Penn Law and Hong Kong University create exchange program

Penn’s Law School and the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong established a new partnership in the form of a Juris Doctor/Master of Laws dual-degree exchange student program — a move which administrators call a testament to Penn’s commitment to internationalism.

Starting in 2011, up to three Penn Law students will have the opportunity to spend their third year of law school at HKU. Likewise, three Hong Kong students will be able to complete their law degrees at Penn.

HKU was chosen for its strong law faculty and the city’s position as the financial and legal capital of Asia, Associate Dean and Executive Director of International Programs Amy Gadsden wrote in an e-mail.

The program is geared toward students who plan to practice law both in the United States and in East Asia. It will incorporate a broad range of practice areas, including corporate and transactional law, arbitration and even human rights, she said.

The partnership with HKU is only the beginning of what the University hopes will be a long and fruitful partnership with East Asian universities, Provost Advisor on International Initiatives Gayle Christensen said.

“It is one of the most important countries today both in terms of population and economic partnerships,” Christensen said.

This new program aims to prepare students for the internationalization of the legal profession.

“Penn Law is committed to providing its students and faculty with opportunities to examine issues in international and comparative law with top faculty, practitioners and colleagues from around the globe,” Gadsden wrote.

Despite the increasing emphasis on East Asia, Penn has partnerships with over 160 universities in over 50 countries. The University is more focused on strategic partnerships with existing universities rather than starting branch partnerships.

“Having watched some other schools create branch campuses — my observation is that they are struggling,” Penn Law Professor Eric Feldman said.

Despite the recent trend among American universities toward creating international branch campuses — notably Columbia, Cornell and New York Universities — Penn Law has no plans to do so in the immediate future.

“I don’t think any of us in the Law School see that as an immediate priority,” Feldman said.

Although internationalization is a major goal for Penn Law, it plans to achieve that objective by working closely with students during their time in Philadelphia and then developing opportunities for them to enrich their experiences abroad, he said.

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