JD with Certificate in International Law
Our International Law program gives you the knowledge and practical skills to navigate cross-border transactions, disputes, and other global legal challenges.
The mission of Lewis & Clark’s International Law Program is to give students the foundation of knowledge and skills they need to excel when they encounter transactions, disputes and other matters that have an international component. The Law School provides a broad and deep international law curriculum, a focus on practical skills, and engagement with the legal and academic community on international issues.
Specialize in International Law
Lewis & Clark’s International Law Program provides a strong foundation in global legal systems through a broad curriculum, practical training, and engagement with international legal issues. Students develop the skills needed to address cross-border transactions, disputes, and other complex global challenges.
Earning a Certificate in International Law offers a structured path through the curriculum, helping you build expertise while working closely with faculty and gaining hands-on experience.
International Law Certificate Admissions Brochure
Lily Barchers JD ’24More about LilyMore than just caring about students, Lewis & Clark faculty believe in their students—even when they are struggling—and will do whatever they can to support them.
What is International Law?
International law governs the relationships, transactions, and disputes that cross national borders. Lewis & Clark’s International Law curriculum spans multiple areas of law with international, transnational, and foreign law elements. Students can explore topics including:
Opportunities in International Law
Coursework & Curriculum
Lewis & Clark offers a multitude of classes on a wide variety of international law topics. We offer a Certificate in International Law for students who desire a structured curricular framework for studies in this area.
Global Experiences
Lewis & Clark students have significant opportunities to study or work abroad during their time at the Law School. Lewis & Clark partners with several foreign law schools at which students can spend a semester on exchange. Students can also receive academic credit for ABA-accredited study abroad programs, or for their participation in an international externship at a law firm, NGO, or other organization.
Experiential Learning
Students at Lewis & Clark can also develop practical skills through experiential learning with international component here in the United States. These opportunities include joining the law school’s Jessup International Moot Court team, participating in our Global Law Alliance for Animals and the Environment, and undertaking a domestic externship with an organization doing international work.
Visiting Scholars & Events
Lewis & Clark regularly hosts distinguished visitors with expertise in different areas of international law, who share their viewpoints and experiences in formal and informal settings on campus. These events are often organized in association with Lewis & Clark’s International Law Society, a student organization dedicated to international law issues.
Writing & Scholarship
We also hold a writing competition each year, sponsored by the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, to recognize excellence in student scholarship on international topics.
International Law News
DWT International Writing Award winners announced
This year’s winning papers investigated how developing countries face inequities in expropriation for public purpose, and challenges to establishing standing in international environmental rights cases.
New Scorecard Highlights Food Systems’ Role in Climate Commitments
Professor Erica Lyman, Lewis & Clark Law School’s Global Law Alliance, and international partners have launched the Food Systems NDC Scorecard, a new tool evaluating how national climate plans address the role of food systems in climate mitigation and adaptation.
Chhime Dorji Selected as 2026 Karuna Foundation International LLM Scholarship Recipient
Lewis & Clark Law School has named Bhutanese lawyer Chhime Dorji as the 2026 recipient of the Karuna Foundation International LLM Scholarship, which supports international environmental law students from countries where the foundation works. He will join Lewis & Clark’s top-ranked Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law program in January 2026, using his LLM studies to strengthen environmental law, climate justice, and sustainable development in Bhutan.