The J.D. Academic Services office is now accepting applications for Global Teaching Fellows (“GTFs”) to assist in teaching the first-year course, Week One: Law in a Global Context (“Week One”), from January 9-13, 2012.  We encourage upperclass Global Law Scholars, J.D. students, and LL.M. students who will be enrolled students in the 2011-12 academic year to apply.  The deadline for all GTF applications is Monday, October 3, 2011.

Overview of Global Teaching Fellow Program.

Week One, now in its seventh year, is a one-week, problem-based course designed to introduce first-year students to a complex legal problem that involves not only U.S. law, but also international and/or foreign law in a transnational setting so they can begin to understand how legal problems increasingly transcend national boundaries and involve more than one legal system.  All first-year students are required to take this one-credit, pass/fail class.  Students will be assigned to one of three transnational legal problems:  a contract dispute between parties from different countries, a tort (defamation) dispute involving a defamed foreign party, and a public law dispute involving extradition of foreign persons to the United States (to face, for example, the death penalty).   For a description of each problem, please see the summary provided here.  The courses will each be taught through a closed packet of materials and will not include a research component. 

The Global Teaching Fellows play an important role in the success of Week One.  In the fall, the Faculty members leading the problem circulate drafts of the material for comment or otherwise solicit suggestions from their GTFs.  The GTFs will meet with their Faculty member in the fall semester for training that will provide further opportunity for mutual discussion of the materials.  The Faculty members in charge also meet and/or consult regularly with their GTFs during Week One itself, to offer and receive feedback from them both on the plenary sessions and on how the problem is going in the break-out sessions as the week proceeds.  During Week One, the GTFs attend all of the plenary sessions, and they also attend and help facilitate the break-out sessions in which students engage in intensive legal problem-solving in a transnational legal setting.  Some of the break-out sessions may be facilitated by GTFs alone and some will likely include a faculty member.  GTFs also play an important role in helping the first-year students prepare for some of their break-out session activities, such as a mock oral argument before a court or arbitral body. 

Responsibilities and Requirements for 2012 Global Teaching Fellows.

Global Teaching Fellows must:

1. participate in all training sessions in the fall semester and during Week One (which could consist of as many as three meetings);
2. attend all Week One classes for their sections and be available to assist first-year students as mentors/helpers during non-class hours and to meet with the Faculty member leading the problem;
3. help monitor and/or facilitate break-out sessions; and
4. write a substantive, 6-8 page reaction paper assessing (i) how the problem worked; (ii) how it could be improved (legal issues, factual issues, structure of exercise, timing, etc.); (iii) student reaction to the experience; and (iv) how the first-year students' experience could be improved.  The paper will be due by 5:00 p.m. on February 6, 2012.

Global Teaching Fellows may elect to receive one academic credit, on a pass/fail basis, for their participation in Week One.  They may also elect to participate for no credits.  The pass/fail credit will not count toward the maximum pass/fail credits allowed, and students may take another eligible course pass/fail in the spring semester.  Students who have already been Global Teaching Fellows are encouraged to apply to serve again (please click here for more information on receipt of academic credit for returning GTFs).  If you are a part-time J.D. or LL.M. student, please click here for additional information regarding credit/tuition options.  

Application Process.

Applications to serve as Global Teaching Fellows should be submitted to the Registrar’s office by Monday, October 3, 2011.  As described in the application form, provided below, please be sure to include a resume, a transcript, and a brief statement of why you are interested in becoming a GTF and any special qualifications or experiences you believe are relevant.  If you have experience in oral advocacy, negotiation, mediation or arbitration, please be sure to note this in your application.  We are looking for students who have been successful at Georgetown Law, who have knowledge of or interest in foreign countries and/or international or comparative law, and who are interested in teaching and/or facilitating groups of students as they analyze a legal problem in a complex area of law. 

If you completed the Week One exercise in your first year, you are encouraged to consider applying to be a Global Teaching Fellow in connection with the problem you had as a first-year student, but you are also welcome to indicate your preference for a different problem.  Please remember to mark your preferences – as to the subject matter of the problem and as to day or evening section – in your application.  Students who are enrolled in a spring clinic should determine whether there will be mandatory clinical trainings or meetings during Week One and should apply only to the day or evening section, as applicable, to avoid a conflict with any such mandatory meetings. 

 

Global Teaching Fellow Application (Word)

Global Teaching Fellow Application (PDF)

 

If you have questions about the GTF role or application, please contact Margaret Gerety, Director, J.D. Program, at meg239@law.georgetown.edu.

 

Revised September 27, 2011 (MC)