Second Edition of the Young Lawyers for the Rule of Law in The Americas Program
A second edition of the Young Lawyers for the Rule of Law in the Americas Program took place in the Spring of 2023. This program is designed and implemented by the Latin America Leadership Program of the McDonough School of Business and by the Center for Advancement of Rule of Law in the Americas of the Georgetown University School of Law.
From May 2 to June 1, 2023, a new cohort made up of 40 participants from 16 different countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela) met virtually every Tuesday and Thursday morning to attend courses taught by Georgetown University professors, explore theoretical frameworks and practical applications, and participate in talks with invited experts from government and multilateral institutions.
The Young Lawyers for the Rule of Law in The Americas Program is a five-week online seminar for young lawyers from the region with a vocation to promote the rule of law in their countries and who are committed to regional collaboration, intersectoral engagement, and creative problem-solving. The program seeks to equip young lawyers with analytical frameworks and tools to analyze the rule of law at the national, regional, and hemispheric levels, identify successful domestic reforms that achieved sustainability, discern conditions for making their institutions more accountable, and design reforms of the rule of law that are fair, inclusive and sustainable. The first edition of this program took place from May 2 to June 1, 2022. Both editions of this program are made possible thanks to the generous support of Georgetown University alumnus and member of the Georgetown University Latin American Board, Philippe Stiernon (B’03, MBA’15).
During this five-week virtual seminar, participants explore the content through dynamic and interactive sessions, readings and previous work, case analysis, a final project applied to a case, and group and plenary presentations. The culmination of the program comes with the applied project where the participants must individually define a problem or challenge to the Rule of Law that they are facing from their institution, community, and/or country and propose solutions. Through Peer Coaching sessions, participants enter a dynamic space for the exchange of experiences among peers, with specific emphasis on how they are applied to the projects of the participants. This space aims to be an open forum for the integration of the cohort and mutual support, fostering a learning community.
The content of the program explores the themes of The Rule of Law from a new perspective, international investment law, anti-drug and immigration policies, change management, emotional intelligence, business, human rights, sustainability, globalization, competitiveness, and governance. The academic content is taught by university professors and other experts such as Professor Alvaro Santos, Professor Ricardo Ernst, Diane Garza, Nicolás Perrone, Leila Mooney, Amanda Romero, Humberto Cantu-Rivera, Pilar Jericó, Andrew Seele, Ariel Ruiz, Catalina Perez Correa, and Lisa Sanchez.