Last week the International Graduate Law Programs concluded its one-week Fundamentals in International Arbitration course. With over 30 foreign lawyers and law students across seven different countries, this year's class doubled in the number of participants from last year.
An array of international arbitration experts comprised the faculty, including Professor Jan Paulsson, the internationally top ranked international arbitration expert and Chair of the International Arbitration Program, Professor Keith S. Rosenn, Chair of the Specializations in U.S. and Transnational Law for Foreign Lawyers and Inter-American Law, Claudio Finkelstein, Arbitrator and Professor of Law in the Graduate and Post-Graduate program at PUC/SP, Brazil, Francisco González De Cossío, one of the most active arbitrators in Latin America, John Rooney, Chair of the Inter-American Bar Association's International Arbitration Law Committee and Jessica Carvalho Morris, Director of the International Graduate Law Programs.
Jessica Carvalho Morris, led the program, and is very pleased with the course's growth. "I'm thrilled that in just one year, we have doubled the size of our course with participants from various countries," Morris said. "From Kenya to Argentina, we had students from different regions of the world attend. This shows the strong reputation of our program worldwide."
Five Florida judges, who will soon preside over Miami's first International Commercial Arbitration Court, also participated in the course.
"It was a privilege to have prominent local judges of the newly established International Commercial Arbitration Court join our course as Miami becomes a leading place for arbitration," said Morris. "The fact that they took time from their busy schedules to attend speaks highly of the program and of their commitment to making Miami a great seat for arbitration."
The program made a few changes for its second go around. This year the course included a more detailed overview of the U.S. constitution and American legal system to enhance the foreign students' understanding of our legal atmosphere. The students also enjoyed an afternoon at the federal courthouse to observe an actual proceeding. Further, during a reception hosted by the Hogan Lovells law firm, students were given the opportunity to interact with some of the area's top practicing attorneys including the Chair of the International Arbitration Global Practice Group Daniel Gonzalez who welcomed the participants to the firm.
Proceeds from the course go towards a scholarship fund. The highly competitive scholarship is awarded to a student in the program who enrolls at Miami Law as an International Arbitration LL.M student. Caroline Klamas, who studied law at Brazil's Universidade Federal do Paraná before becoming an attorney, took home the distinguished scholarship last year.
"I am very thankful for having been awarded the scholarship, and I am very excited for the opportunities to come," said Klamas. "My choice for the University of Miami's LL. M in International Arbitration was obvious. Miami is currently one of the most popular seats for international arbitration in the USA, especially for cases involving Brazilian parties. For those who wish to work in this field, Miami is an excellent place to be."
