The University of Georgia School of Law’s Dean Rusk International Law Center is pleased to announce that our Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree program will be represented at several upcoming recruiting events in Europe this month.
The LL.M. degree at Georgia Law offers foreign-educated law graduates opportunities to learn about the U.S. legal system, deepen knowledge of an area of specialization, and explore new legal interests at one of the nation’s top law schools. The ten-month program provides individualized support through the Center and prepares internationally trained students for a globalized legal market.
In Brussels, Belgium, Georgia Law’s Mandy Dixon, International Professional Education Manager, will participate in the EducationUSA LL.M. Fair on Monday, November 4, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Deloitte Legal offices at the Brussels Airport, offering prospective students the opportunity to learn more about legal study in the United States and at Georgia Law in particular.
In Paris, France, Dixon will join the EducationUSA LL.M. Fair on Tuesday, November 5, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. The fair will be held at Sciences Po Paris. The fair will be preceded by a country briefing for university representatives featuring remarks from a Sciences Po faculty member. While in Paris, Dixon will also visit the Maison Internationale at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne to share information and materials about Georgia’s LL.M. program.
Finally, Dixon’s travels will conclude in Frankfurt, Germany, where she will participate in LL.M. Days, a recruiting event organized by e-fellows.net, on Friday, November 15, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at IHK Frankfurt. Georgia Law alumna Franzisca Heinze (LL.M. ’21) will join Dixon to share her experiences as a student in the program. While in Frankfurt, Dixon will also meet with another alumna, Fabienne Taller (LL.M. ’25).
Georgia Law looks forward to meeting talented lawyers and law graduates from across Europe who are interested in advancing their legal education in the United States. For information about upcoming virtual and in-person recruiting events, visit our webpage.
Last week, the University of Georgia School of Law’s Dean Rusk International Law Center participated in a dinner reception celebrating global education and the philanthropic generosity of the Halle Foundation, supporting American-German educational exchange. This event was jointly sponsored by the University of Georgia’s Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies and the Office of Global Engagement.
The mission of The Halle Foundation is to promote understanding, knowledge, and friendship between the people of Germany, as seen in its European context, and those of the United States. In furtherance of this mission, the Foundation supports, primarily through grantmaking, initiatives and activities with a preference to organizations and institutions operating within, or with some discernable connection to, the state of Georgia. UGA has several international mobility initiatives, including Georgia Law’s semester-long Global Externships Overseas (GEO) initiative, that are beneficiaries of the Halle Foundation.
The evening program began with welcoming remarks by Dr. Eike Jordan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Halle Foundation and Dr. Martin Kagel, Associate Provost for Global Engagement, UGA Office of Global Engagement. Then, faculty and administrators at UGA who oversee initiatives benefitting from the Halle Foundation’s support spoke about the impact that their grants have on students. Speakers included: Dr. Jan Uelzmann, Co-Director of Film, Art, and Cultural History in Berlin program; Dr. Heide Crawford, Co-Coordinator of ENGR-GRMN Dual Degree Program, Director of the Freiburg Study Abroad program; and Sarah Quinn, Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center.
Then, UGA students shared reflections about what their time abroad in Germany meant to them academically, professionally, and personally. Georgia Law student Pace Cassell (J.D. ’26) spoke about her experience as a legal extern at Baker Tilly in Hamburg, Germany during the spring 2025 semester through the semester-long GEO initiative, jointly administered by the Center and the DC Semester in Practice. Cassell is the recipient of a grant from the Halle Foundation, awarded to the law school in summer 2024 to support six students over three years participate in semester-long externships in Germany.
