ASIL Career Essays

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Careers in International Law
Judge Stephen M. Schwebel

     At the end of the Nineteenth Century, public international law was essentially confined to the affairs of States; the direct involvement of individuals and corporations in matters of international law was marginal.  International organizations of States or State agencies were in their infancy; the exemplar was the Universal Postal Union.  The main engine of international law-making was customary international law, and it puffed along slowly, gradually accruing with the practice of States.  Careers in international law were confined to a tiny band of advisers in the foreign ministries of the larger Powers and to the occasional professor of international law.  It may be doubted whether there were a few hundred persons in all the world in 1899 who regarded themselves and were regarded as international lawyers.

            By the beginning of the Twenty First Century, international law not only increasingly regulates the affairs of States, it has come to have a pervasive and continuing impact upon individuals, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations.  Public international organizations - the United Nations, its Specialized Agencies, regional international organizations ranging from the relatively integrated European Union (EU) to the Organization of American States (OAS) and specialized institutions such as the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) - have multiplied.  The main engine of international law-making has become the treaty.  Today, thousands of treaties not only govern or endeavor to govern the great issues of war and peace - the United Nations Charter, the North Atlantic Treaty, the Hague and Geneva Conventions, and so on - but also unending aspects of the economic and social life of the peoples of the world.  But for international law, aircraft would not fly across national boundaries; radio frequencies would go unallocated; satellite television and telephone calls would be impractical; epidemics would spread unhindered by cooperative medical action; international trade would be fundamentally constricted by national barriers; limits of jurisdiction in the seas would be anarchical; copyrights and trademarks would not be recognized abroad; and arbitral awards would be deprived of foreign recognition and enforcement.  The World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are creations of the treaty-making process; and they and other international organizations in turn contribute to the further development of international law.  The United Nations itself, through its International Law Commission and the multilateral treaty-making conferences called in pursuance of its work, through the UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and otherwise, has contributed immensely to the progressive development and codification of international law.

A result of this modern explosion of international law-making has been the transformation of the practice of international law.  While at the turn of the 19^th Century, there were one or two solicitors in the Department of State, today considerably more than one hundred lawyers staff its Office of the Legal Adviser.  The major international organizations - the United Nations, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the World Bank, IMF and some other of the Specialized Agencies - have substantial legal staffs, as do regional and specialized organizations such as the OAS and INTELSAT.  International law is widely taught in the law faculties of the world and in many faculties of political science.  Thousands of scholars work not in the field but in the fields of international law - some of which, such as human rights law and space law, are relatively recent phenomena - and private practitioners the world over find themselves concerned with problems of international law and transactions on a scale unknown until the last few decades of the Twentieth Century.

A student thinking today of a career in international law accordingly can consider more than one type of career.  He or she may be interested in concentrating on the practice of public international law, in which case the likeliest fora are the offices of the legal adviser in foreign ministries and other ministries of international concern; in the United States, principally the State Department, Treasury Department, Departments of Defense and Commerce, and the U.S. Trade Representative.  The greatest office in the world for the practice of public international law is the Office of the Legal Adviser of the State Department.  The range and interest of international legal problems with which a lawyer in that Office - whether a beginner or a veteran - is daily confronted is unmatched; and the diplomatic, political, and economic elements of the daily grist are unbeatable.  Careers in public international law can also be pursued in the larger international organizations, such as the United Nations, the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO, and the ILO.

A second and far larger stream of international legal practice is to be found in the private sector.  For the most part, that practice - whether in law firms or in corporate law departments - is concerned much more with private international transactions than public international law, though international law increasingly bears on elements of those transactions.  The practitioner largely will deal with his or her national law and its interactions with foreign law and foreign clients, and the international flow of people and ideas and investments.  Questions of international law may be encountered: questions of sovereign immunity, immigration, asylum, expropriation, the interpretation of treaties of commerce and navigation and of bilateral investment treaties, and so forth.  A field of particular interest and rapid growth is that of international commercial arbitration.  Very large numbers of international commercial disputes today are resolved not in the courts of one party or the other, but by international commercial arbitration of a tribunal often sitting in a third country under the chairmanship of a national of a country not involved.  The resultant awards are recognized and enforced the world over in pursuance of one of the many treaties that significantly affect the practice of law the world over, the United Nations (New York) Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

There is the old saying that those who can, do; those who can't teach.  A third career in international law is the academic.  Many of the most distinguished international lawyers of the Twentieth Century have been professors of international law, who have made great contributions not only to the theory, but also to the practice of international law.  There are few fields in the law that offer more scope for the creativity of the individual than international law.  There are few fields in the law that offer more of a challenge to the individual of idealism and commitment than international law.

