Detroit (March 9, 2010) - The Program for International Legal Studies at Wayne State University Law School is pleased to announce a summer internship scholarship program that will allow students to gain practical legal experience in Latin America, southeast and central Asia, Africa and Europe.
Funded by private donations, the International Law Public Interest Scholarship will allow students to travel abroad and work for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world for two months during the summer after their first or second year at Wayne Law. Through the NGOs, the students will engage in advocacy on a broad range of issues including human rights, environment, women's rights, law reform and more.
"These internships will give our students incredibly exciting opportunities to work on the front lines of legal advocacy and reform in countries facing enormous challenges," said Gregory Fox, Wayne Law professor and director of the Program for International Studies. "They will take what they have learned in the classroom and put it to practical use, helping others and gaining valuable international experience."
Partner organizations include:
• People's Watch - India
• ABA Rule of Law Initiative - Georgia and Kyrgtzstan
• Kilimanjaro Women's Information and Exchange Consultancy Organization - Tanzania
• The Crisis Centre - Bahamas
• Beijing Juvenile Legal Aid & Research Center - China
• Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis - Kenya
• Center for Legal Assistance of Pollution Victims - China
• Asociación ANDES - Peru
• Human Rights Law Services (HURILAWS) - Nigeria
• Gisha - Israel
• Legal Assistance Centre - Namibia
• Empower - Malaysia
According to Fox, the overall goal of this program is to establish permanent ties with and offer ongoing legal advice to partner organizations throughout the world while at the same time providing Wayne Law students with unique practical experience in international law.
Students must submit applications by March 22, 2010 to be considered for the International Law Public Interest Scholarship. A Wayne Law committee will work with the partner organizations to match qualified applicants with appropriate organizations. Each of the selected interns, funded at $5,000, will be notified of their placement in early April.
For more information regarding this program, please call Holly Hughes at (313) 577-3620 or send an email to international.law@wayne.edu. For more information on how to give to this program, please contact the Wayne Law Office of Development and Alumni Relations at (313) 577-3113.
Visit the Program for International Studies online at http://law.wayne.edu/international-studies/index.php.
Public Interest Law Fellowships
In 2009, Wayne Law created a Public Interest Law Fellowship (PILF) program to allow students additional opportunities to gain practical experience and offer needed assistance to organizations providing legal services to underserved constituencies. More information on the PILF program can be found online at http://www.law.wayne.edu/finaid/pilf.php.
About Wayne Law
Wayne State University Law School has educated and served the Detroit metropolitan area since its inception as Detroit City Law School in 1927. Located at 471 West Palmer Street in Detroit's re-energized historic cultural center, the Law School remains committed to student success and features modern lecture and court facilities, multi-media classrooms, a 250-seat auditorium, and the Arthur Neef Law Library, which houses one of the nation's 30 largest legal collections. Taught by an internationally recognized and expert faculty, Wayne Law students experience a high-quality legal education via a growing array of hands-on curricular offerings, client clinics, and access to well over 100 internships with local and non-profit entities each year. Its 11,000 living alumni, who work in every state of the nation and more than a dozen foreign countries, are experts in their disciplines and include leading members of the local, national and international legal communities. For more information, visit law.wayne.edu.