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Applications are open for fall 2027 semester-long Global Externships Overseas (GEOs). All current 1Ls and 2Ls are invited to submit an application by February 15. For more information and the application, please email: ruskintlaw@uga.edu
Today, we welcome a guest post by Georgia Law alumnus Alexandre Jorge Fontes Laranjeira, who graduated with his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in 2023. Laranjeira recently represented the law school at the EducationUSA LL.M. Fair held in Brasília, Brazil. Laranjeira is currently a Federal Court of Appeals Judge for the First Region in Brazil. In this role, he sits on a three-judge panel that primarily handles appeals related to the role of Federal Regulatory Agencies, and appeals concerning Education Law, Health Law, Patent Law, Environmental Law, and Banking Law. Prior to his current appointment, Laranjeira served as a Federal District Court Judge for nearly 31 years. His extensive judicial career includes overseeing Federal District Courts in four different states across Brazil, with a notable tenure of four and a half years in the Amazon Region. His experience in these diverse jurisdictions has endowed him with a profound understanding of environmental and indigenous populations matters. Before ascending to the bench, Laranjeira was a Career Prosecutor for the Federal District in Brazil, where he honed his legal acumen and prosecutorial skills. Despite residing in Brazil, he is a registered mediator with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution, a credential he obtained through the Georgia Law Mediation Clinic course.Laranjeiraserves as a member of the Dean Rusk International Law Center’s Advisory Council.
On October 9, 2025, I represented the University of Georgia School of Law at the EducationUSA LL.M. Fair held in Brasília, Brazil. The event was part of the EducationUSA Latin America LL.M. Tour Fall 2025, which included visits to Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Colombia. The Brazilian portion of the tour covered four major cities (Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, and São Paulo), all of which are among the most significant cultural and academic centers in my home country.
As a member of the Dean Rusk International Law Center Council, I volunteered for this opportunity to engage directly with Brazilian candidates interested in Georgia Law’s Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree program. My goal was not only to connect with prospective students, but also to promote Georgia Law’s international programs within my hometown and among members of the local legal community.
Representing Georgia Law at an international fair was an enriching experience on both personal and professional levels. I interacted with numerous law students eager to pursue international academic opportunities and met many talented and motivated individuals seeking to enhance their legal education abroad. As a Georgia Law LL.M. alumnus, I was able to share firsthand insights about the academic excellence, vibrant community, and welcoming environment that characterize life in Athens, Georgia.
I am deeply grateful to Anelise Hofmann, EducationUSA Country Coordinator, and Jefferson Couto, the local EducationUSA representative in Brasília, for their invaluable support throughout the fair. I also extend my thanks to Mandy Dixon, International Professional Education Manager, and Sarah Quinn, Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, for their guidance and for providing all the materials necessary to represent UGA at this important event.
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MASTER OF LAWS (LL.M.) APPLICANTS:The application for Georgia Law’s LL.M. class of 2027 is now open. Detailed information about the degree program and how to apply can be found here. Recruiting events, both virtual and in-person, are listed here.
Today, we welcome a guest post by Georgia Law alumna Anita Ninan, who graduated with her Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in 1991. Ninan recently gave presentations at Georgia Law’s partner institution in India, top-ranked O.P. Jindal Global Law School. Ninan is a dual licensed attorney admitted to practice in the State of Georgia, USA and a certified lawyer admitted to practice in India. She is the Founder and Principal Attorney of Ninan Legal LLC based in Marietta, Georgia, and serves as a member of the Dean Rusk International Law Center’s Advisory Council. Prior to her launching her own legal practice, Ninan worked in the US with leading national and international law firms. Previously, Anita served as Legal Counsel with Standard Chartered Bank in Mumbai and Delhi, India, in their Legal and Compliance Division. While there, she advised the bank on legal and regulatory issues related to commercial banking in India, advised and coordinated the bank’s external counsel to manage litigation arising from banking operations, and liaised with the Reserve Bank of India regarding the bank’s operation of Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) Accounts.
On September 2, 2025, I visited O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) School of Law, in Sonipat, Haryana, while on vacation and a business trip to India. JGU is a private university that offers academic programs in diverse fields such as Law, Business, Liberal Arts, Psychology, Economics, Media, Journalism, Architecture, in India. The law school (JGLS) has established a premier reputation for itself, with top-tier Indian corporations and companies recruiting its students.
