Program for international law students enters 12th year
-By Jared Servantez
This summer, USC Gould School of Law welcomes 135 students from 24 countries to the 12th annual Summer Law & English (SLE) program for international students.
The four-week program offers international law students the opportunity to learn the foundations of the American legal system from USC Law adjunct instructors and work on specialized legal English vocabulary and legal writing.
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| Donald Scotten welcomes students to the 12th annual Summer Law and English program. |
The popularity of SLE has driven rising enrollment figures. This year's class represents a 20.5 percent increase over last year's class of 112 students.
"This program provides a solid platform for lawyers and law students who are preparing for their studies in an LL.M. program and seeking professional development opportunities to take back to their home countries,” said Nicholas Kajimoto, student programs advisor for the Graduate & International Programs at USC Gould. “It’s also a prime opportunity for them to network with a wide range of colleagues, expanding their base of knowledge as well as their potential clientele.”
The students gathered for the first time Monday for an orientation session and welcome luncheon at the Town & Gown ballroom, where they were able to mingle with other students and their instructors over a classic American barbeque buffet.
“Enjoy your time, because these next four weeks will fly right by,” said Donald Scotten, who will be leading lectures on business organizations and mergers and acquisitions during the final week of the program.
After the luncheon, students returned to the law school to take an assessment test that will be used to place them into seven separate sections for “legal English” courses taught by ESL instructors from the USC International Academy.
In addition to legal English, students will spend each morning throughout the program taking law classes including lectures on U.S. constitutional law, intellectual property law, entertainment law, international business transactions and corporate finance.
Students will also have the opportunity to enjoy the cultural and social attractions of living in Los Angeles. The program will sponsor trips to Santa Monica, the Getty Museum and a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game, as well as an educational tour of the L.A. Superior Courthouse in Pasadena.
SLE is designed primarily for students who have already earned or will soon earn their first law degree (LL.B. or equivalent) outside of the U.S., and includes a range of students from recent undergraduates to those who have been practicing law in their home countries for years already.
Of the 135 students, 75 will continue on to the USC Gould School of Law’s LL.M. program in the fall. The other 60 students will complete SLE and then will return to work in their home countries, finish their undergraduate law degrees, or go on to attend LL.M. programs at other law schools including those at Columbia, Harvard, NYU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Virginia and Washington University – St. Louis.
The program has added more LL.M. prep instruction to the curriculum to assist the 99 students in SLE who will be starting an LL.M. program at USC or another school in the fall.
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