Careers
Monroe Leigh
Fellowship in International Law
The fellowship provides a total of $10,000
for one or two students to pursue a public
international law project of their own choosing during the
summer following the first or second year, during the fall
and/or spring of the third academic year, or for a postgraduate
internship. Application Information
International Court
of Justice (The Hague)
Virginia Law is one of a select group of American law schools that nominates candidates for a clerkship with the ICJ. The Law School provides up to $40,000 to support the nine-month clerkship, which is open to graduates in the five most recent classes.
Summer Opportunities
In addition to working summers at firms and other employers that deal with aspects of international law, a number of students find public service positions abroad. The student-run Public Interest Law Association offers $3,500 to $5,900 grants to help fund a broad array of summer public interest opportunities, which have recently included internships with the U.N. World Food Program in Rome; the Justice for Widows and Orphans Project in Lusaka, Zambia; and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Protection Unit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, among others. The Human Rights Program arranges a student summer internship with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in Arusha, Tanzania; students may also apply for a limited number of grants for other human rights internships. DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary in Washington, D.C., has established a place for a Virginia student to work as a summer fellow with the firm’s Kosovo pro bono legal reform initiative, and the Law School recently established internships with Human Rights First. More on Human Rights Program Fellowships
ALUMNI
Nearly 200 Virginia Law graduates currently work overseas in 35 countries and every continent. They include the Chief Legal Officer of Citibank-Japan (Tokyo), the Secretary General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration (Paris), and the Head of European Operations for Morgan Stanley (London). Alumni also practice abroad in the various global offices of firms such as White & Case, King & Spalding, Linklaters, and Clifford Chance. Graduates have received Fulbright fellowships to study abroad, and have worked for government and NGO employers dealing with international law and human rights at home and overseas, including the United Nations, the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, the Center for Justice and Accountability, Human Rights Watch, the Center for National Security Studies, the U.S. Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. Army JAG Corps, Global Rights, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, among others.
Here's what a few of our alums have been up to recently:
John N. Raudabaugh '77 joined Nixon Peabody’s labor and employment practice as counsel in the Washington, D.C., office. In 2009 he represented U.S. employers at the International Labour Conference, 98th session, addressing the global jobs crisis, and he co-chaired a team of attorneys on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme, addressing the elimination of the worst forms of child and forced labor through access to justice, remediation, and employment and labor rights. He served for four years as member for the U.S. National Labor Relations Board and previously was with Baker & McKenzie.
David Stuckey '01, a senior consultant with Hudson Legal in Budapest, and the Law School’s William S. Potter Professor Michael Dooley met at the LL.M. alumni reunion in Frankfurt, Germany, last summer. Stuckey handles expatriate recruitment throughout Central and Eastern Europe and is spearheading Hudson Legal’s presence in Latin America, and he welcomes hearing from current or former LL.M. students in Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, and Central Eastern Europe.
Filipe de Aguiar Vasconcelos Carneiro '09 recently joined Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He is involved in infrastructure projects aimed to fulfill the projected demand of hosting the Soccer World Cup in 2014, the Olympic Games in 2016, and the demands brought on by the discovery of Brazil’s offshore oil and gas reserves. MMSO is one of the largest Brazilian law firms, with six offices in Brazil and one in New York City. The firm is highly regarded for its corporate, administrative law, and infrastructure practices.
Beppy Landrum Owen '01 has been recognized by the University of Central Florida’s International Services Center and Global Perspectives Office for her commitment to internationalization. She is co-chair of the senior living practice in the Orlando, Fla., office of Akerman Senterfitt and chair of the Orlando area committee on foreign relations. Her practice focuses on transactions that involve corporate acquisitions, private equity financing, multistate debt financing, real estate, and intellectual property matters.
Thatcher A. Stone '82 and his aviation-focused practice were honored with ACQ Finance magazine’s Aviation Law Firm of the Year-North America award in October. ACQ Finance magazine is published in the United Kingdom, where it circulates among decision makers at investment and merchant banks, the U.K. Legal 500, and business leaders in Western Europe. Stone is regularly involved in the legal aspects of export credit finance for a variety of foreign carriers.
Donal O'Donnell LL.M. '83 was appointed to the Supreme Court of Ireland by President Mary McAleese.
Nancy E. Hudgins '78, a San Francisco-based mediator, was a visiting professor at Southwest University Neofit Rilsky Law School in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, during the 2010 spring semester. She taught negotiation and mediation to Bulgarian law and international relations students. Her professorship was co-sponsored by the Center for International Legal Studies in Salzburg, Austria.
Jonathan J. Rusch '80 has received the Honorary Freedom of the City of London, the highest honor the City can bestow. An expert in the fields of cybercrime and mass-marketing fraud, Rusch was named for this award as a result of his work in developing close working relationships between the United States and the United Kingdom on fraud investigations and prosecutions.
(reported fall 2010 in UVA
Lawyer)
Olivier Winants '09 started work as a political advisor for the United Left Group in the European Parliament in Brussels after finishing his six-month internship in the European Commission data protection unit. He is mostly active within the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs and the Committee for Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
Amelia Chilcott Fawcett '83 is a Commander
of the British Empire, an award presented by the Queen of England
in 2002 in recognition of Fawcett's services to the finance
industry.
Until 2007, Fawcett was Head of European Operations for Morgan Stanley (London). She stepped down to sit on various boards and pursue institutional management consulting, and is now with Pensions First LLP which aims to help faltering, defined-benefit pension plans in the United Kingdom. The new company will use capital markets to deal with longevity risks.
Umit Herguner '85 continues to serve as managing partner of the Istanbul-based law firm of Herguner Bilgen Ozeke, which boasts global recognition as the largest firm in Turkey. The firm celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and was honored by the International Financial Law Review as the Turkish Law Firm of the Year for the second year running. Also for the second straight year, Herguner appeared as the only Turkish practice in the FT Law 50 Innovative Lawyers Index for 2009.
Matthew J. Thomas '92 joined Reed Smith in Washington, D.C., as partner in the shipping group. His practice focuses on domestic and international maritime and shipping matters, as well as trade regulation issues pertaining to international trade.
Keith Cole '87 has been appointed vice president, government relations for General Motors International Operations, which manages GM’s operations outside Europe and the Americas. Cole and his family have recently relocated to GM’s office in Shanghai, China.
OUR ALUMS LIVE
IN Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Belgium,
Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece,
Guam, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria,
Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Phillipine Islands, Poland,
Russia, Saudia Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South
Korea, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,
The Netherlands, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom,
and the Virgin Islands.
