "The corporate world is increasingly global, which means that doing business is more likely to implicate 'international' issues."

Rate This Article 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Select    Current rating: 10   |   View top rated articles

Printable Version    PDF Version    Email to a Friend    Post A Comment    View Comment    Discuss

	Popular Tags
	Columbia Law School  courses  law degrees  semesters  Georgetown  U.S. states  BCG Attorney Search's New York  legal cultures  United States  Georgetown University Law Center

Featured Testimonials

LawCrossing has helped me spearhead my search for the job of my choice. A great site is what i would call it!  Yvonne

Facts

LawCrossing Fact #74: Those who use the job map feature will have an easier time locating a job near them than those who don’t.

"We want to hear your thoughts. Please comment on this article (below)!" Comments

Article ID: 1605     Article Title: International Law Becomes a Priority Comment not found for this article. Comment

Facebook comments:

Enjoyed reading this article? Click here to sign up for News Wire, our weekly newsletter, and you'll receive articles just like this right in your inbox.

Enter your email address and start getting breaking law firm and legal news right now! Every Alert Alert once a day