PSA: You will not work in "international law" Forum

[reasonable_man]

I Know a guy who knows a guy who knows another guy that does international law, ergo, international law not only exists but is a real option for law grads ... BOOM goes the dynamite.

[rad lulz]

I Know a guy who knows a guy who knows another guy that does international law, ergo, international law not only exists but is a real option for law grads ... BOOM goes the dynamite.

Oh shiiiiiit dood get me an internship plz

[law chihuahua]

Thanks for bumping this, wannabelawstudent. I forgot to get around to it earlier.
Hopefully some 0Ls will benefit from clicking on this PSA.
There are probably at least some people who are relatively new to law school admissions and still unaware.

To add just my two cents to the anecodatal discussions, the handful of actual international lawyers I encountered through my old work place had very unique traits, such as high fluency in rare languages and really unusual degrees in addition to their law degrees.

My sample's probably a bit skewed, however, because they had American degrees but were working in Asia and Europe.

[worldtraveler]

There's been some talk about international law and someone suggested revivng this thread. Its been two years since this was posted. Anyone got an international law job?

Yes. By sheer luck.

I might be confusing you with someone else, but aren't you the big "international law is a thing, people do get these jobs" person?

Sort of. It is a thing, and there are jobs, just very few and the credentials and background needed to get into the field are pretty astounding. Just like being a clerk for SCOTUS is a thing, but except for a select few there is no reason to even consider it.

[Myself]

.

[Eco]

Have you ever heard of the State Department? The United Nations? The Hague? I have friends who graduated and work in those three for their first jobs. Yes, you can work in areas of International Law, if you want to and specialize your coursework on it. It won't be easy, but then again, getting just about any job with a law degree is fucking hard. So no idea why IL is being singled out when evidence shows that people who specialize in IL can get jobs in that field.

[bk1]

Have you ever heard of the State Department? The United Nations? The Hague? I have friends who graduated and work in all three as their first jobs. Yes, you can work in areas of International Law, if you want to and specialize your coursework on it.

notsureifsrs

[Eco]

A classmate interned at the World Bank in his first summer, then the United Nations his next summer. He was offered last month a job in the legal department for the IFC at the World Bank. This stuff actually happens. It's just like any other area of the law, there are jobs out there.

[bk1]

A classmate interned at the World Bank in his first summer, then the United Nations his next summer. He was offered last month a job in the legal department for the IFC at the World Bank. This stuff actually happens. It's just like any other area of the law, there are jobs out there.

There was this one Harvard Law grad who got a job as President... of the United States. It actually happened. It's just like anything else, there are jobs out there.

[Eco]

^ Yes, because getting an entry-level legal job at the World Bank is in any way comparable to going to Harvard and becoming the President of the United States. Come on man. At least try harder with your sarcasm.

[Bobnoxious]

If you want to work in international human rights, you'd probably be better off if you went and got yourself a Masters or PhD in Poli-Sci with a concentration in comparative politics or international relations and make sure you get your hands on the right internships and contacts while you're on that path. Otherwise, publish, publish, present, present, and make a name for yourself as *the* expert in whatever little niche you want to work in. IMHO

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/W ... ities.aspx

[Myself]

.

[vanwinkle]

A classmate interned at the World Bank in his first summer, then the United Nations his next summer. He was offered last month a job in the legal department for the IFC at the World Bank. This stuff actually happens. It's just like any other area of the law, there are jobs out there.

True story: A friend of a friend, as a YLS 2L, got rejected by L at the State Department. This is someone who got a Second Circuit clerkship and is legit applying to SCOTUS, so it's not like he was lacking in credentials.

In other words... of course it happens, but not always to the people who want it, not even the "best" of those people. If you're a 0L, the odds are nearly certain it won't happen to you.

It's not "just like any other area of the law". There are probably at least 8,000 new corporate biglaw jobs that open each year. Paying, legit international law positions? That's probably more like ... 8. And it's not like the people who love corporate law outnumber the ones who want to be international human rights superheroes by 1,000:1.