Practice before the International Court of Justice draws mainly from the offices of the legal advisers of the litigant States.  Since only States may be parties to contentious cases before the Court, and only public international organizations may request advisory opinions, it is natural that most of the lawyers who plead before the Court come from the legal offices of those States and international organizations.  But those offices often reach out to faculties of law and to the bar for support.  There is no "World Court Bar" but there is a band of international lawyers who recurrently argue before the Court who are retained by a variety of States because of their eminence as international lawyers and because of their experience in the Court.

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In my own case, I first took part in a case before the International Court of Justice in 1962, in the advisory proceedings on Certain Expenses of the United Nations.  In 1979-80, I was one of the U.S. counsel in the case brought against Iran for holding hostages, United States Diplomatic and Consular staff in Tehran.  And in 1980, I argued for the United States in the advisory proceedings on Interpretation of the Agreement of 25 March 1951 between the WHO and Egypt.  I acted in these three cases as a member of the office of the Legal Adviser of the Department of State.  I became a judge of the Court in January, 1981, and served until March 2000.   I was Vice President of the Court 1994-1997, and President, 1997-2000.

My experience has been a mixture of private practice, teaching, and governmental and judicial service.  On graduation from Yale Law School in 1954, I entered the bottom rung of one of the great Wall Street law firms.  I was fortunate to find myself in the midst of one of the more important and dramatic international arbitrations of the century, between ARAMCO and the Government of Saudi Arabia (the "Onassis Case").  After five years of mainly but not exclusively international litigation, I was appointed an Assistant Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.  I taught at Harvard 1959-61.  When Kennedy was elected President, a number of professors from Harvard joined his administration; I was among the most junior of them.  I was appointed Assistant Legal Adviser for United Nations Affairs at the State Department, and remained in that stimulating position until 1966.  In 1967, I accepted a joint appointment as Executive Director of the American Society of International Law and Burling Professor of International Law at the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.  I returned to the State Department as Counselor on International Law in 1973; was appointed a Deputy Legal Adviser in 1974; and was at that post when elected to the Court.

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International Law Practice in a Large Law Firm Practice
Virginia Cambre Dailey

 

After completing law school, I moved with my husband to London in 1999 where he completed a graduate degree at the London School of Economics.  Upon our arrival, I began looking for an attorney position with the large law firms in London.  I used the English Law Society’s weekly publication, The Gazette, for a few weeks and then began working with a headhunter firm to find job openings.  At that time, the legal market in London was booming and firms were eager to hire to keep up with their workload.  There were a number of positions available in the field of international transactional work; however, I wanted a position in international arbitration and litigation, where there were fewer openings.

I found an opening at one of the largest firms in the world at that time, known as one of London’s “Magic Circle” firms.  At the interview, the hiring partner was impressed that I had studied international law courses at law school and particularly that I had published an article during law school involving issues of international law.  I credit Professor Frank Garcia with encouraging my research and writing on issues of international law.  The firm hired me initially as a paralegal as I had not yet learned whether I had passed the bar exam in the U.S.  When I received the news of my bar admission, I was promoted to an attorney position.  The firm also encouraged me to qualify as a solicitor before the Law Society of England and Wales.  (Qualification as a solicitor for U.S. attorneys requires the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (“QLTT”) which is similar to a bar exam and can now be taken in the U.S. and two years of legal experience.)  My practice in London solidified my interest in international law and exposed me to a wide variety of international issues and travel.

Upon my husband’s graduation, we returned to the U.S., making our home in Washington.  For a brief time, I continued working for the same firm in Washington.  However, I soon moved to a smaller Washington-based firm that had a more broad practice in the Washington office in the field of international litigation and arbitration and that had a less demanding work environment.  I have continued my practice with that team of lawyers since then.  Law firm mergers led to our move to Hunton & Williams’s Washington office.  My practice since I returned to the U.S. has further strengthened my interest in international law. 

My practice in London and Washington has centered on international litigation and arbitration.  My clients include foreign and U.S. multinational companies as well as sovereign governments.  My practice has included representation of these governments in arbitration before international tribunals, in arbitration before ad hoc tribunals, as well as in U.S. court litigation.  My practice has included for example representation of a sovereign government before an ad hoc tribunal in The Hague established to resolve a boundary dispute, representation of a sovereign government before an ad hoc tribunal in The Hague established to resolve claims for violations of the laws of war, representation of a sovereign government in U.S. court litigation under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and representation of multinational companies and state-owned entities in arbitration and litigation involving international commercial disputes.  The key skills involved in my practice are basic litigation skills - the same as those that would be important in any litigation practice.  The primary difference is that international practice requires attorneys who are willing to travel, who are open to and knowledgeable about different cultures and legal systems, who are able to respect the differences they encounter, and who are willing to keep up with the legal developments in the field. 

