Santa Clara University

Global Law

New Center for Global Law and Policy Builds on SCU School of Law's Strength in International Law

BY LARRY SOKOLOFF '92

From licensing agreements to family law battles, international law touches all aspects of law practice today. Santa Clara law students who take advantage of the international law program at the law school can add their familiarity with the legal systems of other countries to the base of legal knowledge necessary to practice in the complex global legal environment, giving these students an edge in their legal careers.

This year, the international law program at the law school is expanding and bringing new energy into its longstanding international legal study initiatives. The focus is to “build on what we have and move us to the next level,” says Professor Mack Player, former dean of the law school, who will serve as director of the new Center for Global Law and Policy.

Second-year SCU School of Law students Charlene Powell (far right) and Alicia Adornato (second from right) spent part of this past summer at an internship working for the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR). During their internship, they gave presentations on American democracy, the election system, and the judicial system. They also participated in a panel, shown above, for a public forum that the CCHR hosted on the American legal system in comparison to the Cambodian system.

Player joins Elizabeth (Enayati) Powers B.S. ’80, J.D./MBA ’89, in the project. Powers, who was assistant dean of high tech law at the law school from 2001-03, and who established the High Tech Law Institute, is now assistant dean of international and comparative law. Since starting in January, she has overseen the establishment of the Center for Global Law and Policy and the reorganization of the law school’s international and comparative law programs. “We created the Center to provide a quality platform for expanding on our existing scholarship and academic abilities,” Powers says. The Center will subsume the Institute of International and Comparative Law, which for 30 years has conducted summer law study abroad programs. The Center will continue to conduct those programs as well as the international student and faculty exchange programs, and the visiting scholar program.

The law school has a thriving international law program, which saw its first law summer studies abroad program in Strasbourg, France. George Alexander, currently dean emeritus at the law school, was the director until his retirement in 2004, and he is widely recognized as the driving force behind the development of the Institute and the law school’s prominence in international law. “Under George Alexander’s leadership and guidance, the international law program at the law school became internationally known as one of the best summer law study abroad programs in the world,” says School of Law Dean Donald Polden. “The law school will build upon George Alexander’s path-breaking work in creating the Institute and Santa Clara’s prominence in international legal education.”

The existing curriculum includes a range of courses in public international law (such as United Nations and international treaties taught by faculty members such as Jiri Toman and Beth Van Schaack) and private international law (such as international business transactions taught by professors such as Anna Han, Philip Jimenez, and Stephen Diamond). The summer programs span the globe, offering students courses in nine countries, from England to Singapore, and internships in twelve countries, from biotech law firms in Australia to human rights tribunals in Cambodia. Altogether, Santa Clara students can choose from among eight summer abroad programs, with classroom and supervised internship opportunities in over fifteen cities. This past summer, 71 Santa Clara law students participated in an SCU summer law study abroad program, together with many students from other American law schools.

Santa Clara students report that while studying abroad helped them learn about the law in a global context, it also impressed prospective employers.

“In my seven weeks [at Oxford] I developed a deeper appreciation of the rule of law than studying from casebooks my previous two years of law school,” said Joseph Goethals ’05, who studied at Oxford in summer 2004.

“My time in Korea was a unique experience for a law student and employers recognize that,” said third-year student Shannon Ghadiri-Asli, who worked and studied in Seoul. “Everyone I have interviewed with has asked about my experiences there.”

Throw in international moot court competitions, certificate programs in international law and international high tech law, LL.M. programs in U.S. law and international and comparative law, and the law school is a veritable powerhouse of international legal energy.

As globalization and internationalization increasingly impact the practice of law, SCU continues to innovate and improve its international law program, taking advantage of its decades of legal education and its internationally renowned international law faculty. This summer, Professor Robert Peterson, interim director of the Institute of International and Comparative Law, supervised a Santa Clara law student extern at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in Costa Rica, using Internet-based audio/video capability to include her in externship seminars held at the law school. Peterson and law professor Philip Jimenez serve as assistant directors of the program.

In addition, Powers and Player are expanding the number and scope of student and faculty exchange programs. Under their guidance, Santa Clara recently joined a consortium of four U.S. and four international law schools, which enables a free exchange of students and faculty among the consortium members. The foreign schools include Ghent University in Belgium, the University of Helsinki in Finland, the University of Warsaw in Poland, and Erasmus Rotterdam University in the Netherlands. On a recent trip, exchange agreements also were put in place between two law schools in Seoul, Korea, and negotiations were continued with law schools in Beijing, China.

Negotiations are underway to finalize exchange agreements with law schools in Lima, Peru, and Berlin, Germany. “These exchanges provide good legal experiences for our students, and allow more of our faculty members to have international legal education experiences which they can incorporate into their lectures,” explains Powers of the increased student and faculty exchange opportunities created at the law school.

The greater emphasis on international law also is evidenced by an increase in the number of international law conferences sponsored by the law school, and an increase in on-campus international law speakers. The existing Santa Clara Journal of International Law is transitioning this year from an exclusively online publication to a print publication. By adding a faculty editorial board, the journal will become more attractive to overseas scholars seeking to publish their work in an international venue.

The law school also hopes to increase its presence in Latin America, Player said. Talks are underway with schools in Mexico, Peru, and Costa Rica about potential collaborations there.

Powers is creating an International Advisory Council to help guide the Center for Global Law and Policy as it launches new initiatives. The Council ultimately will consist of several senior level attorneys from both public and private international law sectors. To date, the Council members include: Julie Henderson Kanberg ’87, vice president and associate general counsel at the Gap; Bill Amon B.S. ’71, J.D. ’74, senior partner at Deloitte Touche in Los Angeles; Bertrand Ramcharan, fomer acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Larry Calof, senior partner at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in Palo Alto; and Ted Biagini B.S. ’62, J.D. ’64, who is completing his LL.M. in international and comparative law at Santa Clara.