legal internships

Bon voyage to students taking part in Georgia Law global summer 2024 initiatives

In the weeks ahead, more than two dozen students will travel to participate in two global practice preparation offerings administered by the University of Georgia School of Law’s Dean Rusk International Law Center. These are the:

Global Governance Summer School

This year’s Global Governance Summer School will focus on comparative administrative law. It is set to begin this month, when students will travel to Belgium for a week of lectures led by Georgia Law Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & J. Alton Hosch Professor of Law Kent Barnett, 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, the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union, private law firms, and NGOs.

Then, programming shifts to The Hague, Netherlands, where Barnett will lead briefings at the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, and the U.S. Embassy in The Hague. Center director Sarah Quinn and Global Practice Preparation Assistant Catrina Martin will provide logistical assistance during the program.

Thirteen Georgia Law students will take part: Ceilidh Buckley, Elizabeth “Grace” Lane, both rising 3Ls; Elizabeth Burns, Aaron Dasher, Leighlee Mahony, Antavious McCarden, Emily Munger, Benjamin Privitera, Karlie “Kara” Reed, Bailey “Hunt” Renfroe, Casey Smith, all rising 2Ls; and Emilio Suarez Romero and Michael Williams, both pursuing Graduate Certificates in International Law.

Global Externships Overseas

Our Center’s Global Externship Overseas initiative places Georgia Law students in externships lasting between four and twelve weeks. It thus offers students the opportunity to gain practical work experience in a variety of legal settings worldwide. This summer, three students have opted to combine the GEO opportunity with participation in GGSS: Emily Munger, Karlie “Kara” Reed, and Benjamin Privitera.

This summer, sixteen Georgia Law students are set to pursue Global Externships Overseas, in practice areas such as privacy and technology law, intellectual property law, cultural heritage and historic preservation, environmental law, international arbitration, corporate law, and human rights law.

This year’s GEO class includes these private-sector placements:

These students will work for public sector placements:

  • Amelia England (rising 2L) – Cambodian Ministry of Culture’s Department of Antiquities; Phnom Penh, Cambodia
  • Rogers “Carter” Haydon (rising 2L) – Office of the Privacy Commissioner; Hamilton, Bermuda
  • Eman Mistry (rising 3L) – Department of Conservation; Wellington, New Zealand
  • Emily Munger (rising 2L) – The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law; Valletta, Malta
  • Chelsey Perry (rising 3L) – Department of Conservation; Wellington, New Zealand
  • Abigail Rimmer (rising 2L) – No Peace Without Justice; Brussels, Belgium
  • Tiffany Torchia (rising 3L) – Office of the Privacy Commissioner; Hamilton, Bermuda

More information on both of these Georgia Law initiatives here.

Georgia Law 2L Erin Nalley shares her Global Externship experience in New Zealand

Today, we welcome a guest post by Erin Nalley, a member of the University of Georgia School of Law class of 2025. Through the Global Externships Overseas (GEO) initiative, Erin was able to extern with the Department of Conservation in Wellington, New Zealand in summer 2023.

When I first landed in New Zealand last summer, I was both exhausted and excited for what the next few months would bring me. I had just finished the University of Georgia School of Law’s Global Governance Summer School, and I was worn out from the travel from Amsterdam to Atlanta to Auckland to my final destination of Wellington, New Zealand. Wellington is where I would spend the rest of my summer as a legal extern with the Department of Conservation through the Global Externships Overseas initiative.

My work in New Zealand involved picking apart the World Heritage Convention text. Specifically, I evaluated what language made the text binding and what policy documents and case law were made binding by the text itself. I also worked with case studies involving New Zealand land that was in conservation under the World Heritage Convention. I worked alongside lawyers within my department, lawyers who worked in foreign affairs, and even those who worked directly with the New Zealand Parliament. I designed my research to act as a guide for the international team at the Department of Conservation to assist in keeping New Zealand in compliance with the World Heritage Convention. As part of my externship, I was able to visit the New Zealand Parliament and observe members debating new legislation. I was also given the opportunity to attend the ICON-S Public International Law conference held in Wellington.

Along with my work experience, I had the opportunity to engage in the culture of my host community. I was in New Zealand during Matariki, the Māori New Year. Here, I saw a haka, a ceremonial performance within the Māori culture that is often performed at important events. I visited the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum and learned about the history and culture of the people of New Zealand. I tried yellow kiwi fruit, manuka honey, Wellington chocolate, and New Zealand pies. I also visited Zealandia, where part of the forest is fenced in to keep predators out and to provide the native birds within the sanctuary a place to thrive and recover their populations. Finally, one of my favorite parts of the trip was a drive to Hobbiton, where they filmed The Shire scenes in Lord of the Rings films. It was surreal being able to step inside a hobbit hole and have a drink at the Green Dragon Inn.

My Global Externships Overseas experience was everything I had hoped for and even more than I expected. I walked away from my 1L summer with significant international legal experience, new cultural understandings and appreciation, and even a tattoo of a New Zealand silver fern, an important indigenous plant that serves as a symbol of the country’s national identity.

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Applications are now open for summer 2024 Global Externships Overseas (GEO). This initiative places University of Georgia School of Law students in four-to-twelve week international placements each summer, where they gain substantive, hands-on experience in diverse areas of legal practice. Over the last fifteen years, more than 200 Georgia Law students have completed a GEO in law firms, government agencies, corporate legal departments, intergovernmental organizations, and nongovernmental organizations around the world. Current 1Ls and 2Ls are encouraged to apply for summer GEOs. All applicants should reference this instructional video for step-by-step information regarding how to create and successfully complete an application for GEOs in UGA’s Study Away Portal by the March 10th deadline. For more information, email: ruskintlaw@uga.edu