Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, January 2003 (Vol. 31, No. 5). All rights reserved.

Bonus Travel

Summer study abroad is more than a way to earn academic credit while having adventures overseas. It can make you more attractive to potential employers and help you become a better lawyer.

by Jane Easter Bahls

As you page through this issue of Student Lawyer, the possibilities beckon: summer study abroad-maybe Paris, Athens, or Madrid. Or how about Australia, or even Costa Rica?

Imagine taking courses for credit in international or comparative law, getting to know professors and law students from the host country, visiting legal institutions, and seeing the sights. Sounds lovely, but what will study abroad do to your job prospects later on?

Twenty years ago, employers with rigid opinions about what law students should do with their summers were dubious about students who headed overseas to study. Back then, international law was a legal specialty, far removed from what most lawyers would expect to do. But times have changed, and the law practice with no international issues is now the exception.

Accordingly, more and more employers recognize the value of hiring people with the broader perspective that comes from foreign study.

Just ask Ian Meyeroff of Thiells, N.Y., a January 2002 graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich. Meyeroff spent the summer after his second year in law school with the University of San Diego's study abroad program, which included five weeks in Barcelona and eight weeks in Paris. He took European Competition Law, European Union Law, and International Business Transactions.

"I thought it was excellent," he says, telling of watching a criminal trial in the Palace of Justice in Paris and visiting one of the top law firms in Spain. "You can pick up a lot of credits fast, and you make contacts that last forever." Not only did he learn from top American and foreign professors, but he also got to spend a summer with like-minded students from across the United States and other countries. "When we'd go out at night, everyone wanted to talk about international law."

Today, Meyeroff is starting a two-year internship with the Presidential Management Intern Program, an elite training ground for people aiming for careers in analysis and management of public policy. He'll be a lawyer for the State Department, working on legal and policy issues. During his interview, Meyeroff played up his summer study experience. "It did help me get the job," he says. "They were really looking for overseas experience, because they work with embassies overseas."

Breaking the mold may be just what you need to get ahead. Karen McMichael, director of international programs at Temple University School of Law, notes that summer jobs for law students can be routine, even at big law firms. "For a student to do something different by going abroad shows they can take a different path," she says. "It shows the student as a creative thinker, better able to take a risk." And for students who are really interested in international law, she adds, it's a chance to consider this as a career choice.

Not that career advancement is the primary purpose of summer study abroad. "I've never perceived that summer programs are designed to enhance students' résumés," says deputy dean Gary Roberts of Tulane University School of Law, which offers summer programs in eight countries. "I think they're designed to enrich students' education in a way that some employers will appreciate and some won't." Roberts notes that the value of summer study abroad is the combination of course materials, field trips to legal institutions, contacts with foreign students, professors, and lawyers, and the whole experience of living in another country. "It makes them a more well-rounded and better lawyer," he says. "And provides a fun summer in the process."

In years past, participating in these programs was a calculated career risk, says Chicago solo attorney Jonathan Clark Green, because taking summer classes overseas meant opting out of the traditional American expectation of working a summer associate job. "It was a big trade-off," he says, reflecting on the summer of 1985, between his second and third years at Chicago-Kent College of Law, when he studied in Paris with the University of San Diego. "A lot of students made a big sacrifice, because it put them back a year. Some firms look at it as, you're having a good time for a summer."

Green says it was well worth the risk. "It was a great program. It really opened up my mind to the European market," he says, telling of learning about European Union law long before the EU became a reality. Learning how civil law differs from common law has made a difference in his international practice. "I understand the issues a lot better," he says. Green credits his summer study experiences for the fellowship he landed with the American Society of International Law to administer the Jessup International Moot Court Competition.

"European firms think it's great," Green adds. "They want you to go out and get experience." And now, he says, more U.S. firms are recognizing the value of hiring students with a broader background. "I think firms don't look down on it as much," he says. "They're a little more savvy internationally."

If you're considering summer study abroad, perhaps you're thinking more about getting law school credit for taking classes in an exotic place than about building your résumé. But it may help to know that study abroad probably won't hurt your career, and it may well help it.

How much it helps depends on the program and what you're hoping to do. "For someone serious about international law, I think it's invaluable," says Tulane law professor Keith Werhan, who directs his school's summer program in Thessaloniki, Greece. He explains that the interactions with foreign professors, lawyers, and students, visits to the country's courts and law firms, and the whole experience of living abroad can provide a perspective that can't be duplicated in a U.S. classroom.

Deirdre Nero, a third-year student at the University of Miami School of Law, participated in a summer program in Madrid with the College of William and Mary School of Law after her first year. Because she was fluent in Spanish, she got to work for a week as an intern at a Madrid law firm before classes started. The program helped her get a job during the school year with the international department of Becker & Poliakoff.

"They definitely thought my experiences in Spain to be valuable," she says. During her second summer, Nero worked as an intern at a firm in Barcelona, organized through the University of San Diego's Comparative Law Institute. "I wouldn't trade what I have done for anything else," she says. "They were the most formative experiences of my law school career." After taking the Florida bar exam, she hopes to return to Spain to work on a Spanish law degree. Her goal is to work for a U.S. firm and be licensed to practice both here and in Spain.

"I am 100 percent positive that my experiences abroad have already helped me get the job as a clerk that I have now and will help me in the future find a position," she says. "For someone who is not on law review nor in the top 10 percent of the class, these kinds of experiences add marketability."

What if your career goals don't involve international law at all? Don't bet on it, says McMichael, of Temple University. "We truly think it's not going to be possible to practice law with a total domestic focus," she says. Business is increasingly global, and people move between countries as if they were different states. A family lawyer could be involved in international custody disputes. An estate or tax lawyer might have to deal with assets overseas. "We think that all well-rounded lawyers should be prepared for an international interface," she says.