I was invited in my capacity as member of the Dean Rusk International Law Center’s Advisory Board to meet with JGLS students and aspiring Master of Laws (LL.M.) prospects. The University of Georgia School of Law and JGLS signed an MOU in late 2022 to establish international student mobility initiatives, including a bilateral student exchange for law students.
My visit to JGLS was a great opportunity to interact with curious, eager, and engaging law students who wanted to know about recent developments in U.S. immigration that could impact student visa applications and work opportunities overseas. I also served as an ambassador for Georgia Law’s LL.M. degree program.
My special thanks to Smarnika Srivastava, Associate Dean of International Collaborations, JGLS, who organized all aspects of my lovely visit, and to Kalyani Unkule, Associate Professor and Director of International Affairs and Global Initiatives, with whom I enjoyed a delicious Indian vegetarian meal in the beautiful cafeteria on campus. I also want to thank Mandy Dixon, International Professional Education Manager, and Sarah Quinn, Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, for meeting with me ahead of my visit and sharing detailed information about the LL.M. and bilateral exchange programs, respectively.
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EXCHANGE APPLICANTS:Applications are open for the fall 2026 exchange semester with JGLS. All current 1Ls and 2Ls are invited to submit an application by February 15. For more information and the application, please email: ruskintlaw@uga.edu
MASTER OF LAWS (LL.M.) APPLICANTS:The application for Georgia Law’s LL.M. class of 2027 is now open. Detailed information about the degree program and how to apply can be found here. Recruiting events, both virtual and in-person, are listed here.
Today, we welcome a guest post by Daniel “Tripp” Vaughn, a member of the University of Georgia School of Law class of 2025. Vaughn participated in a semester-long international externship in spring 2025. The semester-long externships overseas initiative is an extension of the Center’s existing Global Externships Overseas and is offered jointly between the Center and the law school’s Clinical and Experiential Program. Vaughn’s post describes his experience as a legal extern with Van Bael & Bellis, a law firm working on EU and national competition law, EU trade and customs law, regulatory law, as well as Belgian business law. Vaughn was based in Brussels, Belgium, where he worked under Georgia Law alumnus Porter Elliott (J.D. ’96).This was Vaughn’s third Global Externship Overseas during his time at Georgia Law. He is now living in Leuven, Belgium, where he is pursuing a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree at KU Leuven.
Last spring, I spent my final semester of law school working as a legal extern at Van Bael & Bellis (VBB), a Belgian law firm consisting of three offices in London, Brussels, and Geneva. VBB specializes in European and international legal work across three main categories: trade, antitrust, and corporate regulatory compliance. The firm’s composition truly represents its international focus, employing attorneys from more than 20 different countries. Just my office alone was shared with interns from Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Spain.
This international diversity, strongly reminiscent of the city of Brussels itself, created a uniquely open-minded and welcoming atmosphere at the firm. Every day, whether through work projects or casual conversations, I learned more about countries and legal systems all across the world. The sheer breadth of nationalities, experiences, and perspectives held by VBB’s attorneys ensured that everyone in the office was still expanding their understanding of business and law. In this context, it was clear throughout the firm that questions were not only expected but also encouraged. As an extern, this atmosphere afforded me an incredible opportunity to add to my knowledge and experience before graduating law school.
This open mentality compounded the impact from my involvement in VBB’s extremely varied legal work, spanning from sanctions compliance and antidumping investigations to client alerts on upcoming legislation and updating internal materials on EU antitrust laws. I gained firsthand experience working on US-EU and EU-China trade disputes, including assessing tariffs and determining the correct classifications for products. When the EU proposed new legislation, I researched its impacts and together with expert attorneys wrote alerts for specifically affected clients as well as general takeaways. As part of my externship I also assisted many other tasks as well, including me in projects in over 20 different countries with different legal systems and approaches to corporate law.
