International Justice and Conflict Resolution Externship

8-12 units

Open to second semester 2L and 3L J.D. students. Enrollment limited. This course provides students opportunities to learn international criminal and civil law practice, conflict resolution, legal advocacy, and professional responsibility while externing with international judges; lawyers practicing before international courts and tribunals; and lawyers in government offices, NGO's, legal services providers, or international arbitration and conflict resolution offices such as the UN. Students engage in extensive legal research and fact investigation; draft legal memoranda relevant to cases under submission by the courts and policy reports for government offices; interview clients, witnesses, and relevant constituencies; and participate in negotiations, mediations, hearings, trials, and other proceedings. The course enhances students learning in international and comparative criminal and civil law and practice, conflict resolution theory and practice, client representation and advocacy, and professional responsibility. Students must apply and secure their placements before being accepted. Prior to the beginning of each externship, the supervising faculty member, student, and externship supervisor will negotiate an agreement (learning contract) as to the specific nature of the tasks the student will perform in her/his placement, the number of weeks, and the number of hours to be worked each week. In addition to the individualized learning agreements, the course includes required reading specifically geared to the work of the placement; a required pre-trip orientation; reflective journals submitted weekly by students that are reviewed by the faculty supervisor, who provides feedback to the students; regular contact between the faculty member and field supervisors during the semester; and a ten page paper at the conclusion of the course, in which the student addresses an issue of law, policy, or practice relevant to the placement, in light of the reading material and the student's experiences. Placement offices include international organizations, government offices, and NGO's to which students have applied and been accepted, or placements which our students or faculty have worked before or with supervisors with whom the instructors have professional contacts. Depending on the placement, preference will be given to students who have taken relevant courses (or comparable experience), e.g., International Criminal Law, War Crimes Seminar, International Human Rights Law, International Law, and Negotiation and Dispute Resolution courses. [Note: Students are prohibited from taking more than one clinic/externship/supervised practicum in the same semester. Students who are not in good standing (for either academic or disciplinary reasons) the semester prior to taking this course and the semester of this course, are not eligible to participate in this course. 8 units remote; 12 units on-site. Credits from this course count toward the 19 maximum credits a J.D. student can take in non-law classes and law classes without a classroom component. To participate in this externship, you must either have completed or be currently enrolled in courses containing at least 5 cumulative hours of education on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism (BCCCR content). This externship includes 0 hours of BCCCR content, so in total, you will need 5 hours from your other courses to meet the requirement. This means that first semester 2L students cannot do a 12-credit out-of-town externship. Courses that include BCCCR content are tagged in Workday to help you track your progress.