In the upcoming fall semester, two University of Georgia School of Law students will gain international hands-on learning experience through the Global Externships Overseas (GEO) initiative, administered by the Dean Rusk International Law Center in partnership with the DC Semester in Practice: Olivia Haas (J.D. ’27) and Lauren Parramore (J.D. ’27). Through their GEOs, students will work abroad in practice areas including international humanitarian law and international arbitration, respectively.

Haas will work with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, and will be supervised by Dr. Jean-Marie Henckaerts (LL.M. ’90). Parramore will spend her semester with Bodenheimer law firm in Cologne and Berlin, Germany, under the supervision of Dr. Christof Siefarth (LL.M. ’86).

Parramore 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. Parramore is the fifth Georgia Law student to receive this grant to support a semester-long GEO in Germany, following Jack Buckelew (J.D. ’25), Pace Cassell (J.D. ’26), Eleanor Cox (J.D. ’26), and William Stowers (J.D. ’27).

Since spring 2021, seventeen 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 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. 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 2027 semester-long GEOs; all rising 2L and 3L students are eligible to apply. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. For more information and to access the application, please email Taher Benany: taher.benany@uga.edu