Practical training is a required component of the certificate program. Students may fulfill the externship requirement in one of three ways.
EXTERNSHIP - One Required
Practical training is a required component of the certificate program. Students may fulfill the externship requirement in one of three ways.
- Externship: Students must complete one externship in the areas of comparative and/or international law for academic credit. To earn academic credit, students must be enrolled contemporaneously in the courses:
Becoming a Lawyer (1 cr.) (classroom component)
and Legal Externship (2 or 3 cr.):
- 2 credit hours = 100 hours of work at placement, or
- 3 credit hours = 150 hours of work at placement
Each student must consult with the CILI Director before undertaking to select an externship and must obtain approval from the Director for the field placement proposed to satisfy the experiential learning requirement. Additionally, students interested in pursuing a legal externship for academic credit should review the handbook on the Legal Externship Program; Legal_Externship_Handbook.pdf. The contact for Legal Externship is Christopher S. Ross, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law; Managing Director, Columbus Community Legal Services; Faculty Director, Catholic Law-Jagellonian University Joint American Law Programs; and Director of Experiential Curriculum, Email: rosscs@cua.edu and Phone: (202) 319-6783.
- CCLS: Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Clinic (3 to 6 crs.) may be taken in lieu of an externship. This clinical program offers students the opportunity to advocate for immigrants and refugees in courts, administrative proceedings, and policy forums. Students, under the supervision of a clinic attorney, represent low-income clients living in D.C., Maryland and Virginia who have experienced political persecution, violence or humanitarian crises in their home countries. The Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Clinic (IRAC) assists clients with immigration matters as well as related civil matters that affect, or relate to, the client's immigration status. Our clients include adults as well as unaccompanied minors. The caseload of the clinic consists primarily of immigration matters with involvement in related family law, employment, and public benefits matters as needed.
Students eligible for certification under the Student Practice Rule may have the opportunity to present their clients' cases in court and all students are eligible to advocate on behalf of clients with local and federal administrative agencies. Students also participate in limited legal assistance projects or policy reform initiatives. The classroom component of the course includes participatory exercises in interviewing, fact investigation, counseling, trial skills and structured discussion of legal ethics, case law and statutory developments.
Students enrolled for six credits are expected to spend a minimum of 20 hours weekly on clinic work. Continuing students may enroll for 3 credits, but only with the prior approval of Professor Dyer. The course is graded, with a pass/fail option, with permission of the course professor. A student may request to complete a writing portfolio which fulfills a portion of the upper-level writing requirement.
Prof. Dyer
NOTE: To satisfy the CILI requirement for experiential learning, the student must enroll in three credits. In the event the student elects to enroll in the six-credit option, three of the six credits will satisfy one CILI elective.
- Human Rights Practicum (3 or 4 crs.) (Spring 2027): This course is designed to educate and prepare law students, through both classroom instruction and placement in a human rights law office, on how to properly represent and advocate for clients via legislative and policy solutions. Students will attend a weekly two-hour seminar addressing the practical realities of engaging in human rights issues and the ethical considerations surrounding this form of representation.
Students will then be placed in a law office to work alongside a practicing attorney on human rights cases. This course will expose students to the practice of international human rights and advocacy. Students who successfully complete this course will be eligible for a paid fellowship the following summer in the human rights field. Part-time (evening) students are eligible, and welcome, to take this course. Students choosing the three-credit option must complete at least 60 hours of work time within the placement portion of the course. Students choosing the four- credit option must complete at least 120 hours of work time within the placement portion of the course. Prof. Destro.
Though students need only complete one externship for academic credit to satisfy the CILI certificate Practical Training Requirement, students are encouraged to take advantage of the numerous additional opportunities to gain international experience while they are in Washington, D.C.
In addition to externships in traditional law firms, students in the Institute have completed externships at international and governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, international banking institutions, and corporations, including:
American Bar Association's Central and Eastern European Law Initiative
American Immigration Law Foundation
Amnesty International
Center for International Environmental Law
Center for Justice and International Law
Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Consular Division
Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Communications Commission-International Bureau
Immigration & Naturalization Service
International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition
Inter-American Development Bank
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law
International Justice Project
International Labor Rights Fund
International Management Group
International Wholesalers Corporation
International Trade Commission
Kile Goekjian Reed & McManus PLLC
The Nature Conservancy
Organization of American States
Reed Smith
Tahirih Justice Center
Tax & Trade Bureau - International Trade Division
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United States Agency for International Development
United States congressional committees
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
United States Department of Commerce: Office of European Union & Regional Affairs
Office of Chief Counsel, Bureau of Export Administration
United States Department of Defense, International Affairs Division
United States Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs
United States Department of State
United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard
United States Senate Government Affairs Committee on Special Investigation on Campaign Finance
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Federal Trade Commission
U.S. International Trade Commission
U.S.-Russia Business Council
U.S. Trade Representative U.S. Trade & Development Agency
World Jurist Association