International Law Degree (Concentration) | New England Law
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:36
International Law Degree (Concentration) | New England Law
International Law Concentration
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INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCENTRATION
As our world becomes more interconnected, private companies, governments, and other organizations are seeking more attorneys with expertise in international law. The International Law concentration at New England Law Boston equips you to answer this growing need.
Tackle Emerging Issues
Understand the increasingly complex arena of international law as you explore its evolving issues, including:
Business and human rights
International law
Human rights
Post-conflict reconstruction
Transitional justice
Center for International Law and Policy (CILP)
Immerse yourself in international law through the Center’s sought-after
international externships
, research projects, academic offerings, and events. Gain first-hand experience and real-world skills in international legal issues as you become the lawyer you want to be.
Learn more
International Law Concentration Courses
To earn a concentration in International Law, you must successfully complete Public International Law and any two additional courses from the list below.
Provides a basic introduction to the field of international law. Topics covered include interpretation of international agreements; international dispute resolution; international organizations; international jurisdiction over persons, property, and territory and limitations on such jurisdiction; law of the sea; international human rights law; international environmental law; and the law concerning use of force in the international system. The course is designed to expose students to the sorts of issues that arise in cases before international tribunals and organizations and in cases involving foreign parties and international legal principles in US courts.
This seminar focuses on the evolving legal framework for holding businesses to account for activities that negatively impact human rights. The course is largely structured around the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) which were approved by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. The UNGPs have created an evolving normative framework that aims to prevent and remedy human rights abuses committed by companies and has become an important area of legal compliance work. The seminar is designed to provide students with a general overview of the general framework established by the UNGPs and will include coverage of: the international human rights legal regime; the development of international, domestic and voluntary corporate initiatives designed to bring corporations in line with human rights norms; the best practices for corporations to incorporate measures to assure respect of human rights; the potential liability of corporations for alleged violations of international human rights law; and the available judicial and nonjudicial remedies for vindicating violations of these rights. The course focuses on both the legal, practical, and political challenges that all stakeholders face in this new area of emerging international law while building the skills needed by a professional in this field. This course may be offered every other year.
Examines the international law principles that have been applied to indigenous peoples and how indigenous peoples have been treated by international organizations and by the domestic laws of different nations. Topics addressed include property rights; economic development; religious and cultural preservation rights; and the right to self-determination. Please check the most recent course registration information to determine if this course meets the Experiential Education/Professional Skills requirement. This course may be offered every other year.
The trade law of the United States, including treaties, and some law of foreign countries will be examined from the perspective of an American lawyer. Transactions examined include transnational sales licensing and other business arrangements, such as financing and insurance. Potential clients from whose perspectives the alternatives are explored include the US firm doing business abroad, the US firm seeking government assistance in protecting it from unfair foreign competition, the foreign firm doing business in the United States, and state and local governments seeking to buy foreign products, forbid the purchase of foreign products, or promote exports. Treaties and local law designed to protect special interests or to promote competition in an increasingly global market, such as the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), the European Union (EC, Common Market), and the World Trade Organization (WTO, GATT), as well as other trade arrangements concerning the so-called Third World and the Pacific Rim, are used to demonstrate the critical role of law in structuring international trade. This is an increasingly important and fast-changing field, with ample scope for individual research papers.
This course explores some of the many legal issues that implicate national security in the United States. Among the topics we will consider are: the constitutional framework for national security and separation of powers; the authority to use force abroad; the authority to conduct intelligence operations abroad; and the effort to fight terrorism. This course will be taught as a colloquium; after an initial introduction to the constitutional framework, teaching will be undertaken by students: each student (or team of students, depending upon enrollment) will be responsible for leading discussion on a topic related to national security law. This course may be offered every other year.
The course surveys relevant international laws, the convention and protocol, as well as U.S. laws and procedures governing human trafficking, and compares those to the European Union approach. Students review an array of civil and criminal cases, and the domestic legislative history to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and its reauthorization acts to understand how human trafficking laws and regulations have evolved since first promulgated in 2000. Students will gain a broad understanding of factors that drive trafficking, the routes used by traffickers, and the means by which law enforcement officers find victims and prosecutors make cases against traffickers. Finally, through use of a simulation, students will learn how to prepare a T-visa application for a victim of human trafficking in the United States.