International practice in a large law firm involves many of the same advantages and disadvantages as any practice in a large law firm.  Law firms expect top grades from law school students and long hours of work from associates.  There is high turnover in law firm associates, and a low percentage of those who begin as first-year associates reach partnership.  On the other hand, the advantages include the premiere quality of work assignments, the ability to work with top-quality attorneys, and compensation. 

The two primary differences in international practice are the travel and the breadth of legal issues involved in international practice.   

My day-to-day workload in the international field involves a wide variety of projects and skills.  When working on large cases, my practice often involves travel to obtain and gather evidence and to meet with clients regarding the development of the case.  International practice often requires significant travel outside the country for extended periods; those who would not enjoy such travel should consider this aspect of international practice and investigate the expectations of the law firms being considered.  My practice also involves significant legal research and writing, including analysis and review of evidence available and evidence needed for case development.  Staying up to date on important developments in the field is a continuing priority for an effective international practice.  This is getting easier as online sources make international legal developments easier to access.  Because my workload includes litigation and arbitration before different types of tribunals and fora, I continue to be interested in and learn from my research and work on an ongoing basis.  I learn something new about the law and about the world in general with each new case.  This is an aspect of my practice that I particularly relish; I would not be satisfied with a practice that involved the same issues over a long period.

For those who want to pursue a career in international law and a career in a large law firm, I offer two suggestions (a) it is important to learn as much as you can about the legal marketplace where you intend to live and practice; and (b) it is important to get involved in organizations outside the law firm to broaden your contacts and experience. 

With respect to my first suggestion, there are three primary international practice areas in large law firms: (1) international arbitration and litigation, (2) international trade, and (3) international transactional work.  Each of these areas involves a wide variety of subject matters, types of work, areas of specialty, and core skill sets.  Law students considering careers in international law in large law firms should consider all of these areas and find out which practice areas are available (and strong enough to be hiring new associates) in each firm.  Law firms’ international practices often differ substantially by firm.  For example, many firms handle work predominantly involving a particular industry or type of client, or a particular region, or disputes before a particular tribunal.  The core skill sets for each of these areas can differ widely.  Work in these fields often includes advising and counseling companies about compliance in addition to litigation.  For example, for attorneys whose practice includes counseling and advising companies on compliance, key skills include mediation, negotiation, analytical review of company processes and procedures, as well as the ability to work with government agencies.

 

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For the past five years, I have had the pleasure of working at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ("ICTY") in The Hague.  During this time, I clerked for the President of the court, Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, and worked in a variety of capacities in the

Office of the Prosecutor ("OTP"), including as an international law adviser and as a prosecuting trial attorney.  I have had the good fortune to be on the trial teams in three cases and worked on the investigation and pre-trial phases of several other cases.  My work has taken me to detention and rape camps in Bosnia and killing fields in Kosovo; has given me the opportunity to argue genocide before a bench of international judges; to draft the Prosecution response to Slobodan Milosević's challenge to the Tribunal's jurisdiction; and to cross-examine a retired Yugoslav General. 

This chapter will explore opportunities for careers in the burgeoning field of international criminal law and will offer suggestions for those interested in pursuing such a career.  At the outset, it should be kept in mind that the developing system of international criminal justice is focused on several core crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the still undefined crime of aggression.  The delegates who negotiated the Treaty of Rome establishing the International Criminal Court ("ICC") put to one side other serious international crimes, such as drug trafficking, terrorism and money laundering, preferring to leave the prosecution of such crimes to national authorities.  There are career opportunities in federal and state court systems for individuals interested in these other types of crimes, although few government offices have large staffs devoted to prosecuting such crimes.  Such opportunities are beyond the scope of this chapter, which will focus on prosecuting serious violations of international humanitarian law.

            Pursuant to the statutes of the ICTY, ICTR** and ICC, these international criminal courts are composed of three organs, the Chambers, Registry and the OTP.  Both the Registry and the OTP employ a substantial number of attorneys (the Chambers technically consist of the judges only and the lawyers that support the judges are staff members of the Registry).  All three organs and their functions will be briefly described.  Although these courts share a common basic structure (with minor differences), the discussion that follows is based on the ICTY.

