Creating Worldwide Opportunity and Promoting the Rule of Law

International students, scholars, programs, and activities highlight AUWCL’s diverse community


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2014 – Thriving in a vibrant international environment, American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL) continues to maintain its role as a visionary leader in international law and engage the world through creative and dynamic opportunities. With a track record of international innovation for more than 30 years, the law school’s reach circles the globe with prestigious established programs and with exciting new ones, including online options, leaving it poised to address the changing landscape of an interconnected world.

“We are proud to welcome again such a diverse group of students and scholars to our community this fall,” said Dean Claudio Grossman. “American University Washington College of Law has always prided itself on bringing the world to our law school and our law school to the world, and we will continue to expand our global outreach this academic year.”

 
VIDEO: Global Opportunities at AUWCL
 

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The incoming first year JD class for fall 2014 includes 30 international students from Australia, Canada, China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. The class as a whole speaks 44 different languages.

Typically, more than half of AUWCL’s JD students will complete part of their legal education outside of the United States, and the school expects its newest members of the community to continue this impressive engagement given that 50 of them have already worked abroad and 138 have already studied abroad.

In addition to the matriculation of another diverse and internationally-minded JD class, AUWCL remains vigorously active in the evolution of international education.

Recent and upcoming highlights include:

  • 13 mid-career professionals from around the world were selected through the Fulbright Commission to study international law at AUWCL beginning in August in its exclusive Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and coordinated by the AUWCL International Legal Studies Program. These professionals committed to public service will take part in the AUWCL community during the academic year while they deepen their knowledge of legal topics crucial to the increasingly complex world.
  • The AUWCL Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law held its 15th Annual Program of Advanced Studies onHuman Rights and Humanitarian law this past summer, educating 195 students from 22 countries and territories about the protection of human rights. 40 renowned human rights judges, academics, experts, and members of international organizations from across the globe taught 19 courses, 10 in English, and nine in Spanish.
  • 200 graduate students from 53 countries, speaking 42 languages, are enrolled in the law school’s three LL.M. Programs (International Legal Studies, Law and Government, Advocacy), specializing in areas such as business, trade, environment, constitutional law, administrative law, antitrust, securities, disability rights, and immigration. Upon graduation they will join more than 4,000 of AUWCL’s LL.M. alumni in a vast, energetic, and supportive international network.
  • In 2015, AUWCL will offer a new LL.M. degree in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and another new LL.M. degree in Intellectual Property. The Human Rights LL.M. will feature a blended learning format that requires in-person and online participation, providing a new level of flexibility for foreign students.
  • Nearly 25 scholars from all over the world will arrive at AUWCL this fall for its International Visiting Scholars Program. This year’s program will enable academics, judges, lawyers, and government officials from 22 foreign countries to engage in in-depth international or comparative research and scholarship.
  • AUWCL’s Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition drew 600 participants from 38 countries and territories to the law school this summer to compete while learning how to use the Inter-American human rights legal system as a legitimate forum for redressing human rights violations.
  • 4 AUWCL students competed in May in the ELSA Moot Court Competition at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Chosen as one of only 20 teams from around the world to qualify for the final oral round, the team presented their international trade case in a simulated hearing of the WTO dispute settlement system and advanced to the quarterfinals of the competition.
  • 12 AUWCL JD students are studying law this semester at partner law schools in Belgium, Colombia, England, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Spain, and Turkey to expand their understanding of international legal issues, gain international experience, and build their global networks.
  • 23 AUWCL JD students are studying this year in the law school’s International JD Dual Degree programs in Australia, Canada, France, and Spain. When they graduate, these students will have earned law degrees in both the U.S. and another country, allowing them to practice like truly global lawyers.
  • 99 students participated in the law school’s five summer programs abroad this year, exploring various international and comparative legal topics including trade, investment, environmental law, and human rights through our programs in Chile/Argentina, Europe, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Turkey. Several students remained abroad afterward to gain practical experience in foreign law firms, international tribunals, and global legal organizations.
  • More than 20 AUWCL professors fanned out across the globe this summer to examine legal issues from new perspectives. Engaging their counterparts in places like Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Finland, France, India, Italy, Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, and Turkey, they are prepared to bring their international experiences back to the classroom and share them with the larger AUWCL community.
  • AUWCL’s Center on International Commercial Arbitration will offer its unique Online Certificate in International Commercial Arbitration again this fall. Designed for new graduates and mid-career professionals, this program uses advanced web-based technology to give students the foundational knowledge and skills to succeed in the complex and ever-changing field of international arbitration.
  • AUWCL’s Program on International Organizations, Law and Diplomacy took 29 students to Geneva, Switzerland, this summer to learn about global governance as well as the theory and practice of contemporary international organizations. Participants attended classes at the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the International Labor Organization, among others, while they explored international legal issues surrounding intellectual property and human rights.

“Our law school remains dedicated to creating an environment where a global perspective is intrinsic to the study of law,” said Dean Grossman. “Our diverse student body, our committed faculty, and the variety of international opportunities we have created and continue to develop here ensure that our law school will remain a unique and vibrant institution well-suited to engage in solving the legal problems not only of our time but of the next generation.”

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In 1896, American University Washington College of Law became the first law school in the country founded by women. More than 100 years since its founding, this law school community is grounded in the values of equality, diversity, and intellectual rigor. The law school's nationally and internationally recognized programs (in clinical legal education, international law, and intellectual property to name a few) and dedicated faculty provide its 1,700 JD, LL.M., and SJD students with the critical skills and values to have an immediate impact as students and as graduates, in Washington, D.C. and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu.