At California Western School of Law, we are very student-focused, as faculty often engage students in their real-life projects, providing opportunities for networking, public service, engaged scholarship, professional experience, and fast-track career paths. Whether it is clinical internships or externships abroad, distance learning programs with other law schools around the globe, access to the workings of non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups, public-private partnerships, and new forms of governance.
“The International Legal Studies Program was a major factor in choosing California Western as my law school. It was important for me to choose a law school that would allow me to build on my academic interests in international law and provide me with the training necessary to succeed as an international lawyer. California Western’s International Studies Program is led by a strong faculty comprised of experts highly regarded within the international legal community.
The program served as a gateway to incredible opportunities. What began as a scholarly writing paper on worldwide skilled labor migration turned into a paid internship at the headquarters of the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. With the guidance and encouragement of my professors, I obtained this coveted internship where I worked with the world’s top experts on labor migration and human rights. While in Geneva, I frequented the United Nations Headquarters with colleagues from all parts of the world and attended the International Labour Conference to witness international law signed into action.
The California Western community is held together by a faculty with the experience and dedication to teach students the skills and academic foundation that lawyers need for a successful legal career. My experience was further complemented by a diverse student body with an unbelievable willingness to collaborate and share our unique experiences. California Western is a law school established upon a rigorous academic program and a tradition of collaborative success.
“I am interning at the Ministerio Público in the Specialized Unit for International Cooperation and Extraditions. I am currently working on a document detailing how a foreign government can go about intercepting, obtaining, and freezing electronic evidence from internet service providers that are domiciled in the United States and thus subject to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. More specifically, I am compiling information to help foreign governments understand the process by which to make requests to the United States government to be granted the ability to do the following: Emails, Web-Chat, Webpages, Telephones, Cell Phone, Checking Account or Other Banking Services, and Assets.
I am preparing the document in preparation for a July 23rd Conference on Electronic Evidence in Criminal Investigations put together by OAS (Organization of American States), Public Prosecutors Office of Chile and the United States Department of Justice. We were able to compile some preliminary information about the process and necessary evidentiary standards required for a foreign government to request, from the United States, the ability to intercept and freeze electronic evidence with the help of a trial attorney in the Criminal Division in the Office of International Affairs in the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. I have also been able to locate some cases and other secondary information on how the courts are interpreting “articulable facts” and “probable cause” with regards to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. I am focusing primarily on intercepting, obtaining and freezing emails.”
“I'm putting together a presentation about double taxation agreements (tax treaties) and the roadblocks between accomplishing one between the United States and Chile. What I have found out is that they have been at least working on this since 1999 and many of the articles and press releases I have located mention "draft" agreements. First off, I'd love to find a draft agreement (or at a minimum something that talks about it more than the simple fact it exists).
I've also found out that the major hurdle to accomplishing an agreement is the banking secrecy laws in Chile. I'm trying to find out more about them as well, but I just started looking hard into this so it is early. After reading the Denmark/U.S. and Denmark/Chile double taxation agreements, I have a good idea of where the issue may arise. Evidently, it is also an issue for Chile officially joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (among other things).
If you would have told me I would have been able to at least know and talk about a double taxation agreement was (and let alone what it meant and contains) before I started this internship, I probably would have laughed at you. Let alone the fact I find it at least minimally exciting -well that is remarkable.”
“I came to Chile knowing a little about the military coup in 1973 and the reign of terror and fear that followed. I expected Chile to be gritty, unindustrialized, and struggling from a past of totalitarianism. What I found was remarkably different. Chile is incredibly industrialized, with a strong economy, fantastic public transportation, and restaurants and overpriced department stores on every corner. It was far from the crumbling buildings and sidewalks of my imagination. In fact, and much to my dismay, my dollars hardly exceeded the peso in worth, if at all. I have since learned that Chile has turned a remarkable corner, and nowhere is this more evident than in the justice system.
I stayed for the second session and interned with Chilean public defenders office or Defensoría. What I learned is that eight years ago Chile did not even really have public defenders, and that the system was based on the inqusitorial model. Now, however, the system is continually being revolutionized and moving towards an adversarial model. This was an important step for the freedom of the people in Chile. Now they can be assured a fair defense, whereas during the Pinochet era virtually everyone was incarcerated. The attorneys in the office are particularly motivating and inspiring. This was nowhere more evident than during our tour of the prison. The prison in Santiago was built to hold 850 people but now holds over 6,000 people, most of which were there before the reform. My supervising attorney was nearly moved to tears at the site of the living conditions, and stopped to speak to inmates when he had the chance. It is because of people like this that Chile will continue to be the democratic stable success story of Latin America.
As far as the other aspects of the program, from the moment I stepped off the plane, I felt well taken care of. The program set up fantastic dinners and cultural nights for us. The faculty was informative and literally brought us medicine, power adaptors, and various other random items that we needed. The classes were also wonderful. Professor Corn's Counterterrorism class, and Professor Cooper's Latin American Culture class set the tone for the trip, which was serious and informative, but yet entertaining at the same time. I highly recommend the classes provided during session one, and very highly recommend the practicum component in session two. No where else in the world can you witness the birth, development, and fortitude of justice and democracy.
My favorite part of the Chile Summer Program, however, was the people I met, and the friends I made along the way. You have an opportunity to meet people from your school and other schools around the country who are similarly interested in fighting for equality and democracy in Latin America. The people in my section were very diverse and ranged in ethnicity, political affiliation, and legal passions. This set the stage for in depth discussions of the situation in Chile etc. We also did a respectable amount of partying and dining in good restaurants. I now have friendships and legal contacts that range all over the country, and I confident that my legal career will be greatly impacted by this experience. In addition, I will certainly never be the same person I was when I arrived in Chile.”
“I feel like I learned so much not only about Chile, but about myself, in the short time we were there. Thank you for a terrific experience.”
“There was never a dull moment on the Chile Summer Program. It truly was the perfect way to combine my love of travel and experiencing other cultures while earning credits in interesting, pertinent international courses. From visiting torture camps, to U.S. Embassies, to young professionals parties with the locals at an old castle in Santiago, the Chile Summer Program arranged for many exciting field trips and opportunities for fun. The Heidelberg Center provided a beautiful campus for our daily classes, and the CSP staff went above and beyond to ensure each of our stays were as comfortable as possible. Our group of students and professors became our own little family away from home, enjoying amazing meals together, visiting Buenos Aires together, and yes, experiencing the Pisco Sours together. I had an amazing time, met some wonderful friends, and furthered my legal education in a unique, innovative way. After a brutal first year of law school, the Chile Summer Program was the perfect way to reignite my motivation.”
“The Chile Summer Program was an amazing experience. From the moment I was met at the Santiago airport until the moment I returned home, I felt that the program organizers were looking out for me. The faculty at the Heidelberg Center and the Professors (special thanks to Professor Cooper who is the heart of the program) were outstanding – constantly looking to make the entire experience the best possible by incorporating fun and interesting activities into learning. CSP also provided me the opportunity to hear directly from local authorities on how the rule of law is changing Latin America and the challenges faced by developing democratic countries. For me, the Chile Summer Program bridged the gap between the banality of law school lectures and the practicalities of practicing law in the real world. You’ll leave Chile reinforced with the ideal of just how crucial good lawyering is on a global scale with regard to human rights, fighting terrorism, and developing the rule of law. I highly recommend spending your summer with the Chile Summer Program.”
“The Chile Summer Program truly changed my life.”
“I had the honor of working for five different Ministers, one for each day. I was happy to see the dynamics of each courtroom, the bantering between the judges and us, and being challenged to interpret statutes from a law that I honestly didn’t really know well. All I knew at that point was contracts and basic civil procedure, but by the third day I was navigating the Code in a way I never knew I could do.”
“We immersed ourselves into Chilean culture to understand their legal system, visiting their supreme court, and meeting with human rights lawyers. In particular, we spent a lot of time learning about human rights violations under General Augusto Pinochet. We even met with ex-prisoners of torture camps, many of which are also human rights lawyers today. Chile’s struggle to overcome its dictatorship past is still very much alive today; it's not usual for former enemies during the regime to be colleagues in high-ranking government positions today. The Chile Summer Program is a rare opportunity to study law in a country that is still transitioning to a democracy.”