            International criminal trials are conducted without juries before trial chambers consisting of three judges, with an appeals chamber made up of five judges.  Each judge is assigned one associate legal officer and each chamber as a whole has additional associate legal officers and one senior legal officer.  These lawyers perform a variety of functions and tasks that are similar to duties performed by law clerks in the U.S. system.  The senior legal officers thus have a great deal of responsibility and perform a variety of functions, and may be authorized to oversee depositions, for example.  More junior attorneys undertake legal research and assist with the drafting of orders, decisions and judgments.

            The Registry, which provides administrative support, employs attorneys who work on a variety of matters, including enforcement of sentences, relations between the court and the host State, defense counsel concerns, victim and witness issues, other matters of general international law, administrative law matters, contract law and in the public information office to assist with queries from the public or media. 

The OTP employs the largest number of lawyers at both the ICTY and ICTR. In addition, like in many national police forces (such as the F.B.I.), a significant number of the investigators have law degrees, although technically they are not working as lawyers and hence their role in the prosecution of cases will not be discussed further.

While the trial section attorneys spend the bulk of their time in court, moving from one case to the next as the cases are ready for trial, the team legal officers and attorneys from the co-counsel unit spend long periods of time working closely with the investigators to develop the cases and move them through the pre-trial stage.  Once the accused is in custody and the trial chamber places the case on the docket, these attorneys assume the role of co-counsel, working directly under the supervision of the senior trial attorney assigned to the case.  These attorneys must be skilled at providing succinct yet accurate legal advice on investigative matters, including search and seizure issues.  They must also be experienced in the art of questioning witnesses and victims and interrogating the accused. 

Any discussion of the practice of international criminal law would be remiss without at least briefly touching on the subject of defense counsel.  Pursuant to Article 21(4)(d) of the ICTY Statute, the accused has a right to counsel, generally of his or her own choosing.  In short, the right to counsel is absolute, while the right to counsel of the accused's choice is not absolute.  In the event the accused is unable to afford counsel, he is provided legal assistance at no cost to him.  The Registry maintains a list of defense counsel that are eligible for assignment as defense counsel to indigent accused.  In order to be placed on this list, the attorney must satisfy the Registrar that he or she is qualified to represent a suspect or accused.  This is accomplished through proof of bar admission or employment as a university professor of law.  Moreover, the attorney must speak one of the two official languages of the tribunal (English or French) and must be willing to be assigned to represent any indigent suspect or accused.  Counsel that do not speak one of the two official languages, but speaks the native language of the suspect or accused may be admitted to the list at the request of a suspect or accused where the interests of justice so demand.  Under the relevant directives on the assignment of counsel, an indigent accused may also be entitled to co-counsel and an investigator at no personal expense.

Because there are few, if any, entry-level positions in this career field, the best career advice is to gain as much criminal or appellate litigation experience as possible.  The strongest candidates are those with excellent oral and written advocacy skills and the ability to work closely with investigators in developing a case.  Good written and spoken communications skills are absolutely necessary, as is the ability to analyze complex factual situations.  Once you have mastered the basics and are an effective criminal litigator, you may want to consider returning to law school to pursue an advanced law degree, such as the Masters of Law (LLM) in international law or even international humanitarian or criminal law.

For those individuals still in law school, the following advice may be helpful.  Many law schools today provide a wide range of international law subjects, and presumably anyone interested in a career in international criminal law would find many of these courses interesting.  Other law schools, however, offer only an introductory course on international law and a few law schools do not even offer the basic course.  The degree to which your law school offers courses in international law need not be a deterrent for your successful entry into this field, however, because the best advice for anyone contemplating a career in international criminal law is solid performance in the law school basics: legal writing, criminal law and procedure, advocacy and evidence, among others.

          You should focus on learning the basic skills necessary to be a good lawyer.  This means learning to write clearly and succinctly, how to spot issues and address them and how to develop and frame an argument.  Good research and advocacy skills-both oral and written-are also crucial.  Participate in as many moot courts or trial advocacy courses as possible.  If your law school has a journal devoted to international or comparative law, make an effort to get on the staff or submit a note for publication.  Even if your law school does not have such a specialized law journal, consider submitting a note or article on an issue related to international criminal law to any law journal at your school that may be interested in publishing it.

          All law students interested in this field should take the "full package" of courses available to all students interested in pursuing a career in criminal litigation.  This includes criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence.  Advanced courses in due process or rights of the accused should also be taken, if possible.  Assuming your law school offers a variety of courses in international law, your choice of courses in law school should include the following: international law, human rights law and comparative law.  Obviously, if your law school offers advanced courses or seminars in international humanitarian law, international criminal law or similar courses, you should take advantage of such courses.