The course will survey the relevant international laws and conventions governing refugees and asylum seekers, but the focus will be building the skills necessary to bring an asylum case in the United States. Each class will take students through one element of the complex categories available to asylum seekers (race, religion, nationality, political opinion, and social group) and review the points at which asylum law in the United States has intersected with politics in recent years (national security, international relations, immigration). Each class also will contain an exercise designed to prepare students to be practice-ready in preparing an asylum claim. Students should come away with understanding of the asylum law and process and be sufficiently prepared to bring an asylum claim. Please check the most recent course registration information to determine if this course meets the Experiential Education/Professional Skills requirements.
The course deals with legal, moral, social, and political questions that arise in countries emerging from periods of massive and systematic violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, such as armed conflict, apartheid, authoritarian, or repressive rule. The course will offer a comparative study of strategies chosen by governments to build democracy, the rule of law, and a culture of rights. The course will examine themes that include prosecutions, truth commissions, reparation programs, institutional reforms, and reconciliation programs. Cases will come from experiences as they occurred in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Particular emphasis will be placed on the issues, dilemmas, and lessons arising out of these different experiences, especially as countries seek to balance their international legal obligations with national political realities. This course may be offered every other year.
A summer study abroad program in Galway, Ireland, and for-credit externships in international
law are available.
Learn More
Put What You Learn into Practice
International Externships
Spend a full semester working and learning at the center of the international legal community. You will have access to our summer study abroad program in Galway, Ireland, and for-credit externships in international law with the U.S. State Department, the International Bar Association, the International Criminal Court, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon at The Hague, and more.
Learn more
Public Interest Law Seminar and Clinic
Help provide legal services to those who need them most in this one-semester program. You’ll learn about issues such as poverty, race, and access to justice in the seminar, then put what you’ve learned to work, with 15 hours in the field handling civil cases each week. Placements include the New England Law Clinical Law Office, as well as off-site placements such as Greater Boston Legal Services.
Learn more
Immigration Law Clinic
Assist attorneys who specialize in immigration law, working in a law office or an agency, and help to represent noncitizen clients involved in proceedings before the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) or in court cases originating from such proceedings.
Learn more
Business and Human Rights Projects
Join the Center for International Law and Policy effort to hold corporations accountable for actions that negatively impact human rights. Sample CLIP projects that you could work on include human rights monitoring, a corporate accountability survey, and comparative law research.
Learn more
Access to Justice, Rule of Law, and Transitional Justice Projects
Participate in our effort to assist countries transitioning from violent conflict, repression, and other human rights situations. Projects include the Transitional Justice in the USA movement, the Business and Transitional Justice survey, Access to Remedy, and ongoing litigation support in the Inter-American Human Rights System.
Learn more
Summer Fellowship Program
Work alongside practicing attorneys in law firms, corporations, or government agencies after your first year (second year for part‑time students). Receive a $4,500 stipend and make valuable professional connections as you spend eight to 10 weeks gaining experience drafting legal documents, managing case files, conducting research, and attending client meetings and court proceedings.
Learn more
Pro Bono
Working on pro bono projects through the
CILP
or
student organizations
such as the International Law Society and Immigration Law Association is a rewarding way to build practical legal skills—and discover where your legal passions lie. You’ll serve clients in need, gain valuable hands-on experience, and may earn recognition on your law school transcript, as well as on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Pro Bono Honor Roll.
Learn more
Stories of Success
“Choosing a law school with a part-time program enabled me to pursue my dream of becoming an attorney and provided the flexibility to build my Résumé through full-time internships, clinics, and employment.”
—
Christopher Hughes, Graduate
“I was able to experience what life is really like as counsel for an international corporation.”
—
Katie Milligan, Graduate
“Our graduates stay, grow their careers, and help build our communities. We’re woven into the fabric of New England.”
