Students Participate in Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program

Five University of Virginia School of Law students recently attended the Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program, which gives students from across the nation the opportunity to establish connections and expand their interest in international law.

Elizabeth Donald ’19, Ashley Finger ’18, Billy Holt LL.M. ’18, Anne-Sophie Hutteau-Hiltzer LL.M. ’18 and Lauren Sandground ’18 were among 54 law students representing 23 countries who attended the seminar Feb. 23-24 in Washington, D.C.

Professor Ashley Deeks served as faculty adviser, helping the students sharpen their research papers that tackled issues ranging from trade and investment law to the law of war. Deeks is a former adviser with the State Department.

UVA Law partners with 10 other top law schools in the Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program, started in 2012, to allow students to explore cutting-edge issues in international law with faculty and practitioners, who also advise students on their careers.

During the event, Finger was the sole student selected to travel to Salzburg, Austria, in May to serve as rapporteur at this year’s high-level meeting of the Public Sector Strategy Network, hosted by the Saltzburg Global Seminar, which is also the fellows program sponsor.

Finger will attend each session of the three-day event and draft a final report summarizing the meeting.

“To see substantive policy and strategy discussions related to issues that I care about play out on an international stage is an opportunity of a lifetime,” she said. “I am also interested to see how having a legal background will change my perspective on policymaking and governance.”

Finger, who worked for the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology before law school, said participating in the fellowship program has been an inspiring experience.

“I met a ton of thoughtful, brilliant, passionate and inspiring people who are without a doubt going to have a tremendous impact on the world,” she said.