LAW COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

LAW-2977 Legal Practice in International and Comparative

Law

Ms. Christine Bustany,

2 credits day; 2 credits evening.

Students using this course to fulfill the experiential learning requirement may not also use this

same course to meet the legal writing requirement.

This course is designed to bridge theory and practice in the area of international and comparative

law. The goals of this course are threefold: first, to provide an overview of substantive law

relating to international legal practice, specifically in the public interest field; second, to train

students in practical skills necessary for international lawyering and advocacy; and, third, to

present students with an opportunity to carry out a focused examination of a case study, which

may be drawn from their prospective international internships and fieldwork. Throughout,

students will critically engage with questions that are central to what it means to practice public

interest international law today.

To begin, this course will provide an overview of key substantive issues of international and

comparative law and explore current controversies in the field. The focus of the course will be

public-interest international lawyering in the field of human rights, transitional justice,

development, and the environment. Moving to practice-related issues, students will work on

individual projects associated with their proposed internship (or a hypothetical case study for

those students not pursuing internships) and develop their fundamental lawyering and advocacy

skills, including with regards to international research, oral and written advocacy, interviewing,

media advocacy, and cross-cultural lawyering competencies.

Faculty comments

: Note: This seminar is open to all interested students and is especially

intended as a companion course for students pursuing various international internships and

fieldwork, in particular, those associated with the International and Comparative Law and Legal

Practice (ICLLP) Fellowship Program. This course has limited enrollment and priority will be

given to ICLLP Fellows, for whom this is a required course.

The ICLLP Fellowship Program offers the opportunity to (i) complete a specialized training

course in legal practice in international and comparative law, (ii) undertake an international

summer internship working for a public interest organization, and (iii) complete a culminating

project growing out of that experience. Accepted students receive a scholarship in connection

with the fellowship. For more information on the program, visit:

ICLLP Fellowship is open to

second-year JD day student applicants, and second and third year JD evening students. The

ICLLP Fellowship Application deadline is Nov. 14, 2014. Contact with questions: C. Bustany

The ICLLP Fellowship Program offers second-year JD students the opportunity to (i) complete a

specialized training course in legal practice in international and comparative law, (ii) undertake a

summer internship working for an organization engaged in public or private international law,

and (iii) complete a culminating project growing out of that experience. Accepted students

receive a stipend in connection with their internship expenses. For more information on the