International Curriculum Planning Guide

How to Use This Guide

Students interested in an international practice should consider following the guidance set forth in this Curriculum Planning document, which identifies classes that would be helpful for each of three separate practice pathways: international business law, international environmental law, and international human rights law.   Many classes relevant to each pathway are part of the International Law curriculum.  Others involve purely domestic matters but are included because they provide core knowledge or skills that could be readily applied in the relevant international practice area. 

It is important to keep in mind that students can focus their studies in one of these areas without pursuing the International Law Certificate, or vice versa, although it is also possible to pursue both simultaneously. 

Focus on International Business Law

International business law is an extension of more traditional areas of business law, introducing additional layers of legal and cultural complexity.  International practitioners are required to be familiar not only with state and federal law, but also international and foreign law.  Moreover, their clients typically consist not only of domestic individuals or companies, but also foreign ones, whether private or governmental.  International practitioners may engage in either transactional matters or dispute resolution, or both, and may encounter such diverse areas of the law as international sales of goods, trade law, international investment law, intellectual property law, and international arbitration.  Negotiation, planning, and drafting skills are also critical to such a practice.  If you are interested in pursuing a career in international business law, contact Professor George Foster (foster@lclark.edu; 503-768-6822) for further information.

Take these courses during your second year:

International Business Transactions

Business Associations I

Take these courses sometime:

Business Associations II

International Dispute Resolution

Intellectual Property Law Survey

Legal Research: International & Foreign

Consider taking one or more of these courses sometime:

Advanced Contracts: Sales & Leasing

Alternative Dispute Resolutions

Antitrust Law

Climate Change: International Law

Contract Drafting

Copyright Law

Energy Law: Electricity Regulation

Energy Resources: Law & Policy

Intellectual Property: Advanced Topics

International Investment Law

International Tax

Law of Global Labor Markets

Patent Law & Policy

Public International Law

Renewable Energy Law & Policy

Secured Transactions

Technology, Transfer & Licensing

Telecommunications Law

Trademark & Unfair Competition Law

 

Focus on International Environmental Law

International environmental law draws on principles and customary law, as well as environmental treaties between two or more nation-States. While international environmental law must be implemented through domestic legislation in almost all situations, the practice of international environmental law differs substantially from a domestic environmental law practice.  For example, the typical international environmental lawyer will likely never litigate any cases in state or federal court involving environmental laws.  Instead, most international environmental lawyers will spend significant amounts of time in conference rooms of the world negotiating new rules to implement existing environmental treaties or negotiating new international agreements.  Rarely, they may litigate cases in front of international tribunals such as the International Court of Justice or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.  Lawyers in this field may work for governments, international institutions such as the United Nations Environmental Program, nongovernmental organizations, or private law firms representing companies or trade associations.  Negotiation and drafting skills are critical to an international environmental law practice.  An understanding of the major international environmental principles and treaties is essential to this work, as is a solid grounding in public international law, trade law, and domestic environmental law.  If you are interested in pursuing a career in international environmental law, contact Professor Chris Wold (wold@lclark.edu; 503-768-6734) for further information.

Take these courses during your second year:

International Environmental Law

Public International Law

Take these courses sometime:

Administrative Law

Climate Change: International Law

Environmental Law

Legal Research: International & Foreign

International Environmental Law Project

International Wildlife Law

Jessup Moot Court

Consider taking one or more of these courses sometime:

International Dispute Resolution

International Human Rights

International Investment Law

Ocean & Coastal Law

Wildlife Law

 

Focus on International Human Rights Law

International human rights law involves the protection and promotion of human rights at the international, regional and domestic levels.   A human rights lawyer may perform functions including investigating and prosecuting violations of human rights, pursuing civil claims against violators, advocating for changes in the law, counseling or defending victims of human rights abuses, and alerting courts, tribunals, and other decision-makers of the human rights implications of business activity or investment disputes.   Forums in which a human rights lawyer may have occasion to argue cases or submit amicus briefs include human rights courts or commissions, the International Court of Justice, investment treaty tribunals, and domestic courts.  The field is small but growing, with career opportunities potentially available at human rights organizations, watchdog groups, and NGOs.  In addition, some lawyers do human rights work as a discrete component of a more diverse practice.  A solid foundation in public international law, human rights law, and international dispute resolution is essential, and students interested in this field would be well-advised to obtain practical experience in litigation and oral advocacy.  If you are interested in pursuing a career in international human rights law, contact Professor Chris Wold (wold@lclark.edu; 503-768-6734) for further information.

Take this course during your second year:

Public International Law

International Human Rights

Take these courses sometime:

Legal Research: International & Foreign

Human Trafficking

International Criminal Law

International Dispute Resolution

Jessup Moot Court

Consider taking one or more of these courses sometime:

Civil Rights Litigation

Crime Victims Litigation Clinic

Criminal Justice Reform Clinic

Comparative Constitutional Law

Conflict of Laws

Crimmigration, Crisis & Conflict

Cultural Resources Protection

Environmental Justice

Federal Courts

Federal Indian Law

Immigration Law

International Dispute Resolution

International Environmental Law Project

International Investment Law

Islamic Law & Politics

Law in Spanish

Law of Global Labor Markets

Moot Court: Mock Trial

Race & the Law

Transformative Immigration Law