However, of these many fascinating projects I had the opportunity to work on during my externship, sanctions compliance proved to be the most impactful and enduring. This work included researching involved parties of proposed transactions to ensure that the actions contemplated would pose minimal compliance risks from a sanctions perspective. While simple in concept, sanctioned parties would often go to great lengths to disguise their presence in transactions through strings of shell companies across the globe and the suppression of any information related to their ownership. Further complications often arose from the differences between UK, US, and EU sanction regimes, including the scope of sanctions, the jurisdiction of corresponding regulatory agencies, and the applicable penalties for noncompliance.
Despite these challenges, I began to increasingly enjoy the research and analysis required. Tracking down the ownership and control of various companies, which is often not openly disclosed information, consisted of sifting through media articles, social media posts, NGO reports, and other publicly accessible data such as ship transponders and locations. This process often felt like solving a particularly difficult puzzle, piecing together various clues to get a clearer picture of the involved parties and sanctions risks. Due to the lack of available information, many times the ownership or control of involved parties could not be definitively determined. However, it was incredibly satisfying when hours or days of research and seemingly unrelated shreds of information finally came together and yielded important conclusions.
I am extremely grateful for the experiences and opportunities given to me by Van Bael & Bellis. My time with the many talented attorneys at the firm opened my eyes to fields and career opportunities in international law that I never would have believed existed. As I am currently returning to Belgium for my Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree at KU Leuven, I am confident that my time with VBB will prove invaluable to me.
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Applications are open for spring 2026 semester-long Global Externships Overseas (GEOs). All current 2Ls and 3Ls are invited to submit an application by September 15. For more information and the application, please email: ruskintlaw@uga.edu
Today, we welcome a guest post by Elizabeth Ferguson, a member of the University of Georgia School of Law class of 2025. Ferguson participated in a semester-long international externship in spring 2025. The semester-long externships overseas initiative is an extension of the Center’s existing Global Externships Overseas and is offered jointly between the Center and the law school’s Clinical and Experiential Program. Ferguson’s post describes her experience as a legal extern with Bodenheimer, a law firm that handles disputes across jurisdictions, including cases in litigation, arbitration, and mediation and other ADR proceedings. Ferguson was based in Berlin, Germany, where she worked under Georgia Law alumnus Dr. Christof Siefarth (LL.M., ’86).
When I decided to participate in my semester-long Global Externship at Bodenheimer in Berlin, Germany I was looking for a new way to challenge myself academically. I concluded that taking myself far beyond the law school classroom I had spent two and a half years becoming familiar with would be the perfect opportunity. Although I was ready for a challenge, I didn’t anticipate how the lessons I learned in international arbitration would expand beyond its subject matter and into my professional life forever.
Bodenheimer is an international arbitration firm with a truly global scope. As a result, during my four months there, I researched many issues spanning multiple jurisdictions: I immersed myself in Chinese product quality standards, untangled questions of Indian law, and more.
When I received my first assignment, concerning a legal issue relying on law in an Asian country, the reality set in that I did not have the basic building blocks I needed to begin. When I received assignments on an unfamiliar issue while working at American law firms, I had a certain base knowledge to assist me because law school taught me the basics of the American civil and criminal systems and how to research them. However, in this situation, I quickly realized, I had none of those research tools or knowledge ready to go.
Although I conquered each task with the help of my colleagues, law school staff, and by familiarizing myself with the tools and knowledge used in international arbitration, I relived this fearful realization many times. Each time I received an assignment based in a jurisdiction I had not yet faced, I felt as though I was back at square one: navigating a new legal universe, where I didn’t speak the language, didn’t know the rules, and did not know where to begin. In American law firms, I had the comfort of a familiar legal system, a base knowledge to lean on, and research tools I used frequently. However, in Berlin, I often found myself staring at an assignment wondering, “Where do I even start?”
As a result, I began to struggle with something I’d never felt before: imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon where professionals experience feelings of inadequacy, despite evidence of their competence and achievements. I knew that I was given this opportunity for a reason, but nevertheless I could not shake this feeling of self-doubt and compare myself to my very impressive colleagues. Most of the attorneys in my office were fluent in at least three languages and were qualified attorneys in several countries! As someone who only spoke English and had not yet even graduated law school, I couldn’t help but compare myself to them and worry that I was simply not up to the task. As a result, my imposter syndrome began to eat away at my confidence.