If your argument is just "it actually happens" then you are pretty fucking stupid. Of course it happens. What matters is how often it happens to the people who want it. For most 0Ls wanting international law, the odds of it happening are so close to zero that it's not only possible but prudent to just round down and tell them that it is, for all practical purposes, impossible. The difference to them between "It's impossible" and "It's .01% possible" isn't big enough to justify pretending it matters.

[anticule]

did some research on asylum seeking individuals from mexico. contacted a few lawyers that work in that area. tough shit, very saturated, but if it's something that interests you, why not?

I think people just like the name of it: International LAWWWWWWWW

People want to travel and think they will be on a jet going from one country to the next...but...it's not ...reality...

go get your masters or phd..and do like a mediation type thing (one of my professors did that) and go into a hostile region to experience what international politics is really like

[FlightoftheEarls]

If you want to work in international human rights, you'd probably be better off if you went and got yourself a Masters or PhD in Poli-Sci with a concentration in comparative politics or international relations and make sure you get your hands on the right internships and contacts while you're on that path. Otherwise, publish, publish, present, present, and make a name for yourself as *the* expert in whatever little niche you want to work in. IMHO

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/Pages/W ... ities.aspx

Depends on whether or not you want to do OHCHR field work or work in Geneva. If the latter, you'll probably want to be a lawyer (perhaps in addition to the PhD).

[vanwinkle]

go get your masters or phd..and do like a mediation type thing (one of my professors did that) and go into a hostile region to experience what international politics is really like

Fuck that. If you really care so much, join the Peace Corps. It's cheaper and you're still helping. Or become a nurse or pharmacist and join Doctors Without Borders. You'll literally save lives that way, something most lawyers will never do.

[Theopliske8711]

I think it's far easier for people from other countries, particularly Europe, to do international law simply because their law schools (or what they have that constitutes as law study) do not involve 200k amount of debt. They are generally free if you can get in. That gives me a lot more of a chance. Especially if you graduate with a Law degree in France or the Netherlands.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I think it's far easier for people from other countries, particularly Europe, to do international law simply because their law schools (or what they have that constitutes as law study) do not involve 200k amount of debt. They are generally free if you can get in. That gives me a lot more of a chance. Especially if you graduate with a Law degree in France or the Netherlands.

That, and almost everyone in Europe speaks at least three languages...

[unc0mm0n1]

Also, Jags do international law. International human rights law as a matter of fact, answering tricky legal questions like "does this human have the right not to get blown the fuck up."

Plus a TON of military divorces, wills, reviewing leases, etc.

At least in the Army this may not be true. While it is normal for people to cycle between specialities, if you miss out on legal assistance as a junior you likely will never do a will or divorce in your career. I know quite a few Jags who went directly into Military Justice then to TDS thus never touching low level legal assistance work. Normally this happens when you have experience coming in or someone want to groom you for a certain position. Also there prestiege whoring when deciding who gets groomed for these positions. One of my former bosses, who graduated from Cooley, is basically capped at Major; because he can't get good assignments. While another JAG I know who is an average attorney at best is being sent on an assignment that will basically guarantee him a promotion and whenever he's introduced by our SJA the first thing to come out of his mouth is that he went to Stanford (same school as the head of the JAG corps).

[vanwinkle]

A classmate interned at the World Bank in his first summer, then the United Nations his next summer. He was offered last month a job in the legal department for the IFC at the World Bank. This stuff actually happens. It's just like any other area of the law, there are jobs out there.

There was this one Harvard Law grad who got a job as President... of the United States. It actually happened. It's just like anything else, there are jobs out there.

I missed this earlier. This is 180 bitchslap.

The point isn't that nobody anywhere gets international law jobs ever. The point is it's so unlikely to happen that you shouldn't go to law school just to do it. If you're interested in practicing other kinds of law too, then it might still be reasonable to go, and you can try against the odds to get an international law job while you're there. But that's the point, you're fighting against the odds. If you go to law school "because you want to practice international law" then you are making an epic, expensive, life-crippling mistake.

[SemperLegal]

go get your masters or phd..and do like a mediation type thing (one of my professors did that) and go into a hostile region to experience what international politics is really like

Fuck that. If you really care so much, join the Peace Corps. It's cheaper and you're still actually helping. Or become a nurse or pharmacist and join Doctors Without Borders. You'll literally save lives that way, something most lawyers will never do.