Specialized Programs
Global Law Scholars
The Global Law Scholars Program (GLS) prepares students for transnational practice in which they regularly encounter problems that involve more than one legal system. The aim is to combine language skills and cultural familiarity with rigorous and directed legal training so that Scholars are ready to practice in the global legal environment of the 21st century. Approximately 20 Scholars are selected each year.
Global Teaching Fellows
Global Teaching Fellows (GTFs) assist faculty members leading the first-year Week One: Law in a Global Context courses. Prior to the course, GTFs meet with faculty to discuss course materials and planning . During Week One, GTFs facilitate break-out sessions in which first-year students engage in intensive legal problem-solving in a transnational legal setting. Selected GTFs receive one academic credit for their work.
J.D. Certificate Programs
J.D. students have the options of pursuing a certificate in either World Trade Organization Studies or Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies.
OPICS Fellows
The OPICS Fellows Program is a comprehensive program for students wishing to pursue a public interest track through law school and a public interest career. The program provides supplemental and focused career development support through OPICS, sets curricular guidelines, and fosters a sense of community among the participants.
Public Interest Law Scholars
The Public Interest Law Scholars (PILS) program provides financial, professional and academic support to law students dedicated to practicing law in the public interest. In addition to partial tuition scholarships, the program offers summer stipends through the Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS). Scholars are matched with faculty advisors and attorney mentors who practice in their field of interest. This competitive program selects eight Public Interest Law Scholars from each class of admitted students.
Transfer Student Peer-Mentor Program
The Transfer Student Peer Mentor Program provides new J.D. transfer students with upperclass mentors, most of whom transferred to Georgetown Law in a previous year. Peer Mentors assist incoming J.D. transfer students as they make the transition to Georgetown Law and help them navigate and make the most of the many opportunities available at the Law Center. The program is intended to foster community and camaraderie among transfer students and throughout the Law Center.
Week One: Law in a Global Context
Week One: Law in a Global Context is a one-week, problem-based course that all first-year students must take at the start of the spring semester. Through lectures, discussion sections and simulation exercises, the course introduces students to a complex 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. The Week One problems also introduce students to at least one formal decision-making process in addition to the U.S. court system – e.g., international arbitration and/or foreign courts – and demonstrate the importance of the careful analysis of statutes, regulations, or international agreements, as distinct from analysis of common law cases.
