During January, more than 100 HLS students pursued independent clinicals, research and writing projects, or coursework abroad, traveling to Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania and Central and South America and exploring a wide range of issues in international, comparative and foreign law. In this gallery, several of them share photos from their Winter Term abroad.
Lisa Shakhnazaryan ’25 spent Winter Term in New Zealand, working with the New Zealand Department of Conservation Legal Counsel’s Marine Team and studying how potential offshore wind energy projects might generate underwater noise pollution and animal collisions that conflict with New Zealand’s marine conservation and marine mammal protection laws.
Jiwon Kim ’24 conducted an independent clinical in Bangkok, with Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. She worked with the organization’s international advocacy team, undertaking research on civil rights and drafting advocacy communications. She is pictured here at Wat Arun, a Buddhist temple.
Saeed Ahmad ’24, shown here in front of Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest peak, spent Winter Term in Tokyo, researching the legal strategies used by luxury conglomerates to protect IP and trademark rights.
Adriana Bones Ortega ’24 conducted an independent clinical at Center Prodh–The Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center A.C. in Mexico City, where she was involved in drafting a brief for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. She is pictured here with classmates Tara Djukanovic ’24, Sophie Poole ‘24, and Alexis Sandoval ’24, who also undertook independent clinicals in Mexico City, and Liam Hoover ’24.
Bettina Edelstein ’25 spent Winter Term in Paris, conducting research for a paper comparing the legality, effectiveness, and shortcomings of higher education affirmative action programs in France and the U.S. She is pictured here in The Louvre viewing Hammurabi’s Code, one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes.
Brandon Deutsch ’24 traveled to Taiwan to conduct independent research for a paper on renewable energy policy, with a focus on the tensions involved in offshore wind, solar and nuclear development. He is shown here preparing Lei Cha, a traditional tea.
Michael Lubelczyk ’24 undertook an independent clinical in Austria with the Salzburg Global Seminar, where he conducted research on U.S. trade policy with China. He is shown here working in Schloss Leopoldskron, the 18th-century castle where The Sound of Music was filmed.
Anand Balaji ’24 traveled to India to conduct independent research on the Supreme Court of India’s role in enforcing federalism in India. He is shown here with the court’s librarian.
Joseph VanGostein ’25 spent Winter Term in Australia, working with the Legal Services Team of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission on issues relating to sustainable finance.
Bridget Pranzatelli ’24 (left) and Alexandra Kersley ’24 (right) spent Winter Term in Northern Ireland. Bridget conducted an independent clinical with the Law Centre Northern Ireland and Alexandra undertook a placement with the Committee on the Administration of Justice, where they focused on immigration-related projects.
John Rider ’25 conducted independent research in eastern Uganda, collecting testimony from the Benet Mosopisyek community regarding their historical, cultural, ritual, and religious practices, for a paper assessing the salience of a possible legal case for their repatriation to their ancestral lands. He is shown here meeting with elders in Kwosir.
Izza Drury ’24 travled to Berlin, Germany for an independent clinical with the Migration Team at the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights. The team’s work focuses on human rights violations that occur along the external land borders of the European Union.
Alex Akre ’25 (left) and Sukhmani Kaur ’25 (right) traveled to South Africa for an independent clinical with the Refugee Rights Clinic at the University of Cape Town, which engages in work relating to children’s rights, detention, and refugee status determination.
Emily Johnson ’24 traveled to Barcelona, where she conducted an independent clinical with the United Nations Association of Spain, researching international law’s obligations to women experiencing homelessness.
Nina Gayleard ’25 spent Winter Term in Guatemala, conducting independent research on citizens’ perceptions of the judiciary in the period leading up to the country’s presidential elections. She is shown here in front of the erupting Volcán de Fuego.
Jesus Carreon ’25 spent Winter Term in Mexico City, conducting an independent clinical with the Instituto Paras las Mujeres En La Migracion (IMUMI), working on U.S. affirmative asylum filings for women fleeing violence or political threats in Mexico.
Irene Ameena ’25 traveled to Kochi, India for an independent clinical with the Centre for Constitutional Rights Research and Advocacy, where she contributed to public interest litigation efforts on behalf of women and children facing violence.
Nishant Varma ’25 traveled to Sydney to research the progression and current status of aboriginal rights in Australia, in the aftermath of a recent referendum.
Sarah Boxer ’25 worked in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France during Winter Term. She conducted an independent clinical with the European Parliament’s Legal Service, which provides legal assistance to parliamentary committees.
Shown here in front of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Claire Beutter ’24 spent Winter Term in Cambodia, for an independent clinical with Lex Collective (formerly Global Diligence). The international organization’s work in Phnom Penh focuses on cross-border litigation on behalf of victims of human trafficking.
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