What is Lawyering Peace?

The Lawyering Peace Class is a one-semester experiential learning program offered to American University students at the Washington College of Law and the School of International Service. The class gives students an opportunity to develop professional skills and substantively engage in peace negotiations, post-conflict constitution drafting, and transitional justice planning as young professionals. During the one-semester course, students will work on a long-term project for a client relating to international law. Over the course of 20 years, Lawyering Peace students have engaged in 25 countries.

Our mission:

Giving exceptional students an opportunity to develop professional skills and substantively engage in peace negotiations, post-conflict constitution drafting, and transitional justice planning as young professionals.

How the program started:

The Lawyering Peace Program was founded in 1998 by Dr. Paul Williams, the Rebecca I. Grazier Professor of Law and International Relations at American University. Professor Williams firmly believes that good lawyers are crucial to developing a durable peace in conflict and post-conflict countries. Given his expertise in international law, Professor Williams was frequently engaged in advising parties to peace negotiations and post-conflict constitution drafting. He realized that working on real-world legal issues was essential in preparing young lawyers who wanted to make a difference in the world and began engaging them on projects related to questions and challenges his pro bono clients were faced with in the field.

What work will you do?

Lawyering Peace students will work for a period of one semester on a semester-long research project, drafting client-ready memoranda or other legal documents on international legal issues. Research topics include strategies for effective peace negotiations, critical components of post-conflict constitutions, and international best practices for the structure of post-conflict justice mechanisms. Students’ work provides vital academic and intellectual support to lawyers in the field.

Here are some projects that Lawyering Peace students have worked on:

  • Syria: Students supported the work of counsel in providing legal assistance to the moderate opposition Syria National Council related to peace negotiations, ceasefire agreements, post-conflict constitution drafting, and transitional justice.

  • Yemen - Students assisted in providing legal assistance to the UN Special Envoy for Yemen on peace negotiations, ceasefires, national dialogue and constitution drafting.

  • Iraq - Students supported the work of counsel in advising the Iraqi Constitutional Commission during the drafting of the 2005 constitution and provided legal assistance to the Iraqi government with the 2007 Constitutional Review Process.  

  • Libya - Students supported the work of counsel in providing legal and policy planning assistance to the Libyan Transitional National Council regarding the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms and a post-conflict transition plan. 

  • South Sudan - Students assisted in providing legal and policy assistance to the Government of the Republic of South Sudan in its pre and post-secession negotiations with the Government of Sudan, as well as advising South Sudanese government on issues relating to the dispute over the Abyei area, the process of drafting a permanent constitution, and matters related to state building and good governance. 

  • Bosnia - Students supported the work of counsel in providing legal assistance to the Bosnian government during the Brussels negotiations on state succession and assisted the legal adviser during the 2005-2006 negotiations on the April package to amend the Dayton Constitution. 

  • Cambodia - Students supported the work of counsel in providing legal assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

  • Rwanda - Students supported the work of counsel in providing legal assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor for the Rwanda Tribunal in Arusha.

  • International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia - Students supported the work of counsel in providing legal assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor for the Yugoslav Tribunal in the Hague.

  • Sierra Leone - Students supported the work of counsel in providing legal assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

  • Nepal - Students assisted in providing legal advising to the Nepalese government regarding the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the preparation for a post-conflict constitution.

Professional development:

The Lawyering Peace Program has a strong professional development component. Students have the opportunity to network with alumni of the program and to practice their negotiating skills in numerous intensive negotiation simulations on current conflict areas around the globe in order to train participants in negotiating techniques, identify critical issues in each conflict, and develop innovative diplomatic solutions to armed conflict. The negotiation simulations are run both as part of training programs for parties to a conflict and for the legal and policy-making community in Washington, D.C. 

Where have our alumni worked?

Our students have access to a network of over 700 alumni, who now work in a wide variety of organizations in the public and private sector. See below some examples of the different organizations that Lawyering Peace students have worked at over the years.