Leipzig Seminar, Clinical Placement Combine for Great Summer

By Ximena Skovron
UM Law, Class of 2003
Graduate, University of Miami

During this past summer (2001), I participated in a Bi-national Seminar that took place from May 16-20 in Leipzig, Germany. This program was the first collaborative seminar sponsored by the University of Miami School of Law and the University of Leipzig, where the program took place. UM Law Professors Richard Williamson and David Abraham directed the program along with their German counterpart, Professor Geiger.

I was part of a team of 8 students from UM Law School who were selected to attend the 2-credit seminar. Under the guidance of our professors, we each chose a topic of current controversy in international law, and wrote a paper informing the U.S. perspective. Our 8 German counterparts wrote on the same topic from the perspective of the European Union. Additionally, each of us presented our research in roundtable format, leading to stimulating - and often heated - discussions. I wrote on the Hague Convention, which is the international treaty that addresses the issue of international child abductions.

While it was challenging for me as the only 1L in the program to research and write on a topic I knew little about, the guidance and input of all three of our professors made it not only feasible but also greatly enriched my law school experience. (Watch for our papers in the UM International & Comparative Law Review this upcoming year.)

Likewise, having the opportunity to discuss controversial topics in a country that is part of the most exciting supernational experiment since the Roman Empire was, for me, what being a student in the 21st century is all about. And as a citizen of Poland, a country that is slated to enter the EU in the next few years, my experience in Leipzig has helped me translate what was before only a hazy idea of a career possibility into a distinct and focused direction.

The program set up by Professors Williamson and Abraham also included various social events - lunch at the U.S. Consulate and a night at the opera, as well as a tour of this historical east German city. And when our esteemed professors bid us good night, we were whisked away by our German friends to sample the city's substantial nightlife.

This program was truly unique because we learned about hot topics in the law, made meaningful contributions in small seminar format, spent time interacting with our professors and foreign students, and of course, traveled to Europe and made lifelong friends.

The other summer activity in which I was involved was the Law School's Children & Youth Law Clinic - the only clinical program UM offers to 1L's. It is composed of a clinical internship, a 3-credit course on child advocacy, and a paper on a related topic. UM provides a scholarship for the 3-credit course. The program directors, Carolyn Salisbury and Bernie Perlmutter, have put together an interesting array of speakers on various topics concerning children and the law - everything from dependency and abuse and neglect issues to juvenile delinquency and the death penalty for children.

The clinical placements are sponsored by a $2,500 stipend from the Florida Bar Foundation and runs for 6 weeks. Each student gets to choose his or her own placement, which range from working as an immigration advocate for children at the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center to working at our own clinic with our program directors.

Participating in the Children & Youth Law Clinic enabled me to spend my summer focusing on an area of law that has always interested me, but is often overlooked in law school curriculums. Additionally, the paper allowed me to explore a topic of my choosing within the framework of the course, with the guidance of our program directors. I chose to focus on juveniles and confessions, and the first-hand experience I received during my clinical informed my perspective. (Our papers are on the UM web site).

My clinical placement was at the juvenile division of the Public Defender's office. While I could not yet represent clients in court, I was able to take an active part in defending them. I did everything from interviewing our clients at the juvenile detention center to conveying plea offers and counseling clients under the supervision of an attorney. I helped the assistant PD's prepare for trial, interviewing witnesses and researching case law, and acting as a general sounding board for defense arguments. Seeing an assistant PD relying on the case law that I gathered or the points I made in one of these brainstorming sessions was extremely rewarding. And when a client hugs you with tears streaming down his or her face in gratitude for the help you have been able to provide, the experience is unforgettable.