International law involves a wide variety of legal work driven by the increasing globalization of the world's economies. A growing number of U.S.-based lawyers are practicing international law in law firms, corporate legal departments, nonprofits, and government agencies. Although most jobs are found in large cities, this, too, is changing.
Many international lawyers work in large law firms that have departments specializing in international trade. International lawyers in the private sector most frequently represent foreign companies seeking to do business in the United States and domestic corporations doing business abroad. Lawyers representing foreign clients provide a wide range of business services, including the formation of business entities; compliance with federal, state, and local U.S. tax laws; employment law; environmental and regulatory requirements; intellectual property; product or service distribution; and all other aspects of establishing and running businesses in the United States. lawyers representing domestic clients interested in doing business abroad draft contracts and agreements; open branch offices and subsidiaries; structure foreign operations; ensure intellectual property protection including patents, trademarks, and tradenames; supervise international litigation and arbitration; and conduct international financial transactions.
Other international lawyers work for corporations with international interests, including accounting and consulting firms and financial institutions. And yet others work for government agencies such as the Department of State, Department of Commerce or the Epartment of Defense, the International Trade Commission; for international governmental organizations such as the United Nations; and for international non-governmental organizations such as the Human Rights Watch.
International Law is a competitive area, and jobs are highly sought after.
Language skills and business experience are valuable, as are strong interpersonal
communications skills and an interest in working with people from other
cultures.
Core/Foundation Courses
These are the basic courses for the specialty. An employer is likely to expect a student interested in the specialty to take at least two of the following :
- International Business Transactions
- International Law
- International Law: Transnational Legal Process
- International Trade Law
Recommended Courses
Students interested in this practice area should consider including one or more of the following courses as electives.
- An Advanced Legal Writing Course
- Business Organizations I
- Comparative Law
- Conflict of Laws
- Intellectual Property
- International Intellectual Property
- International Taxation
- Negotiations/Mediation
- Oral Communications
- Selected Problems in International Law
Enrichment Courses
These courses deepen or broaden the skills and substantive information that a lawyer in this field needs and also provide advanced courses for students interested in a specialty within this area of practice.
- European Union Law
- International Environmental Law
- International Human Rights Law
- Introduction to Islamic Law and Jurisprudence
- Latin American Legal Institutions
- Law of Armed Conflict
- Law and Development in Latin America
- Law and Development in the Third World
- Law and Modernization in the Developing World
- Legal Issues Involving North America and East Asia
- Russian Legal Process
- Tax Treaties
- Trials of the Holocaust
(Note that whether a particular course is scheduled depends on faculty availability and student demand.)
Clinics, Externships, and Internships
Summer Internship in Bangkok, Thailand
The UW Law School and Thammasat University Faculty of Law offer a six-week unpaid summer internship program in Bangkok, Thailand, that takes place during the month of July and the first two weeks of August. Most of the time is spent working in an international law firm in Bangkok. In the day or two before the internship begins, UWLS participants spend one or two days attending lectures and field trips organized by Thammasat University law faculty as an introduction to Thai law. Participants are not required to speak Thai.
Student Organizations and Related Activities
East Asian Legal Studies Center
The East Asian Legal Studies Center continues the Law School's
long history of involvement in international and comparative law with
a variety of programs and activities related to the people and academic
institutions of East and Southeast Asia. The Center formalizes and
increases the Law School's academic interaction with universities, government
ministries, and the private sector, and is active in advanced law studies,
course development and library enhancement, providing student opportunities
for work and research, scholarly exchanges, professional programs and
outreach.
The Global Legal Studies Initiative is a partnership between the University
of Wisconsin Law School and the Division of International Studies and Programs
at the University of Wisconsin - Madison to promote the understanding
of international, transnational, and comparative legal systems, processes,
and regimes. The initiative supports research in international legal studies,
organizes workshops and conferences, expands connections with scholars
and institutions in the U.S. and overseas, deepens links with international
programs on campus, and shares expertise with constituencies in Wisconsin
and worldwide. A long-term objective of the initiative is the development
of a new Center for Global Legal Studies to carry on the work of the initiative
on a permanent basis. Information about GLSI events can be found at: http://www.law.wisc.edu/gls/events.html.
Moot court is a mock appellate advocacy experience that helps law students develop strong writing and oral advocacy skills, intellectual flexibility, the ability to function well under pressure, and the self-confidence necessary to be successful advocates. Moot court, like law review, gives students the opportunity to focus on a single issue, prepare an in depth written product, and improve their writing. UW Law School Moot Court members are selected for the Moot Court Board through competitive tryouts, and many employers consider participation on a moot court team an important law school credential, similar to participating on a law review. For students interested in international law, the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition provides an opportunity to brief and argue a legal issue that could come before the International Court of Justice.
The Law School participates in seven exchange programs with
foreign universities. In an exchange program, UW students pay the same
tuition and fees to UW that they would pay for a semester at UW but attend
foreign law schools or programs. In exchange the foreign schools send
their students to the UW Law School. Some of the foreign programs are
taught in English. Some, however, require proficiency in another language.
Currently, the UW Law School has exchange programs with schools in Germany,
the Netherlands, Italy, Chile, Peru, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Wisconsin International Law Journal
The Wisconsin International Law Journal offers articles of scholarly and practical interest in various areas of international law. Student members of the journal edit articles of scholarly and practical interest in various areas of international law and draft articles for submission and possible publication. Each spring, the Journal staff coordinates a conference on recent topics of interest in international law.
Wisconsin International Law Society
The Wisconsin International Law Society provides a forum for people and ideas involving international legal issues by getting together experts in diverse fields for informal discussion and cordials. They have also coordinated guest speakers and round table discussions on current international law issues. In 2006, an inaugural team will be sent to Vienna, Austria to participate in the 13th annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. As part of its training, team members have the opportunity to participate in the Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association Mini-Moot competition held in Chicago, IL.
Faculty
Here are some of the full-time faculty who teach or have an interest in this subject area:
Steven
Barkan
Room 6358
(608)262-1151
smbarkan@wisc.edu
Richard
Bilder
Room 6109
(608) 262-3094
rbbilder@wisc.edu
Allison Christians
Room 8110
(608) 890-0923
achristians@wisc.edu
Kathryn
Hendley
Room 9109
(608) 263-5135
khendley@wisc.edu
Alexandra Huneeus
Room 7110
(608)265-1149
huneeus@wisc.edu
Charles
Irish
Room 4312A
(608) 263-7406
crirish@wisc.edu
Heinz Klug
Room 8106
(608) 262-7370
klug@wisc.edu
John Ohnesorge
Room 6101
(608) 263-7603
jkohnesorge@wisc.edu
Asifa Quraishi
Room 5103
(608) 263-7604
aquraishi@wisc.edu
Joseph Thome
Room 7112
(608) 263-7418
jrthome@wisc.edu
David Trubek
Room 6106
(608) 262-5608
dmtrubek@wisc.edu
Jason Yackee
Room 9106
(608) 262-5230
jyackee@wisc.edu
In addition to our full-time faculty, the Law School's adjunct faculty members -- prominent practicing lawyers and judges -- bring their specialized knowledge and experience to the classroom.
Advice From Faculty & Friends
[If you are a faculty member or adjunct lecturer and would like to add information, give advice, or share your experiences, please email Carolyn Lazar Butler at clbutler2@wisc.edu .]
Kevin Kelly -- Describes public international law as practiced by the Department of Defense.
Jane Heymann -- Provides a link to the Resource Guide to International Opportunities