But here’s the thing about throwing yourself into the deep end: you must learn to swim.
Over time, as I completed challenging assignments and learned from my helpful and knowledgeable colleagues, I developed strategies to identify, build, and promote my value as a young attorney in this unfamiliar environment which helped me combat my imposter syndrome. For example, one attorney frequently asked me to edit English language documents and made the observation that I was the only native English speaker in the office. At this moment, I realized that I was too busy comparing myself to my colleagues, who could all speak three to five languages, to recognize that my native English skills were a unique asset in my office when my colleagues needed someone to edit or translate documents into English. By the end of the semester, I was able to recognize my value in many ways and recognize the meaningful contributions I made through my work product.
Working at Bodenheimer taught me more than just the inner workings of international arbitration: it taught me how to quiet the inner critic, embrace uncertainty, and how to identify and promote my value, rather than focus on perceived shortcomings.
Berlin will always hold a special place in my heart, not just for its beautiful cathedral, the delicious Franzbrötchen, and the amazing colleagues I met, but for the reminder that growth often comes disguised as discomfort.
As I head into my next professional chapter, I’ll carry with me the lesson that the doubts you feel today will become issues you will conquer tomorrow.
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Applications are open for spring 2026 semester-long Global Externships Overseas (GEOs). All current 2Ls and 3Ls are invited to submit an application by September 15. For more information and the application, please email: ruskintlaw@uga.edu
Two students will work in private law settings: Bartholomew with extern Gleiss Lutz in Stuttgart, Germany, while Cox will extern with Bodenheimer in Berlin, Germany, under the supervision of Dr. Christof Siefarth (LL.M. ’86). Reed has a public interest placement and will extern with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Bermuda under the supervision of Alexander White (J.D. ’09). Through their GEOs, students will gain experience in practice areas such as international arbitration and data privacy.
Cox has been selected as the recipient of a grant from the Halle Foundation to support her externship in Germany. Based in Atlanta, The Halle Foundation seeks to promote understanding, knowledge and friendship between the people of Germany and the United States. Cox is the third Georgia Law student to receive this grant to support a semester-long GEO in Germany, following Jack Buckelew (J.D. ’25) and Pace Cassell (J.D. ’26).
Since spring 2021, eight Georgia Law students have participated in semester-long GEOs, an extension of the Center’s existing GEO initiative that is offered jointly between the Center and the law school’s Clinical and Experiential Program. Professor Jessica L. Heywood, Clinical Associate Professor and Washington, D.C., Semester in Practice Director, teaches and directs students externing abroad in partnership with Taher Benany, Associate Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, who oversees the GEO initiative. Like Georgia Law’s summer GEOs, semester-long GEOs are legal placements placements around the world that offer all law students the opportunity to gain practical knowledge and experience in an international setting. They are typically supervised in their work by Georgia Law alumni/ae. Students return to Athens with new colleagues and mentors, legal practice skills that set them apart from their peers, and a deeper appreciation of the global legal profession.
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The Center is currently accepting applications for spring 2026 semester-long GEOs; all 1L and 2L students are eligible to apply. Applications are due September 15. For more information and to access the application, please email Taher Benany: taher.benany@uga.edu
Global Externships Overseas (GEO), 4-12 week placements for rising second- and third-year law students in private-sector and public-sector law placements around the world.
Global Governance Summer School
This year’s Global Governance Summer School will focus on comparative constitutional law. It is set to begin later this month, when students will travel to two cities in Belgium for a week of site visits and lectures led by Georgia Law’s Matthew I. Hall, Associate Professor of Law, as well as professors from partner university KU Leuven. The first week of this for-credit course also will include professional development briefings at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, private law firms, and NGOs.
