This course is fully booked and closed for further applications
The course will consist of two parts.
First, it will study the law of lawyering in the United States, including an examination of several ethical challenges frequently faced by practicing attorneys, and address various issues confronting the legal profession. It will also attempt to examine the creation, transformation & status of the legal profession on a global scale, including various developments resulting from globalization and technology. More specifically, it will address various aspects of the U.S. lawyer’s role and responsibilities, such as issues pertaining to confidentiality of information, conflicts of interest, maintaining professional integrity & duty to report misconduct by other lawyers, just to name a few. All of this material will be discussed while offering a comparative & global perspective with the class discussion focusing on how these issues are affecting global lawyering, as well as law practice in selected countries. We will also examine the differences and similarities in civil and common law legal systems and how they are reflected in global lawyering, as well as lawyering in selected countries.
Second, students will be trained on how American attorneys conduct client interviews, take and defend depositions, and take part in a mediation. The class will also examine the practice of mindfulness, resilience and stress reduction in the legal profession. They will be working in groups as they practice these skills while the professor serves as a judge and provides feedback. This skills training aspect of the course will be also addressed through the prism of multicultural & global lawyering.
Exam info and full course description can be found in the course catalogue.
Course specific:
To apply for the course, you must have passed a Bachelor's degree in Law.
General:
Exchange students: nomination from your home university
Freemovers: documentation for English Language proficiency
You can read more about admission here.
Professor Katerina Lewinbuk is a Full-Time Professor of Law, the Wayne Fisher Research Professor, and Director of International Programs at South Texas College of Law Houston. Prior to joining South Texas College of Law Houston, she taught at DePaul University College of Law and the DePaul School of Commerce in Chicago, Illinois, and practiced as an Associate Attorney at Baker McKenzie and Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP.
Professor Lewinbuk is a two-time Fulbright Senior Specialist grant recipient, having served at Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic) and Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey (Mexico). She has taught and presented at law schools in Ireland, Turkey, the Republic of Georgia, the United Kingdom, and Denmark, and previously served as Program Director and faculty member at the International Law Institute in Washington, D.C. She is the author of Connecting Ethics & Practice: A Lawyer’s Guide to Professional Responsibility (Aspen, 2023) and co-author of Global Issues in the Legal Profession (West, 2022), and teaches various courses including American Legal Profession & Global Practice Skills, Comparative Law, Professional Responsibility, Torts, and the Global Lawyering Seminar.
Sharon Schweitzer is an adjunct professor of law at South Texas College of Law Houston, where she teaches global lawyering, comparative law, and cultural competency. She serves as a member of both the Board of Directors and Board of Visitors at the institution. She guest lectures at Charles University Faculty of Law in Prague, Czech Republic as part of the school's Summer Study Abroad Program. She additionally teaches American Legal Profession and Global Practice Skills at Aarhus University Law School's Summer School in Europe in Aarhus, Denmark.
After receiving her J.D. from South Texas College of Law Houston, Professor Schweitzer practiced as an associate attorney at two Austin law firms. She has been Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1997. She is a member of the Austin Bar Association and the Bohemian Lawyers Association of Chicago.