Perhaps one of the best ways to enrich your life and to increase your cross-cultural sensitivity is to take full advantage of the numerous opportunities to study or work abroad.  Many law schools offer summer or semester abroad programs and these should be seriously considered, since they will offer you the opportunity to learn about new legal cultures and languages.  Summer or semester abroad programs are also great ways to meet other students with similar interests.  The friendships and connections made during the course of such programs may last a lifetime, in addition to being a great source of networking.

Virtually all lawyers practicing international criminal law began their careers practicing criminal law in their national jurisdictions.  Let's face it, the skills learned as a young lawyer in the office of the local District Attorney, U.S. Attorney or Public Defender's Office are invaluable.  In such an office you will be exposed to what criminal practice is all about and most likely, cases will be landing on your desk so quickly that you will be forced to juggle many cases and legal issues simultaneously.  The procedural issues that you will be confronted with-evidentiary matters, due process problems, search and seizure issues and substantive legal questions-will be crucial training for any attorney that wants to pursue a career in international criminal law.

Unless you have a gift for languages, are very diligent in your language studies, or have the opportunity to live or study abroad for a considerable period of time, you will probably not become fluent in a foreign language.  Do not let this deter you from making the effort to learn a new language.  Learning a foreign language has numerous benefits and will always open doors for the student who takes full advantage of the opportunity.  In addition to making you more competitive in the job market, however, learning a foreign language enables you to think and process information in a new light.  This is a skill that will serve you well regardless of what type of law you eventually practice.

There are numerous opportunities for networking with professionals in the field, and these opportunities may be an important means by which you can learn of openings.  Given the sharp rise in interest in international criminal law, there are typically panels on the subject at most annual meetings of professional groups.  For example, the American Bar Association Section of International Law and Practice, the American Society of International Law and the International Association of Prosecutors typically offer panels and discussion groups addressing these issues during their regular meetings.  The ABA Section of International Law and Practice has several subcommittees that are of interest to individuals hoping for a career in international criminal law, including the International Criminal Law Committee and the International Courts Committee.  Several NGOs, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights are also quite active in issues that interest practicing international criminal lawyers.  If possible, you should consider joining such organizations and attending-and actively participating in-as many of their meetings as possible.  By doing so you will become familiar with the names of key players in the field and also benefit from the numerous reports such organizations publish.  Finally, many of these organizations also offer internships, which can also be promising paths to a paid position.

Hopefully, this essay has sparked an interest in pursuing a career in the growing and interesting field of international criminal law.  The challenges of working in this dynamic area of the law are great and the rewards are even greater.  The work is not easy and can be, quite frankly, depressing at times, since the work focuses on some of the evil acts of inhumanity.  Dealing with victims and criminals, day in and day out can be emotionally draining, as any criminal practitioner knows all too well.  Nevertheless, most of us engaged in this line of work take a great deal of pride and satisfaction in knowing that the work we do is of great importance to the victims and their families, witnesses and the international community as a whole.

            Allow me to demonstrate how the advice provided above worked in my case.  As an undergraduate, I studied international relations and Russian, including a summer abroad in the Soviet Union.  Once in law school, my primary focus of study was international, but I also took as many courses in criminal law and procedure as my law school offered.  While at law school, I joined several groups, including the American Society of International Law and Amnesty International.  After passing the bar, I joined the U.S. Navy JAG Corps and was a criminal litigator for nearly six years, including two and a half years living and working in a foreign country.  Following my discharge, I pursued an LLM in international law.  While studying for this degree, I attended as many conferences as possible, always ensuring to have copies of my resume with me.  While attending one such conference, I made an effort to meet ICTY President Gabrielle Kirk McDonald.  After exchanging pleasantries, she asked me to send her my resume, which I provided on the spot.  Within a few months, and before I received the LLM, I was offered and accepted a position in President McDonald's Chambers.  When she retired from the ICTY a year and a half later, I transferred to the ICTY OTP, where I have been ever since.

As recently as a decade ago, there were virtually no full-time practitioners of international criminal law.  Of course, for many decades, attorneys have been engaged in transnational criminal matters, such as extradition or the occasional high profile trial of individuals charged with acts of international terrorism or drug trafficking.  There were no international courts trying individuals alleged to have committed serious violations of international law from the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials until the establishment of the ICTY in 1993 or the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ("ICTR") in 1994.  Recent developments suggest that the field of international criminal law will continue to grow in the next few years and may well be the largest growth area for careers in public international law.  In addition to the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals, the International Criminal Court ("ICC") came into being in July 2002, there is a Special Court operating in Sierra Leone and courts with international judges and prosecutors functioning in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and East Timor.  Over the next few years, these courts will be recruiting practitioners.  You may be one of them.

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