Researching Careers in International Law:
Resources in Print and Electronic Format
by Lyonette Louis-Jacques

Internet Resources

• The European Legal 500 (links to law firms in 37 European countries; at the International Centre for Commercial Law web site)
• Mobility of Lawyers within the EU (Institute of European Law links to full text legislation on legal professions in Europe; see also ELIXIR, European Lawyers' Information eXchange & Internet Resource: a GROTIUS project, which includes details of the implementation of 89/48/EEC and information on the training of lawyers in the Member States; see especially its Introduction to the EC Law on Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications/"free movement" page)
• Orientation in the U.S. Legal System and Introduction to Legal English (International Law Institute seminars for foreign lawyers; Washington, D.C.; includes Guide to LL.M. and Graduate Law Study)
• Study Abroad (American Bar Association, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar; includes links on "Criteria for Foreign Study", "Summer Programs", "Semester Programs", etc.)
• Summer Law Study Abroad Programs (annual listing in the January issue of the Student Lawyer, a publication of the American Bar Association, Law Student Division)
• Legal Study Abroad Headquarters (Internet Legal Resource Guide links, including to American LL.M. programs; also available via http://www.studylaw.com/)
• The National Jurist (includes links to international summer programs, state bar exams information, "Law Schools Around the World", graduate/LL.M. programs (but NOT for International Law), law school rankings, etc.)
• Student Law Centre (UK site including materials on training to be a solicitor or barrister)
• Law Careers (UK)
• Law Society (UK)
• Bar Council (UK)
• Online Law: Lawyers on the Web (info re UK solicitors and barristers)
• Nina Segal, "Practicing Law Overseas" (Monster.com Working Abroad article)
• Practising Law Overseas (University of Melbourne)
• European Moot Court Competition
• Basic Bar Admissions Information (American Bar Association, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar; looks like electronic version of their annual Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admisssion Requirements (includes information for foreign law graduates):
  

       The Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements is
       published each year by the Section and the National Conference of Bar
       Examiners. It sets out the rules and practices of all U.S. 
       jurisdictions for admission to the bar by examination and on
       motion, that is, legal education, character and fitness, 
       bar examinations, and special licenses.
  

• Robert Haibin Hu, "A Guide to Resources on Careers in Foreign and International Law", 93 Law Library Journal 479-493 (no. 3, Summer 2001; available as a PDF file)
• Employment Opportunities in International Law (links of Jobs web pages of IGOs and NGOs compiled by Bobbi Weaver, California Western School of Law)
• Resources for Researching Careers in International Law (Center for International Law, New York Law School; links to international career events, study abroad, job opportunities with the U.S. federal government, IGOs, NGOs, books, news sources, etc.; see also their "An International Law Career: Advice and Essays from Practitioners" page)
• Career Opportunities in International Law (an annotated list of books, directories, and articles compiled by William R. Slomanson for use with Fundamental Perspectives on International Law (3d ed., West Group/Wadsworth, 1999)). Author also did a web presentation for program sponsored by the American Bar Association, Section of International Law and Practice, Law Student and New Lawyer Outreach Committee, "Pathways to Employment in International Law", in San Diego, California, February 2001)
• Finding a Job: International Law (Westminster Law Library, University of Denver)
• Employment Opportunities at the United Nations (UN Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM); includes legal and related work)
• Foreign Policy Careers (page on job opportunities as a Foreign Service Officer, Foreign Service Specialist or Civil Service employee for the U.S. Department of State, and internships)
• Employment Opportunities (Amnesty International)
• HR-PROFESSIONALS and HURIDOCS-GEN-L(lists that include postings of job opportunities in the Human Rights field)
• Post J.D. Programs (American Bar Association, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to Bar; lists U.S. graduate law programs - LL.M., J.S.D., etc., including for foreign, comparative, and international law)
• ILSA-L (International Law Students Association; electronic discussion group on listproc@chicagokent.kentlaw.edu)
• ALL-OF-ELSA (European Law Students Association; electronic discussion group; contact llou@midway.uchicago.edu for subscription information)
• Law School Usenet Newsgroup (also available as the LAWSCH-L Internet electronic discussion group on listserv@american.edu; for law and pre-law student discussions)
• Law Student Resources (FindLaw links, including to bar preparation web pages)
• Legal Student - The Law Students Page (Hieros Gamos' fairly comprehensive links to Internet resources, include for bar preparation)
• Careers and the Minority Lawyer (magazine)
• College and University Rankings (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Education and Social Science Library; Graduate Program, Law School, and International (Non-U.S.) rankings, including Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report, etc.)
• Directory of Undergraduate Programs of Legal Studies and Law & Society (American Bar Association; focus on the U.S.)
• Worldwide Business Directories (includes the Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries and the Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States)