—
Karyn Polito, Graduate
“There are hundreds of law schools to choose from, but very few of them leave the impression New England Law does on its students.”
—
Czara Venegas, Graduate
International Law Advisor
Lisa J. Laplante
JD, New York University School of Law
MEd, University of Massachusetts Amherst
BA, Brown University
Professor Laplante is a recognized expert on transitional justice, which concerns countries
transitioning from situations of violent conflict (wars, repression, apartheid, etc.) to peace. She
came to New England Law | Boston after working as a human rights lawyer in Peru and a researcher with the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She also served as a fellow
with the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in New York.
Learn more
Explore All New England Law Concentrations
Business Law Concentration
Build a strong foundation in business law and jump-start your career with 10 credits in your choice of dynamic courses. Our proximity to Boston’s commercial and financial districts gives you unparalleled access to corporations driving…
Learn more
Family Law Concentration
A top-ranked law school for family law, our 10-credit concentration covers this specialty’s wide spectrum of issues, including children and the law, domestic violence, law and the elderly, and juvenile law. It gives you ample…
Learn more
Litigation Concentration
Prepare for this exciting, multifaceted legal specialty that can lead to an exhilarating career. You’ll gain the skills to be an effective criminal or civil litigator equipped to represent clients in state and federal court,…
Learn more
Public Interest Law Concentration
Explore and gain real-world experience in this field’s many facets, including criminal law, environmental law, family law, immigration law, and public international law, while learning and working alongside others who share your purpose and your…
Learn more
Small Firm Practice
Whether you’re hoping to get in on the ground floor advising a startup, want to help the family business, or plan to launch your own practice, this 10-credit concentration will prepare you to hit the…
Learn more
Trusts & Estates Law
Help individuals and families plan and administer their estates and represent executors and trustees. You’ll learn to counsel clients in transferring their wealth to loved ones, and how to plan for the possibility of legal…
Learn more
See Yourself at New England Law
Think New England Law | Boston is the perfect fit for you but want to find out before you apply?
VISIT CAMPUS
REQUEST INFO
VIEWBOOK
STUDENT LIFE
International Law Concentration
Home
>
Academics and Faculty
>
Certificates and Concentrations
>
INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCENTRATION
As our world becomes more interconnected, private companies, governments, and other organizations are seeking more attorneys with expertise in international law. The International Law concentration at New England Law Boston equips you to answer this growing need.
Tackle Emerging Issues
Understand the increasingly complex arena of international law as you explore its evolving issues, including:
Business and human rights
International law
Human rights
Post-conflict reconstruction
Transitional justice
Center for International Law and Policy (CILP)
Immerse yourself in international law through the Center’s sought-after
international externships
, research projects, academic offerings, and events. Gain first-hand experience and real-world skills in international legal issues as you become the lawyer you want to be.
Learn more
International Law Concentration Courses
To earn a concentration in International Law, you must successfully complete Public International Law and any two additional courses from the list below.
Provides a basic introduction to the field of international law. Topics covered include interpretation of international agreements; international dispute resolution; international organizations; international jurisdiction over persons, property, and territory and limitations on such jurisdiction; law of the sea; international human rights law; international environmental law; and the law concerning use of force in the international system. The course is designed to expose students to the sorts of issues that arise in cases before international tribunals and organizations and in cases involving foreign parties and international legal principles in US courts.
This seminar focuses on the evolving legal framework for holding businesses to account for activities that negatively impact human rights. The course is largely structured around the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) which were approved by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. The UNGPs have created an evolving normative framework that aims to prevent and remedy human rights abuses committed by companies and has become an important area of legal compliance work. The seminar is designed to provide students with a general overview of the general framework established by the UNGPs and will include coverage of: the international human rights legal regime; the development of international, domestic and voluntary corporate initiatives designed to bring corporations in line with human rights norms; the best practices for corporations to incorporate measures to assure respect of human rights; the potential liability of corporations for alleged violations of international human rights law; and the available judicial and nonjudicial remedies for vindicating violations of these rights. The course focuses on both the legal, practical, and political challenges that all stakeholders face in this new area of emerging international law while building the skills needed by a professional in this field. This course may be offered every other year.
