Del Duca, Louis F.

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Penn State International Law ReviewVolume 24Number 4 Penn State International Law Review Article 115-1-2006Techniques to Internationalize the First-YearCurriculum - IntroductionLouis F. Del DucaFollow this and additional works at: http://elibrary.law.psu.edu/psilrThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Penn State Law eLibrary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Penn State International LawReview by an authorized administrator of Penn State Law eLibrary. For more information, please contact ram6023@psu.edu.Recommended CitationDel Duca, Louis F. (2006) "Techniques to Internationalize the First-Year Curriculum - Introduction," Penn State International LawReview: Vol. 24: No. 4, Article 11.Available at: http://elibrary.law.psu.edu/psilr/vol24/iss4/11I SymposiumITechniques to Internationalize the First-YearCurriculum-IntroductionLouis F. Del Duca*Representatives from the University of Michigan, the University ofthe Pacific McGeorge, Columbia, Villanova, Georgetown, and AmericanUniversity Washington College of Law participated in the program onTechniques to Internationalize the First Year Curriculum at the annualmeeting of the Association of American Law Schools on January 7, 2006in San Francisco.1 Transcribed in this symposium, their contributionsprovide a variety of innovative approaches on how to best achieve thefirst-year internationalization goals. We are fortunate that each of thedistinguished participants in this symposium is heavily involved inimplementing programs to internationalize the first-year curriculum attheir law school. Included among their suggestions are the following:o* Use of a mandatory transnational law course to developspecialized skills needed for Twenty-First Century law practiceas a building block for further advanced courses or as minimal* Edward N. Polisher Distinguished Faculty Scholar, The Dickinson School ofLaw of the Pennsylvania State University.1. The Program was jointly sponsored by the Association of American LawSchool's Sections on Graduate Programs for Foreign Lawyers, Africa, Comparative Law,for Law School Dean, International Law, International Legal Exchange and LegalWriting, Reasoning and Research.PENN STATE INTERNATIONAL LAW REVIEWexposure for students who will not be enrolled in such courses.Mathias Riemann refers to this as the "separation model." It putstogether "in an overarching theme the emergence of a morecomplex world which is not the traditional law of nationsanymore." Riemann and his colleagues have offered this type ofcourse for the past five years at the University of Michigan LawSchool.*:. Incorporation of transnational materials into traditional first-yearcourses (e.g. contracts, torts, property). Riemann refers to this as"the integration model." In his presentation, Frank Gevurtzdescribes efforts currently underway to develop supplements toexisting first-year books which will enable law professors toimplement internationalization without unduly extending thevolume of material already covered.2 He also comments on useof the "integration" approach at the University of the PacificMcGeorge School of Law.• Introduction of a new course called Lawyering in Multiple LegalOrders. Katerina Pistor states that "this title reflects the basicphilosophy of the course, mainly that legal practitioners willinvariably work in more than one legal order, a concept that isnot unfamiliar to lawyers practicing in federal systems, such asthe United States." She further states that the course enablesstudents "to navigate in a complex world, where different foreignlegal jurisdictions may be relevant for resolving a particular case,or where international treaties or conventions need to beconsulted." The course also sensitizes students to the fact that"lines not only between common and civil law, but also betweencomparative and international law are blurring." This coursewill be offered at Columbia Law School beginning in the fall2. As this Symposium goes to press, Thomson West has announced the availabilityfor Spring 2007 of the following materials in a new Global Issues Series (with FranklinA. Gevurtz as the Series Editor) as follows:Global Issues in Civil Procedure by Thomas Main;Global Issues in Contract Law by John A. Spanogle, Jr., Michael P.Malloy, Louis F. Del Duca, Keith A. Rowley, and Andrea K. Bjorklund;Global Issues in Corporate Law by Franklin A. Gevurtz;Global Issues in Criminal Law by Linda E. Carter, Christopher L.Blakesley, Peter J. Henning;Global Issues in Property Law by John A. Sprankling, Raymond R.Coletta, and M.C. Mirow.Other titles in the Series will be forthcoming for Constitutional Law,Employment Discrimination, Employment Law, Family Law, IntellectualProperty, Labor Law, Professional Responsibility, Torts, and Trust and Estates.[Vol. 24:4INTRODUCTIONsemester of the 2006-2007 academic year and will be co-taughtby Pistor and George Bermann.. Incorporation of transnational materials into legal writing,lawyering and advocacy courses. Diane Penneys Edelmanadvocates for this incorporation model based on her more thantwenty years of experience in teaching similar courses first atBrooklyn Law School, and then at Villanova University.Professor Edelman shares her insights on how to mosteffectively implement this approach by offering specificrecommendations regarding the choice of materials and teachingtechniques.o:o Introduction of a Law in a Global Context course. This course isbeing offered as a one week program to first-year students atGeorgetown beginning in the first week of the second semesterof the 2006-2007 academic year. Alex Alienkoff reports thatthis course is "an intensive program for integrating transnationalperspectives into the first year curriculum. . . ." Students willwork with a single, complicated transnational legal problem thatrelates to one of the first-year courses taken during the firstsemester. Although the course is to be presented by essentially asmall core of faculty, an effort is made to involve the entirefaculty. The non-core faculty is involved in one or two hours ofthe one-week program. The aim is to initially involve the non-core extended faculty to a limited extent, so that in future yearsthey may become more committed to the program.o. Incorporation of international components into the first-yearcurriculum. This is being done by Claudio Grossman atAmerican University Washington College of Law as part of alarger program to present legal phenomena to students as atotality, rather than in isolated units like torts, civil procedure,constitutional law, and environmental law. Applauding thebroad range of the techniques suggested by fellow symposiumpanelists for internationalizing the first-year curriculum,Grossman concludes with the observation that in his view, theintegration of international law is not only an issue of integratinginternational law, but also involves integrating the entirecurriculum. The first year is essential for this purpose.Imagination and creativity are required. He notes that"important things that have happened, such as heart transplantsor Beethoven's Ninth Symphony are the result of peopleimagining things first and then making them happen."The detailed transcripts of each of the program presentations thatfollow provides us with an informative, useful and interesting array of2006]804 PENN STATE INTERNATIONAL LAW REVIEW [Vol. 24:4innovative responses to the challenges of internationalizing the first-yearcurriculum to equip young lawyers with the skills needed to practice lawin the globalized world of the Twenty-First Century.

Techniques to Internationalize the First-Year Curriculum - Introduction

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Techniques to Internationalize the First-Year Curriculum - Introduction

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