labor law

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq featured in Economic Policy Institute article

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq was recently featured in an article published by the Economic Policy Institute. The article, entitled “U.S. Customs blocks about $0.8 billion worth of goods a year on suspicion of forced labor,” was written by Ed Gresser on April 8, 2026.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, the Labor and Employment Student Association, and the International Law Students Association. 

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq publishes article in the International Economic Law and Policy Blog

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq recently published an article entitled The Section 301 Surge Continues: Investigating the Adoption/Enforcement/ Administration of Forced Labor Import Bans in the International Economic Law and Policy Blog.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, the Labor and Employment Student Association, and the International Law Students Association. 

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq elected to the International Labor Rights Case Law Editorial Board

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq was elected to the editorial board of the International Labor Rights Case Law (ILaRC) journal. The ILaRC journal is a leading academic publication that annotates and analyzes global jurisprudence regarding fundamental rights at the workplace.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, the Labor and Employment Student Association, and the International Law Students Association. 

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq speaks at the Texas International Law Journal symposium

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq presented as part of the Texas International Law Journal symposium titled “Critical Perspectives on AI: Security, Governance, Labor and the Environment,” held in February at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and the Labor and Employment Student Association. 

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq and student N’Guessan Kouame (LL.M. ’24, J.D. ’26) publish on labor rights in West Africa

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq and student N’Guessan (Clément) Kouame (LL.M. ’24, J.D. ’26) published “Modern Slavery Thriving in the Shadows of West Africa: Why Coubaly v. Cargill Furthers Legal Barriers to Labor Rights Accountability” in International Labor Rights Case Law.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and the Labor and Employment Student Association. 

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq presents on international law at AALS Annual Meeting

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq presented as part of the panel “The Trump Administration and International Law 2.0” at the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting in New Orleans during January.

The panel focused on concerns about the second Trump administration’s impact on the international legal order, including U.S. engagement with international bodies and the potential effects on areas such as international criminal law and human rights law.

LeClercq also moderated the panel “Teaching Human Rights: From Specialized Courses to Doctrinal Integration”, which explored innovative approaches to teaching human rights, including strategies for standalone courses and ways to integrate human rights perspectives into first-year doctrinal courses and other core parts of the law school curriculum.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and the Labor and Employment Student Association. 

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq delivers keynote on supply chain management and forced labor bans in Taiwan

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq delivered a keynote address at the International Conference on Corporate Sustainability Regulations and Governance on Labor Rights in Global Supply Chains, held in Douliu, Taiwan, on 19 December 2025.

Her keynote, “Supply Chain Management under the Trump Administration: from Trade Agreements to Forced Labor Bans,” examined how shifting U.S. trade policy and enforcement tools shape corporate supply chain strategy, with a focus on labor rights compliance and emerging forced labor restrictions. A short video from her time in Taiwan was shared in an Instagram reel.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and the Labor and Employment Student Association. 

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq presents at FCDO Trade & Economic Diplomacy Faculty

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq recently delivered a presentation for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Trade & Economic Diplomacy Faculty entitled “Growing Employment Through Trade: The Role of Fair Labour Standards.”

LeClercq discussed the evolution of international labor standards, noting how rules once designed to protect workers and improve living conditions are now used by countries such as the United States to enforce rights abroad and reshape global supply chains. Drawing on her experience as director of labour affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and as a legal officer at the International Labour Organization, she illustrated this trend through examples from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, International Law and U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. 

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq and former U.S. diplomat Christina Hardaway discuss careers in public international law and diplomacy

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq and former U.S. diplomat Christina Hardaway discussed their career trajectories and experiences working internationally in a recent law school panel discussion, “Working in Public International Law and Diplomacy.”

After introducing themselves and outlining their academic and professional paths, LeClercq and Hardaway took questions from the audience. They talked about the importance of soft skills in diplomatic work, how to develop your expertise in domestic affairs to make yourself more marketable overseas, the challenges of living abroad, and detailed both the rewards and complexities of committing to a career in public service.

Hardaway is a former diplomat (Foreign Service Officer) for the U.S. Department of State with a 14-year career spanning Latin America, Europe, and Africa.  She most recently completed a diplomatic assignment at the U.S. Consulate General in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, where she advanced U.S. economic, security, and commercial priorities on the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to that, Hardaway served as Deputy Chief of the Political-Economic Section at the U.S. Embassy in Cameroon leading the mission’s economic and commercial portfolio. Her previous assignments include gender and entrepreneurship officer in the Bureau of African Affairs, energy and environment officer at the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, consular officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Monterrey, Mexico, and a detail at the U.S. African Development Foundation.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches Contracts, International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, International Law and U.S. Labor Law, and Public International Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. From 2016 to 2020, she served as a director of labor affairs in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Before joining USTR, LeClercq worked for nearly a decade as a legal officer at the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and served as staff counsel for the chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.

This event was part of the Dean Rusk International Law Center’s ongoing Consular Series, which presents students, staff, and faculty with global perspectives on international trade, cooperation, development, and policy.

Georgia Law Professor Desirée LeClercq organizes transnational conference in Mexico City to discuss the future of the USCMA

University of Georgia School of Law Professor Desirée LeClercq recently organized and funded (through a grant won at Cornell University) a transnational conference of U.S., Mexican, and Canadian labor unions and leaders at Flacso Mexico in Mexico City. Patricia Campos-Medina (WI-ILR Cornell University), Alex Covarrubias (El Colegio de Sonora), and Cirila Quintero (El Colegio de la Frontera Norte) served as conference co-organizers.

This one-day transnational labor conference solicited the views of labor unions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), organizers, and workers on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)’s Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) in light of current geopolitical dynamics. Participants identified current challenges in filing petitions under the RRM, aligned strategic approaches to the 2026 re-negotiation of the USMCA, and discussed ways to work together notwithstanding current tensions in politics and trade. The conference was structured to first discuss the RRM on a technical level before broadening to account for political tensions and joint transnational strategies. It concluded with ways participants could remain organized and collaborate in the future.

LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024 as an assistant professor. She teaches International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, International Law and U.S. Labor Law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law.