Books

• Careers in Admiralty and Maritime Law (Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, 1993). 176p.
• Careers in International Law: Your Indispensable Guide to Career Paths and Internships in International Law: 1999-2000 (Washington, D.C.: American Society of International Law, 1999). 102p. Also called ASIL Careers in International Law.
• Careers in International Law: Your Indispensable Guide to Career Paths and Internships in International Law (Washington, D.C.: American Society of International Law, 1998). 112p.
• Careers in International Law (Mark W. Janis & Sally A. Swartz eds., 2d ed., Chicago, IL: Section of International Law and Practice, American Bar Association, 2001). 205p. ISBN:1-57073-894-7.
• Careers in International Law (Mark W. Janis ed., Chicago, IL: Section of International Law and Practice, American Bar Association, 1993). 229p.
• European Counsel 3000: The Handbook for Lawyers in Europe's Leading Companies (London: L&C Publishing, 1997- ).
• The International Lawyer's Deskbook (Lucinda A. Low, Patrick M. Norton, & Daniel M. Drory eds., Chicago, IL: Section of International Law and Practice, American Bar Association, 1996). 422p.
• Stacy M. DeBroff & Dana J. Bullwinkel, Harvard Law School's Handbook on Public International Work: a 1994 Guide to Domestic and Overseas Public International Opportunities (2d ed., Cambridge, MA: Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA), Harvard Law School [and] Yale Law School, CDO Public Service Program). Includes information about working in the UN, with U.S. federal agencies with international divisions, and non-profit organizations concerned with development, the environment, foreign/public policy, human rights, immigration and refugees; plus covers fellowships, internships, and has an international public interest bibliography.
• Public Service and International Law: A Guide to Professional Opportunities in the United States and Abroad (Stephen K. Park and Susan J. Feathers eds., 3d ed., New Haven, Conn.: Yale Law School, 1998)(ISBN: 0966388704). 203p. Revised edition of Harvard Law School's Handbook on Public International Law Work (1994).
• International Public Interest Law: A Guide to Opportunities in the United States and Abroad (4th ed., Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard Law School Office of Public Interest Advising ; New Haven, Conn. : Yale Law School Career Development Office, 2002)(ISBN: 0-88086-045-6). 215p. Revised edition of Public Service and International Law: A Guide to Professional Opportunities in the United States and Abroad (1998).
• Claire M. Germain, "Career Preparation and International Legal Education", Germain's Transnational Law Research: A Guide for Attorneys I-84-I94 (Irvington-on-Hudson, NY: Transnational Publishers, 1991- )(includes lists of books, journal articles, organizations, etc.; § 1.23)
• International Opportunities Resource Guide ([Washington, DC] : National Association for Law Placement, c1999)(NALP; includes "information about the practice of international law in the public and private sectors, whether in the United States or abroad."). 108p.
• Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (William S. Hein & Company, Inc.; annual compilation (1960 to date) of the Problems, Judges' Briefs, Rules and leading written Memorials which comprise the Competition)(ISBN:0-89941-094-4 (set)).
• World Law School Directory (2d ed., William S. Hein & Company, Inc., 1998)(also included as part of the "Indices" volume of looseleaf set, Modern Legal Systems Cyclopedia)

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  Organizations and Other "People" Resources

  • International Law Students Association (ILSA)
  • European Law Students Association (ELSA; see also information about their annual publication, Guide to Legal Studies in Europe)
  • Section of International Law and Practice (American Bar Association (ABA))
  • American Society of International Law (ASIL)
  • Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Special Interest Section (American Association of Law Libraries (AALL); see also page on "Education for a Career in Law Librarianship and related links)
  • FCIL SIS Clearinghouse for Internships and International Personnel Exchanges (webpage contains a list of law libraries that are willing to participate in exchanges and testimonials from law librarians who have gone on exchanges)
  • Foreign and International Law Special Interest Section (FIL/SIS, Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C. (LLSDC); news of activities published in the Law Library Lights newsletter - available as PDF files at the LLSDC web site)

  Foreign and International Law Librarianship

  Some possible core skills needed for careers in Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarianship:
  

  • Masters or equivalent degree in library science (M.L.S.)?
  • Law degree (J.D.); Masters in Comparative Law?
  • Degree in foreign languages or foreign literature or area studies?
  • Courses in world history or politics? European history?
  • Two foreign languages (French and German? Russian and Chinese? Japanese? Level of reading knowledge required? What must the FCIL librarian be able to do with the foreign language? What tasks require foreign language skills and at what level?
  • Interest in foreign cultures?
  • Interest in legal research and the law generally?

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  Page created by Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Foreign and International Law Librarian and Lecturer in Law, D'Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago Law School, 9 July 1998. Please send correspondence related to this Careers in International Law page to llou@midway.uchicago.edu. Updated 18 March 2002.