As director of Duke Law's Center for International and Comparative Law, let me extend a warm welcome to you. When I joined the faculty five years ago, I did so because I found it to be an exciting place for international and comparative law. If anything, that excitement has grown since then, as have our programs and offerings.
The Law School currently has ten full-time faculty members who specialize in international and comparative law, and numerous others who teach international and comparative law subjects at least part of the time. These faculty members have expertise in a wide range of subjects, and they have very diverse backgrounds and intellectual perspectives. Consistent with our interdisciplinary approach to legal studies, even faculty who teach only in domestic law areas frequently integrate international and comparative materials into their courses. In addition, the Law School regularly brings in visiting faculty from other countries to further enhance its offerings.
The study of international and comparative law at Duke is further enhanced by its large LLM degree program for lawyers from other countries, its JD/LLM degree program for U.S. law students seeking a specialized degree in international and comparative law, and its highly selective SJD program for foreign scholars. The Law School also offers two international summer institutes, one in Geneva and the other in Hong Kong. In conjunction with the summer institutes, many students are able to spend half the summer working at a law firm in Asia or Europe. Students are also able to study and work abroad through our externship program and the Law School operates the Guantanamo Defense Clinic, giving students the opportunity to assist detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba.
Student activities at Duke Law relating to international and comparative law are plentiful and include the International Law Society, the Journal of Comparative and International Law, and the Jessup and WTO international moot court competitions. A popular tradition in the fall is International Week, which features a full schedule of intellectual and cultural events. Students are also invited to frequent lunch talks, speeches, and conferences relating to international and comparative law, many of which are suggested or organized by students. In addition, they can take the Global Law Workshop, our speakers series in international and comparative law, for credit, so they are both given the opportunity to interact directly with experts in the field from around the county while having the experience count toward their degree.
If you are a member of the Duke Law community, please make ample use of our offerings -- we rely on you. Even if you are not a member of our community, perhaps you might join us some day -- as a student, a visitor to an event, or even a presenter. In either case, I would be glad to hear from you, about international and comparative law at Duke or our website.
-- Ralf Michaels
Professor of Law and Director, Center for International and Comparative Law