Then, programming shifts to The Hague, Netherlands, where Hall will lead briefings at the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. Center director Sarah Quinn and Global Practice Preparation Assistant Catrina Martin will provide logistical assistance throughout the program on the ground and in Athens, respectively.
A total of twenty students will participate in this year’s summer school, including:
Our Center’s Global Externship Overseas initiative, overseen by Center Associate Director Taher Benany, offers Georgia Law students the opportunity to gain practical work experience in a variety of legal settings around the world. This summer, nine students have opted to combine the GEO opportunity with their participation in GGSS: Nicholas Ames, Olivia Buckner, Isaac Clement, Megan Greeley, Stephanie Holterman, Laiba Noor, Jalyn Ross, Lionel Rubio, and Camille Weindorf.
A total of twenty-four Georgia Law students will pursue GEOs in practice areas such as privacy and technology law, environmental law, international arbitration, EU competition, cultural heritage and historic preservation, intellectual property, corporate law, and human rights law.
This year’s GEO class includes eighteen private-sector placements:
University of Georgia School of Law students Franklin Phan (J.D. ’27) and Kara Reed (J.D. ’26) were selected to receive funding for legal externships in Vietnam and Japan this summer through the UGA Office of Global Engagement’s Asia-Georgia Internship Connection Scholarship.
Both students’ scholarships will support their Global Externship Overseas (GEO), administered by Georgia Law’s Dean Rusk International Law Center. Phan will extern with KPMG Law in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where will be supervised by Georgia Law alumnus Binh Tran (J.D. ’11), Director at KPMG Law. Reed’s GEO will take place in Tokyo, Japan, where she will extern with Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office under the guidance of Georgia Law alumnus Tsutomu Kuribayashi (LL.M. ’97), Managing Director. This will be Reed’s second GEO; the summer of her first year at Georgia Law, she externed with Baker Tilly in Hamburg, Germany, under the supervision of Georgia Law alumnus Dr. Christian Engelhardt (LL.M., ’01)
In addition to their externships, both students will engage in supervised research projects. Reed will work with Christopher M. Bruner, Stembler Family Distinguished Professor in Business Law & Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center. Her project will explore the relationships at contract formation in American and Japanese law. Pamela Foohey, Allen Post Professor of Law, will oversee Phan’s research regarding mechanisms for enforcing cross-border contracts.
This scholarship funds student pursuing credit-bearing internships in southeast Asia for a duration of at least four weeks. Preference is given to students traveling to Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Posts about past recipients of this scholarship at Georgia Law can be found here.
Last month, the University of Georgia School of Law Master of Laws (LL.M.) class of 2025 traveled to Atlanta for a professional development trip organized by the Dean Rusk International Law Center’s director of international professional education, Dr. Laura Tate Kagel. Students were accompanied by Dr. Kagel, International Professional Education Manager Mandy Dixon, and Center Associate Director Taher Benany.
The group of foreign lawyers was hosted by the law offices of Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP for lunch and a lively discussion with legal practitioners. Abe Schear, a partner in the Real Estate and Leasing practices at AGG, offered the students sound career advice and discussed how his involvement with the International Bar Association helped him grow the firm’s international practice. Theresa Kananen related her career journey and described her current role as partner and co-chair of the Payment Systems & Fintech industry team, offering compelling illustrations of the types of cases that arise in her practice area. Glenn Hendrix, a partner in AGG’s Healthcare Group and the founding president of the Atlanta International Arbitration Society (“AtlAS”), recounted the challenges and advantages of dispute resolution in a global society. Teri Simmons (J.D. ’89), a partner and chair of the firm’s Global Mobility practice and an adjunct professor of law at UGA, and her team members Dorothea Hockel and Naina Bishnoi (LL.M. ’24), explained how they help foreign businesses avoid legal pitfalls when bringing their operations to the United States.
Professional development trips are among many opportunities offered to Georgia Law LL.M. students to foster career connections and gain insight into potential career paths.
To learn more about the LL.M. program, click here.
exchange of notes 