Examines the international law principles that have been applied to indigenous peoples and how indigenous peoples have been treated by international organizations and by the domestic laws of different nations. Topics addressed include property rights; economic development; religious and cultural preservation rights; and the right to self-determination. Please check the most recent course registration information to determine if this course meets the Experiential Education/Professional Skills requirement. This course may be offered every other year.
The trade law of the United States, including treaties, and some law of foreign countries will be examined from the perspective of an American lawyer. Transactions examined include transnational sales licensing and other business arrangements, such as financing and insurance. Potential clients from whose perspectives the alternatives are explored include the US firm doing business abroad, the US firm seeking government assistance in protecting it from unfair foreign competition, the foreign firm doing business in the United States, and state and local governments seeking to buy foreign products, forbid the purchase of foreign products, or promote exports. Treaties and local law designed to protect special interests or to promote competition in an increasingly global market, such as the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), the European Union (EC, Common Market), and the World Trade Organization (WTO, GATT), as well as other trade arrangements concerning the so-called Third World and the Pacific Rim, are used to demonstrate the critical role of law in structuring international trade. This is an increasingly important and fast-changing field, with ample scope for individual research papers.
This course explores some of the many legal issues that implicate national security in the United States. Among the topics we will consider are: the constitutional framework for national security and separation of powers; the authority to use force abroad; the authority to conduct intelligence operations abroad; and the effort to fight terrorism. This course will be taught as a colloquium; after an initial introduction to the constitutional framework, teaching will be undertaken by students: each student (or team of students, depending upon enrollment) will be responsible for leading discussion on a topic related to national security law. This course may be offered every other year.
The course surveys relevant international laws, the convention and protocol, as well as U.S. laws and procedures governing human trafficking, and compares those to the European Union approach. Students review an array of civil and criminal cases, and the domestic legislative history to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and its reauthorization acts to understand how human trafficking laws and regulations have evolved since first promulgated in 2000. Students will gain a broad understanding of factors that drive trafficking, the routes used by traffickers, and the means by which law enforcement officers find victims and prosecutors make cases against traffickers. Finally, through use of a simulation, students will learn how to prepare a T-visa application for a victim of human trafficking in the United States.
The course will survey the relevant international laws and conventions governing refugees and asylum seekers, but the focus will be building the skills necessary to bring an asylum case in the United States. Each class will take students through one element of the complex categories available to asylum seekers (race, religion, nationality, political opinion, and social group) and review the points at which asylum law in the United States has intersected with politics in recent years (national security, international relations, immigration). Each class also will contain an exercise designed to prepare students to be practice-ready in preparing an asylum claim. Students should come away with understanding of the asylum law and process and be sufficiently prepared to bring an asylum claim. Please check the most recent course registration information to determine if this course meets the Experiential Education/Professional Skills requirements.
The course deals with legal, moral, social, and political questions that arise in countries emerging from periods of massive and systematic violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, such as armed conflict, apartheid, authoritarian, or repressive rule. The course will offer a comparative study of strategies chosen by governments to build democracy, the rule of law, and a culture of rights. The course will examine themes that include prosecutions, truth commissions, reparation programs, institutional reforms, and reconciliation programs. Cases will come from experiences as they occurred in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Particular emphasis will be placed on the issues, dilemmas, and lessons arising out of these different experiences, especially as countries seek to balance their international legal obligations with national political realities. This course may be offered every other year.
A summer study abroad program in Galway, Ireland, and for-credit externships in international
law are available.
Learn More
Put What You Learn into Practice
International Externships
Spend a full semester working and learning at the center of the international legal community. You will have access to our summer study abroad program in Galway, Ireland, and for-credit externships in international law with the U.S. State Department, the International Bar Association, the International Criminal Court, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon at The Hague, and more.
Learn more
Public Interest Law Seminar and Clinic
Help provide legal services to those who need them most in this one-semester program. You’ll learn about issues such as poverty, race, and access to justice in the seminar, then put what you’ve learned to work, with 15 hours in the field handling civil cases each week. Placements include the New England Law Clinical Law Office, as well as off-site placements such as Greater Boston Legal Services.
