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Law School creates new certificate program

The Law School has established a certificate program in international law.

“Drake recognizes and appreciates the opportunities that globalization presents,” said Professor Hunter R. Clark, director of the International and Comparative Law and Human Rights Certificate Program.

“We have worked hard to develop our offerings in these areas,” he said.

The new International and Comparative Law and Human Rights Certificate program draws on the many courses and resources already in place in the Law School and adds to them courses taught in other colleges of the University.

The Law School found these pieces at arm’s reach when creating the program:

  • Professors with backgrounds in international and comparative law
    Courses in both international and comparative law
    American Bar Association-approved study abroad program

“Our certificate program and the commitment it represents will lend coherence and credibility to our efforts in a way that will enhance Drake’s reputation,” said Clark. “It also makes clear, more now than ever, that our students can build a solid foundation in the international law area here at Drake.”

Requirements for students
The new program builds on Drake’s collaborative learning and teaching atmosphere.
Students may take graduate classes in areas offered by the College of Business and Public Administration such as:

  • Business
  • Government
  • Global Economy
  • International Management

Required courses for the certificate program in the Law School are:

  • Public International Law
  • International Intellectual Property Law
  • International Trade

Students in the certificate program are required to take one of the following seminars: Comparative Constitutional Law or International Human Rights.

Students can also fulfill electives, which include courses offered by visiting professors, agricultural law and a summer or semester study abroad program.

The Law School has enjoyed a longtime relationship with an exchange school — the University of Nantes in France — that is approved for the program. Students can also travel to other ABA-approved institutions for their programs.

Director Clark, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, serves as faculty adviser to the International Law Society at Drake. He is the author of two books: “Justice Brennan: The Great Conciliator” and “Thurgood Marshall: Warrior At The Bar, Rebel on the Bench.”

In addition, Clark’s most recent academic writings on foreign investment and global economic development have appeared in: The ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law, The Cornell International Law Journal, The Journal of Gender, Race and Justice, The Minnesota Journal of Global Trade, and The American University International Law Review

Clark and co-author Mark S. Kende, the James Madison chair in constitutional law and director of Drake’s Constitutional Law Center, are
currently working on a casebook, “Comparative Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials,” which is scheduled for publication in spring 2009.

Other professors involved with the program include:

  • Cathy Mansfield, professor of law at Drake Law School
  • Peter Yu, the Kern Family chair in intellectual property law and founding director of  Drake Law School’s Intellectual Property Law Center
  • Andrew West (University of Nantes), professor and lecturer in law at the Catholic Institute of Higher Education, La Roche-sur-Yon, France
  • Derek Wilson (University of Nantes), professor and lecturer in law at the Catholic Institute of Higher Education, La Roche-sur-Yon, France
  • Denise Johnson, associate professor of management, Drake College of Business and Public Administration