ELI offers law program for 16th year

This summer, 11 lawyers from nine countries studied at the ELI.What did they have in common? They were all studying the common law system of the United States in the ELI’s American Law and Legal English Institute (ALLEI).

Since 1993 the ELI has offered this unique program, and this year, legal professionals from Brazil, Costa Rica, Greece, Japan, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Turkey and Venezuela took part in this intensive program, which combines classes in U.S. law and legal English with visits to law firms, courts and government agencies in Delaware, New York City and Washington, D.C.

While studying in the ALLEI program, participants attended a criminal trial in Delaware’s Superior Court, heard an oral argument in the Delaware Supreme Court, visited with colleagues in several law offices, attended a program at the Delaware Division of Corporations and toured the U.S. Capitol and U.S. Supreme Court.

“This program will be very helpful to me in the practice of corporate law in Panama,” one student commented. “In fact, Panama’s corporation laws are modeled on Delaware’s. Everyone knows that Delaware is the corporation capital of the United States, but now I know why.With all our classes and visits, we have experienced the American legal system firsthand.”

Chris Wolfe, the ELI’s legal studies coordinator, explained that the U.S. common law system is significantly different from the legal systems of most of the countries of the world.

“I tell our participants at the end of the program that they are not only bilingual, they are now bilegal!” he said.

ALLEI will be offered again in 2009 in both winter and summer. Additional information and applications are available on the ELI webpage.