Learn more
Immigration Law Clinic
Assist attorneys who specialize in immigration law, working in a law office or an agency, and help to represent noncitizen clients involved in proceedings before the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) or in court cases originating from such proceedings.
Learn more
Business and Human Rights Projects
Join the Center for International Law and Policy effort to hold corporations accountable for actions that negatively impact human rights. Sample CLIP projects that you could work on include human rights monitoring, a corporate accountability survey, and comparative law research.
Learn more
Access to Justice, Rule of Law, and Transitional Justice Projects
Participate in our effort to assist countries transitioning from violent conflict, repression, and other human rights situations. Projects include the Transitional Justice in the USA movement, the Business and Transitional Justice survey, Access to Remedy, and ongoing litigation support in the Inter-American Human Rights System.
Learn more
Summer Fellowship Program
Work alongside practicing attorneys in law firms, corporations, or government agencies after your first year (second year for part‑time students). Receive a $4,500 stipend and make valuable professional connections as you spend eight to 10 weeks gaining experience drafting legal documents, managing case files, conducting research, and attending client meetings and court proceedings.
Learn more
Pro Bono
Working on pro bono projects through the
CILP
or
student organizations
such as the International Law Society and Immigration Law Association is a rewarding way to build practical legal skills—and discover where your legal passions lie. You’ll serve clients in need, gain valuable hands-on experience, and may earn recognition on your law school transcript, as well as on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Pro Bono Honor Roll.
Learn more
Stories of Success
“Choosing a law school with a part-time program enabled me to pursue my dream of becoming an attorney and provided the flexibility to build my Résumé through full-time internships, clinics, and employment.”
—
Christopher Hughes, Graduate
“I was able to experience what life is really like as counsel for an international corporation.”
—
Katie Milligan, Graduate
“Our graduates stay, grow their careers, and help build our communities. We’re woven into the fabric of New England.”
—
Karyn Polito, Graduate
“There are hundreds of law schools to choose from, but very few of them leave the impression New England Law does on its students.”
—
Czara Venegas, Graduate
International Law Advisor
Lisa J. Laplante
JD, New York University School of Law
MEd, University of Massachusetts Amherst
BA, Brown University
Professor Laplante is a recognized expert on transitional justice, which concerns countries
transitioning from situations of violent conflict (wars, repression, apartheid, etc.) to peace. She
came to New England Law | Boston after working as a human rights lawyer in Peru and a researcher with the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. She also served as a fellow
with the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in New York.
Learn more
Explore All New England Law Concentrations
Business Law Concentration
Build a strong foundation in business law and jump-start your career with 10 credits in your choice of dynamic courses. Our proximity to Boston’s commercial and financial districts gives you unparalleled access to corporations driving…
Learn more
Family Law Concentration
A top-ranked law school for family law, our 10-credit concentration covers this specialty’s wide spectrum of issues, including children and the law, domestic violence, law and the elderly, and juvenile law. It gives you ample…
Learn more
Litigation Concentration
Prepare for this exciting, multifaceted legal specialty that can lead to an exhilarating career. You’ll gain the skills to be an effective criminal or civil litigator equipped to represent clients in state and federal court,…
Learn more
Public Interest Law Concentration
Explore and gain real-world experience in this field’s many facets, including criminal law, environmental law, family law, immigration law, and public international law, while learning and working alongside others who share your purpose and your…
Learn more
Small Firm Practice
Whether you’re hoping to get in on the ground floor advising a startup, want to help the family business, or plan to launch your own practice, this 10-credit concentration will prepare you to hit the…
Learn more
Trusts & Estates Law
Help individuals and families plan and administer their estates and represent executors and trustees. You’ll learn to counsel clients in transferring their wealth to loved ones, and how to plan for the possibility of legal…
Learn more
See Yourself at New England Law
Think New England Law | Boston is the perfect fit for you but want to find out before you apply?
VISIT CAMPUS
REQUEST INFO
VIEWBOOK
STUDENT LIFE