LAW-3010: Advising the International Humanitarian NGO

This course gives students a unique opportunity to work directly with a major international non-profit organization (Mano A Mano International Partners, www.manoamano.org) to help this client carry its work forward in two ways: (1) Provide legal guidance on issues that are of current concern to the organization, and (2) Research and prepare high quality advisory papers regarding legal issues that are broad concern to international non-profit organizations. Qualifying papers will be included in a publication that will be disseminated to the international development community. Students must plan to approach their projects with the discipline, rigor, and thoroughness expected of any legal professional retained by a client. This will sometimes require spending significant amounts of time outside of class developing and executing the project. Outside work may include conducting interviews and research, meeting with the client, attending class committee and sub-committee meetings, participating in group drafting and editing sessions, and planning presentations. This project will also provide significant challenges in the areas of project management, group communication, and group cohesion. As legal professionals, students will be required to log their time and submit final reports that detail their individual and committee contributions. Students will benefit from this course by immersing themselves in project(s) that, as a keystone course, “build on and integrate previous law school learning in doctrinal and skills courses” and call upon them to “… take active responsibility as professionals addressing real-world challenges and to produce substantial, concrete products reflecting their learning.” Students will also have the satisfaction of knowing that they are engaged in meaningful work that will have a lasting impact.