Jean Davis of Brooklyn Law School Library offered some excellent information for librarians who are responsible for providing legal research materials and training to students participating in overseas legal internships. Although Brooklyn’s students work with the Western Cape Legal Aid Clinic in Cape Town, South Africa, Jean’s advice and ideas would be applicable for any law school library that supports its students in this type of undertaking.
Jean presented ideas for developing a focused, electronically-accessible research guide that highlights free and subscription-based foreign and international legal research resources. As examples, she mentioned general resources, such as GlobaLex and SSRN, as well as materials specific to South Africa, such as the Southern African Legal Information Institute, SABINET (a South African subscription legal database), and LexisNexis South Africa.
In addition, Jean discussed practical matters related to participating in overseas legal internships. For example, she encouraged librarians to suggest that students use legal forms as a way to frame questions for the clinical clients they serve. She also talked about preparing students to deal with power outages and interruptions in Internet service, especially if they are going to countries where the government exercises strong control over Internet accessibility. Finally, she discussed expectations, mentioning the fact that, in many other countries (including South Africa), law is an undergraduate subject, which means that the U.S. (graduate-level) students are likely to be able to complete more work in a faster time frame.
Jean encouraged librarians to maximize the benefits of partnerships their home institutions have with law schools and other educational entities in the destination country. These can include access to additional print and electronic resources, as well as insight into the legal system and profession in that country.
Overall, Jean’s program was a powerful reminder that providing library support for students who undertake this kind of adventure can be a rewarding exercise for everyone involved.