"Increasingly, most law firms have some international aspect," notes Linda Lacey, a professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law, which offers summer programs in Ireland, Argentina, and Switzerland. "It would be unusual not to have any international component." Employers know that, she says, so many firms that don't specialize in international law are seeing summer study abroad as a plus.

"Students say that in interviews, employers are impressed by it," Lacey says. "I've seen their résumés, and they feature study abroad." Even employers who don't anticipate international dealings generally appreciate the broader perspective, she says.

Lacey acknowledges that this wasn't the case even 10 years ago. And, she adds, "There are still some employers out there who ask, 'How is this relevant?'" But just the exposure to another culture provides valuable perspective, she says. "We have students who've never been out of Oklahoma and Texas." Then there's having to solve problems on your own, while dealing with people who don't speak your language. "There are so many intangible benefits," she says. "I've seen students mature through the program."

Even for students who don't anticipate having clients with international concerns, one of the most valuable aspects of study abroad is the way it helps clarify U.S. law. "Looking at law comparatively is one of the best ways to understand your own system," says Tulane's Professor Werhan, describing a visit to a judges' college in Greece. "The way judges are selected and trained is diametrically opposed to how we do it," he says. After the visit, students engaged in a comparative discussion. "By broadening your perspective," he says, "you deepen your understanding."

Not all foreign study programs are alike. Check for ABA approval, which provides consumer protection. "We've seen programs abroad where the curriculum isn't very different from what they'd have on their home campus," says New England School of Law dean John O'Brien, chair of the accreditation committee of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and past chair of its foreign summer programs subcommittee. ABA standards require a substantial international or comparative law focus in the curriculum, which must be as rigorous as courses in the school's on-campus program. Faculty must include someone from the host country, and all faculty members must be fluent in English. Other standards ensure visits to legal institutions in the host country, adequate study time, suitable classrooms, and other measures of quality.

Still, programs differ in character and quality just as law schools do. "You look at the same things you would if you were looking for a law school," advises Roberts, the Tulane deputy dean. "Plus, where it is, to get the most out of it personally."

Your choice of a summer study abroad program may hinge on such prosaic factors as timing and cost, and whether it lines up with someplace you want to go. But take a good look at any program you're considering. What's the reputation of the school and the summer study program? What courses are offered and who's teaching them? Is there a strong emphasis on the other country's legal system, international, or comparative law? Will there be interaction with foreign lawyers and law students? Are internships available? What legal institutions would you visit? Many people say the most eye-opening experience was actually sitting in court in another country, seeing how the legal system operates in another part of the world.

Then line all that up with your own goals. "Just as students choose courses at home, it's wise to choose what's offered that matches up with your own interests and career plans," O'Brien says. If, for instance, you're not interested in human rights issues or the European Union, it doesn't make a lot of sense to take those courses overseas, even in a pretty part of the world, he says.

If you don't yet have a handle on your career goals, following your interests is a good start, Werhan advises. "If something appeals to a student," he says, "nourish that a bit and see what comes of it." At the worst, he says, you'll have a really great experience. "You never know what you're going to end up doing," he adds. "An experience may not seem practical, but it may end up being tremendously practical. The things I did in law school to be practical didn't end up being practical, but the things I did for fun ended up being highly practical."

Nancy Kramer, director of career services at Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law, advocates combining summer study abroad with some kind of practical experience. Although taking five or six weeks out probably disqualifies you from a typical 12-week summer associate position, she notes that many judges are open to negotiating a shorter clerkship. They may not be able to pay you, but the experience can be valuable while enhancing your résumé. Or you might be able to line up an internship in the host country for the remainder of the summer.
Once you've done summer study abroad, how do you turn it into an asset in your career search? Start with your résumé, playing up the summer study experience-what you did and what it did for you. That's especially important if you're applying for a job with an international law firm or government agency where the international experience might be especially valuable. Then talk about it in your job interview.

"We've had students who've been able to articulate what the summer abroad meant to them, and how it'll make them more marketable," says McMichael of Temple University. "It can make them stand out from other applicants who've taken the usual path of summer clerkships." She contends that summer study abroad shows commitment to learning and broadening one's horizons.

Don't forget about whom you've gotten to know through the program. "It's possible to make contacts with professors from top schools who can help you in your future endeavors," says Chicago attorney Green, who serves as deputy editor of International Law News, a publication of the ABA Section of International Law and Practice. A lawyer you meet through a class overseas might be able to point you toward a summer job in that country next year, which could lead to further opportunities later on, Green says.

So browse through the summer study abroad program listings and dream a little. It may lead to one of the most rewarding things you ever do.

As Good a Time As It Gets

If you're thinking of studying abroad, now may be the time. Some law firms have their own programs to immerse young associates in another culture, notes Chicago international law attorney Jonathan Clark Green. "But then you lose a year," he says. For students who are planning to start a family someday, he points out, it gets harder and harder: "You've got to pay the mortgage."

Of course, you also have to pay for law school, and international airfare isn't cheap. A summer study abroad program may entail giving up a summer's income. But earning several credits during the summer may free up time during the year to work and make up the difference.

"It's hard to do this later," says Barry Currier, the ABA's deputy consultant on legal education. And few programs are organized for lawyers to study abroad. You always can travel as a tourist once you've earned enough money to afford it (or back-pack around Europe on the cheap), but those who've participated in foreign study programs agree it's not the same.

It's one thing to learn about the International Criminal Tribunal in a classroom in the United States, Currier says, and it's another to go to The Hague and sit in the room where it convenes, then sit down with the judges and ask questions. "During law school may be one of the only times you can get it," he says. "Imagine showing up at the International Criminal Tribunal at The Hague and saying, 'I'd like to have lunch with one of the judges.'"

--Jane Bahls