Lawyering Peace Class Syllabus
This website should be treated as the syllabus for the Lawyering Peace class. It includes all reading material and resources for the course. Click here to read Lawyering Peace Schedule of Classes Spring 2025.
Dr. Paul Williams
pwilliams@wcl.american.edu
https://www.drpaulrwilliams.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpaulwilliams/ Office: Y351 Office Hours: By appointment
Course Description
This course provides students an opportunity to develop professional skills and substantively engage in peace negotiations, post-conflict constitution drafting, and transitional justice planning as young professionals. We 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 mechanisms.
Resources
All necessary reading material is included in Lawyering Peace by Paul R. Williams (Cambridge University Press 2021) and included on the class website: https://www.lawyeringpeaceclass.com/
Sample Work Product
Professionalism
Open and frequent communication is the key. This is an important skill to have throughout your legal career. Communicate to your group and the Lawyering Peace team to ensure you have clarity on all assignments and deadlines. It is also important to let the Teaching Assistants and your team know early when an issue with a deadline comes up or need help with your assigned work.
It is important for students to attend each class for their learning. If you must be absent, please talk to either the Teaching Assistants or Dr. Williams in advance.
When you message your teaching assistants with work or a deadline, please also copy the Lawyering Peace email, lawyeringpeace@gmail.com.
Style and Format Guide
Use the PILPG style guide. PILPG uses this guide to create client work products and using it from the beginning is best practice for developing your work. The citation and writing style are specific and do not follow many of the law school guides, so this should be your main resource throughout the semester.
Course Expectations & Assessment
The students will be assigned to a team before the semester starts. Each team is expected to draft language for the client for an agreement on an assigned topic, along with a paper and presentation explaining and elaborating on that draft language.
Considering the unique context of your client, please create tailored recommendations. You will want to base your recommendations on extensive research relating to the language used in similar agreements apply the best language to the unique circumstances of your client. Your client should know both what language they should include in their agreement and why that language fits their situation.
To reach this conclusion, your memorandum should, at minimum, consist of an executive summary and two main sections.
A draft agreement with language that can be used to negotiate any future constitution or agreement. This language should include separate provisions/articles for each aspects of the topic you think should be included. These provisions can have sub-sections and be formatted in whatever way you think makes sense given your extensive research. It should also take into account the particular context of your country and client.
The draft language should then be accompanied by a memorandum to the client explaining the reasoning behind key choices that you made while drafting the language. The explanation should reference several comparative state practice examples and research conducted on similar agreements to demonstrate why you decided to include the specific provisions in your draft agreement. Generally, it is easiest to format this section by mirroring the sections in your draft agreement and analyzing each section individually.
Please refer to the model memo in the style guide and examples you will be provided in the first few weeks of class to assist you in structuring your work product, but this project is your own to build as you believe is appropriate based on extensive research.
Combined, the draft language and memorandum should be approximately 50 pages, single spaced. The font should be Times New Roman 12. For citations follow the Style and Formatting Guide.
The final version is due at the end of the day on the last class session and should be submitted as one document, with all the group members’ names, to your Teaching Assistant, pwilliams@wcl.american.edu, and lawyeringpeace@gmail.com
Each team will prepare a presentation on the draft language and memorandum to present to the class at the end of the semester. The presentation should briefly introduce the client and the context, describe your draft language, and explain the reasoning behind key choices.
Your main audience for the presentation will be Dr. Williams, the TAs, and your classmates.
Each team will be given about 45 minutes for the presentation. Please make sure you allocate some time for Q&A. You can do this in many forms. For example, you can ask the audience to type their questions in the chat box and answer them as questions come up, or set aside some amount of time at the very end for Q&A. The format is up to you - just make sure you include one. It is recommended that you use a software such as PowerPoint or Prezi. This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your presentation skills.
For information and resources on your assigned topic, please view the relevant class materials page on the Lawyering Peace class website, which includes previous PILPG work product, relevant academic blogs and projects, and suggested databases.
For information and resources on your assigned client, please view the relevant client page. This page includes previous PILPG work product related to the client, relevant historical documents and previous agreements, and resources from think tanks and NGOs working on matters related to the client state.
To follow news related to your topic and your client follow the AU Lawyering Peace Twitter Account, as well as the PILPG Twitter lists. The client news sources page also provides a tailored list of news sources.
Assessment
Seventy percent of the grade will be an assessment of the written group product and the oral presentation. Thirty percent of the grade will be based on peer review by the other members of your team.
AU’s Code for Academic Integrity
Academic integrity stands at the heart of intellectual life. The academic community is bound by a fundamental trust that professors and students alike undertake and present their work honestly. As a community of the mind, we respect the work of others, paying our intellectual debts as we craft our own work.
The Academic Integrity Code ("Code") for American University defines honorable conduct, outlines attendant rights and responsibilities, and describes procedures for handling allegations of academic misconduct. American University views academic integrity as integral to its mission, treating it as far more than a disciplinary matter: All members of the university must join in educating students about the value of integrity and the ways in which intellectuals acknowledge their debts. In each course, faculty should remind students of the standards of integrity, and faculty may ask students to include with their submissions a signed statement pledging adherence to the Code in completing the assignment.
Click here to review American University’s Academic Integrity Code.
AU’s Emergency Procedures Guide
American University's Emergency Procedures Guide is a list of actions for community members to follow in certain scenarios. This list not exhaustive and reflects best practices in emergency situations.
Click here to review American University’s Emergency Procedures Guide.
Student Requests for a Religious Accommodation
American University will make good faith efforts to provide reasonable religious accommodations to students whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a university policy, procedure, or other academic requirement unless such an accommodation would create an undue hardship.
Please note: to receive a religious accommodation, the religious observance must be one required by one's religious tradition. The mere intersection of religion with the desired activity (e.g. weddings, baccalaureate services, etc.) does not guarantee that a religious accommodation will be granted. See the list of religious holidays requiring accommodation for more information.