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William & Mary School of Law's International Study Abroad Program: Explore the World with an Accredited Law Degree

published April 07, 2023

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( 22 votes, average: 4.7 out of 5)
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Summary

The William & Mary Law School offers a unique study abroad program that allows students to gain international experience while earning their degree. The program offers a variety of courses and activities, from visiting international courts to shadowing attorneys in international practice. The study abroad program is designed to give students the chance to gain international experience in a variety of different legal settings.


The study abroad program is open to all students at the William & Mary Law School, including those in the first-year J.D. program and those in the LL.M. program. The program also welcomes visiting students from other law schools. Courses are taught by William & Mary Law School faculty and scholars from around the world, so students have the opportunity to learn from experts in the field.

The program offers a variety of courses and activities, including international internships, field trips to international courts and organizations, workshops, legal exchanges and seminars. During the semester, students can choose to stay at a study abroad site or travel to a site of their choice. Students can also combine their study abroad program with other study abroad programs offered by William & Mary Law School.

The study abroad program also includes visits to international courts, including the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the European Court of Human Rights. Students also have the opportunity to shadow attorneys in international legal practice.

The study abroad program provides an excellent opportunity for law students to gain international experience and learn from experts in the field in an environment that is both challenging and rewarding. William & Mary Law School's study abroad program is a great way for students to travel and gain knowledge about different legal systems and enhance their legal education.
 

William & Mary School of Law: Embrace the Global Community

The William & Mary School of Law in Williamsburg, Virginia has a variety of study abroad opportunities for law students. Through their international programs, students can combine their legal studies with firsthand experiences of cultures, laws and legal systems from around the world. This article looks at the various study abroad opportunities at the William & Mary School of Law and the life-changing benefits they provide to students interested in international law.
 

Global Study Programs at William & Mary Law School

William & Mary School of Law aims to provide its law students with an international legal education that is both academically tailored and culturally immersive. Through their foreign programs for credit, students can immerse themselves in the politics, laws and legal systems of countries around the world. Through their global programs, students can gain a comprehensive understanding of international legal issues and gain valuable insight into the nuances of foreign cultures and legal systems.
 

The Benefits of Studying Abroad

Studying abroad provides William & Mary law students with the opportunity to experience a different culture and legal system firsthand. By participating in a study abroad program, students can gain valuable knowledge about a different legal system, as well as build strong relationships with international legal scholars, practitioners and students. Additionally, students can hone their language and communication skills, develop cultural awareness and explore new career paths.
 

William & Mary Law School Study Abroad Opportunities

Some of the study abroad opportunities available at the William & Mary School of Law include the Global Law Program, which offers students the chance to study at universities in China, England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In addition, the Global Leadership Program allows students to take part in prestigious international internships with organizations such as the UN and the International Court of Justice. The International Legal Exchange Program is another option, which allows students to participate in a summer-long exchange program with a foreign law school.

William & Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law is the oldest law school in the country and was the first to establish a study abroad program for law students. The school's program in Exeter, England, started in 1967 and ran until 1998, says Beckley. Its Madrid program started in 1988.

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Now, many law schools have overseas programs; few, however, have faculty members who advise their nation's parliaments or who are helping to shape the new Constitution for the European Union.

The Academic Co-Director of William & Mary's Madrid program, Professor José M. de Areilza, advised the Spanish government during its negotiations of the new European Constitution and has advised Spain's Prime Minister on North American and European affairs. Professor de Areilza is Professor of European Union Law, Instituto de Empresa.

Fellow Co-Director Professor Javier Guillén Caramés has been a consultant to the Spanish Parliament on Constitutional and Public Administration issues, and he is the Ramon y Cajal Professor of Administrative Law, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.

The program's use of Spanish faculty was noted by the American Bar Association in its accreditation of the program, says Professor Charles Koch, the Woodbridge Professor of Law at William & Mary and Director of the Madrid program. While in Virginia, Koch teaches administrative law. In Spain, he teaches comparative constitutional law and European Union law.

There are eight Spanish faculty members all together, and one professor from William & Mary School of Law travels to Spain each summer to teach. Classes are taught in English every morning for five days a week over one month. The program offers a choice of nine classes, and each student takes three classes while on the program. This is a wider variety of course offerings than most law school programs abroad, says Beckley.

On average, 100 students go on the program each summer, says Beckley. Of these, 27 are from William & Mary, and the others come from 43 different law schools across the country. Last summer, five participants did externships, says Beckley. The students worked for one week in a Spanish law firm before classes started in Madrid, giving them a chance for international legal immersion. Those who do this must be completely fluent in Spanish.

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Students in the program not only benefit from living in another culture, but also from learning about another legal culture, says Koch. Spanish law is "a whole different kind of system, [with] a whole different legal culture."

The United States has laws based on the English, common law system, whereas continental European law is based on a civil law system, Koch explains. In the U.S. system, judges are required to base their rulings on precedents set by previous cases.

This is not so in Europe, where judges may consult past rulings but they are not bound by precedents set in those rulings, says Koch.

The goal of the Madrid program, says Koch, is to "broaden [students'] perspectives of the law," by showing them how Europeans would deal with given legal issues. Also, even domestic legal practice in the United States is developing "a trans-Atlantic legal culture," especially in business law and environmental law.

While some William & Mary law students, such as Stephanie Spirer, see their legal educations and careers molded by their experiences on the Madrid program, others see summer study abroad programs as a way to manage their academic schedule while also getting the chance to return overseas.

Third-year William & Mary law student Philip Chapman took the opportunity to study in Madrid so he could travel abroad again and also earn course credits so that his third year would not be so hectic, he says. Chapman is fluent in Spanish and was one of three student assistants who helped coordinate activities while on the program.

A 1988 graduate of the University of Michigan, Chapman was in the Navy for 23 years before attending law school. He studied Spanish at the Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA, worked in South America for six years, and had been to Spain while with the Navy.

"I like travel," says Chapman, and the program "gave me a chance to do that." While in Madrid, Chapman took classes on human rights in Europe, civil and comparative constitutional law, and the laws of the European Union. After graduation Chapman will clerk for a U.S. District Court Judge in the District of Delaware and hopes to return to Virginia to do litigation work.

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To read more about Stephanie Spirer's experience on William & Mary's Madrid program, see our article profiling her experiences in the Law Student section of the site.

published April 07, 2023

( 22 votes, average: 4.7 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.