The room is packed. Seated before USC Gould School of Law Dean Robert K. Rasmussen at the opening luncheon for the law school’s Summer Law and English Program (SLE) are 116 students.
Nine years ago, when the first summer program was held, there were fewer than two dozen students. The SLE program draws students from across the globe to the USC campus to learn American law and the intricacies of the U.S. legal system, practice the necessary vocabulary to further their English-speaking legal education, and network with classmates both personally and professionally.
Incoming USC LL.M ‘13 Oluwatamilore Ige of the U.K. immediately recognizes the Trojan bond among the crowd of diverse students. “You go here and you’re here for life,” Ige says. “Everyone is very connected; everyone makes friends with everyone and they’re all very helpful.”
The program has grown not only in size, but also in substance due to increasing numbers of applications from students who have a keen interest in more practical legal training.
Graduate & International Programs’ Associate Director Anne Marlenga explains: “The feedback we get every year is that the students want more, more, more. More class time, more interaction, more everything.”
After nine years of success and improvement, the program now exposes the students to a wide array of legal topics including Business Law, Criminal Law, International Negotiation & Arbitration, Intellectual Property, Contracts, and, a student favorite—Entertainment Law. The classes are taught by experts in their respective fields; for example, the head of the entertainment legal department for Fox Broadcasting Company spent a day lecturing the students on Entertainment Law.
Of the 116 students participating this summer, 75 will matriculate into USC’s LL.M. program this fall. The other students will attend other university’s LL.M. programs or are simply here for the summer program.
“A huge part of the program is for us to prepare LL.M. students for the master’s program,” says Marlenga. “[That preparation] comes from time in the classroom spent practicing English skills.
Prior to this year, students spent less time with Legal English material, but in response to students’ desire to refine their skills more, the SLE staff have added more to the Legal English part of the program. USC Rossier School of Education’s Language Academy, the law school’s partner on the SLE program, runs the Legal English portion of the program and has expanded the legal writing portion of their curriculum.
“We have taken additional measures to develop opportunities for the students to practice their English outside of the classroom as well,” Marlenga adds. In addition to spending four days a week in the Legal English classroom, students may also choose to participate in advanced conversation lunches where professors and guest lecturers host intimate lunchtime discussions with interested students.
Nadthasiri Bergman of Thailand says she has noticed the improvement in her English.
“My English has gotten a lot better,” she says. “They also give us a lot of material to take home and do ourselves.”
The afternoon Legal English lessons mirror what the students learn in the morning, with further in-depth discussion about legal issues as well as instruction in relevant vocabulary and concepts.
The students learn and practice English by reviewing relevant case studies—one particular day focused on the BP oil spill and company tort liability. Difficult English words and U.S. legal concepts are clarified before the students begin analyzing case scenarios.
“My favorite classes are the ones about cases,” says Siyi Zhao of China. “It’s great to know the difference between our countries’ laws and the U.S.A.’s law.”
Professor Helen Fong, USC Law adjunct instructor, teaches one of the five Legal English classes during the SLE program. While her class consists of just 22 students, they hail from 16 distinct countries.
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| Students mingle during lunchtime pizza party |
The ages among the student body varies as well; some students are current or recent undergraduates, while some have been practicing law for many years already.
“It’s so rare to have that kind of diversity with such a small size [class],” Fong says. The students, diverse in age and in nationality yet united by the Trojan spirit, share another unmistakable trait: “the lawyer personality. It must be universal. They all love to talk and to debate.”
Amidst the incredible success of the increasingly-popular program, Marlenga foresees only one obstacle.
“I don’t see how we can possibly expand our programming any more than we already have. There is only so much we can fit into four weeks. Instead, we will continue refining our curriculum to meet the needs and interests of our students,” she says.
Expansion could come instead by stretching particularly interesting topic lectures to two-day events.
Equal portions of law and English instruction are supplemented by Los Angeles’s cultural education, offering students a hands-on look at hot tourist spots, such as the Santa Monica Pier and the J. Paul Getty Museum, as well as a tour of an American court house.
USC Law’s Graduate & International Programs staff devotes countless hours to creating the best possible program for each summer experience. Without exams or grades to worry about, the program fosters a community feeling among the otherwise culturally distant student body. Somewhat of an annual tradition, the students plan a weekend trip to Las Vegas.
“They truly enjoy their time here,” explained Marlenga. “It’s a much more relaxed environment than during the school year.”
“There are so many people from so many countries,” said Maria Ochoa, who is from Mexico. “The diversity is the best part, finding out how things work in different countries.”
As Rasmussen taught the students the iconic Trojan ‘fight on’ gesture and chant during his welcoming speech, he reminded them, “This unites us all. We look out for each other…in diverse careers across the globe. When you become a Trojan, you’re a Trojan for life.”
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