Summer Institute on Law, Language, & Culture
A preparatory course for foreign students and scholars adapting to U.S. law school
Even for native speakers of English, U.S. law school can feel like a foreign world, with its own culture, language, and rules. A good introduction to this world is especially important for students or scholars who are not native English speakers. The Summer Institute on Law, Language, and Culture is designed to be just that introduction.
"SILLC gives you a great opportunity to make close friendships and to understand the basic concepts of U.S. law, culture and language...it is a good chance to prepare yourself for the LL.M. program."
Gulfer Ozsahin LLM '08 (Turkey)
Course Description
SILLC is a four-week intensive course that will introduce students to legal English, the U.S. legal system, and the law school experience. Through small-group class interaction, encounters with lawyers, judges, and teachers, visits to courtrooms and law firms, and interaction with popular media, students will learn to read and produce good legal writing, to study and understand U.S. law, and to make the best possible use of their U.S. law school experiences.
The study of law is a language-intensive task. SILLC is very specifically designed to increase proficiency in reading and hearing English, to develop confidence and skill in speaking and writing, and to facilitate personal adjustment to the culture of U.S. legal education. Small class size and individual attention from the instructor will give students a concentrated and tailored teaching experience.
SILLC '09 students in the N.C. Supreme Court building with Justice Paul Newby
The Institute begins with an assessment of each participant’s abilities in spoken and written English. Students then work with the Institute instructor to develop a priority list of skills and subjects to work on during the four week program. The course combines classroom learning with experiential and tutorial methods to maximize each individual’s growth.
Participants spend an average of four hours of class time each day in lectures, tutorials, class discussions, field trips or media experiences. Preparation of research and writing assignments usually occupies another four hours each day.
SILLC students will work on developing the skills that will make their law school experience valuable, such as briefing cases and doing legal research and some introductory legal writing. Students will also visit courtrooms, interview lawyers and judges, and attend some first-year U.S. law school classes.
Instructors
The course director and instructor is Hans Christian Linnartz, who teaches legal writing and immigration law at Duke and is a consultant in immigration law. Prof. Linnartz is licensed to practice in North Carolina and several federal district and appellate courts. He has lived in Indonesia and the Philippines and is fluent in bahasa Indonesia.
Also teaching in SILLC is Rima Idzelis, a lecturing fellow at Duke, where she teaches U.S. Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing during the fall semester and an Advanced Legal Writing seminar in the spring semester. Among her many diverse and substantial legal experiences before coming to teach at Duke, Mrs. Idzelis assisted with the establishment of the first legal clinic at Petrozavodsk University in Karelia. She has lived in Lithuania and Germany and is fluent in Lithuanian.
Special Note
The Duke Law School International Studies Program encourages enrollment in the Institute for students who need to strengthen their English skills before entering the LLM program. The program has also proven highly effective for visiting international scholars.
"The meetings we had with judges and lawyers from North Carolina were a good opportunity for me to meet very well known people and also to learn from them about American legal culture. In addition to that, the summer in Durham helped me to make friends and to settle down before the LLM."
Nir Friedman LLM '10 (Israel)
Admission
Duke’s Summer Institute in Law, Language and Culture is designed for and limited to either students who will be attending Duke Law School through one of its International Graduate Studies programs, or those working at the Law School as visiting international scholars. Acceptance as a Duke LLM, SJD student, or visiting international scholar qualifies a student to enter SILLC.
Costs
SILLC tuition is $3,500 for the four-week course. A non-refundable deposit of $500 will secure your position after admission. The application fee, to accompany the application form, is $175. (The application fee does not apply to tuition, but is strictly for processing the application.)
Personal expenses, including housing, utilities, food, etc., are not included. Students must make their own arrangements for housing.
