ALLEI attracts a variety of participants

American Law and Legal English students visited the Delaware Supreme Court

What type of person participates in the ELI’s American Law and Legal English Institute (ALLEI)? The program attracts lawyers, judges and law students from around the world, and this year’s participants are no exception. Here are just a few who participated in the summer ALLEI program.

Rodolfo Alfaro is a lawyer from Costa Rica who specializes in copyright law in the music industry. Many famous musicians are among his clients. When they perform in Costa Rica, and when their music is distributed in Costa Rica, Alfaro is the one to call. Rodolfo’s work requires him to use English and have a good understanding of American Law, so he enrolled in the ALLEI program.

Toshitaka Tsurui is a law school graduate who works for a major corporation in Japan. His company sent him to complete a one-year Master of Law degree at William and Mary Law School in Virginia. However, before he began his studies at William and Mary, his company wanted to give him a solid foundation in the U.S. common law system, so Toshi attended ALLEI to benefit from its pre-law curriculum.

Yu Ying Hsiao is a law student in Taiwan. Her law school’s curriculum includes English and U.S. law, but she wanted to expand her knowledge and understanding beyond her classroom in Taipei. She chose to attend ALLEI to meet U.S. lawyers and judges and see firsthand how the U.S. legal system operates.

Georges Nama is one of only 64 lawyers in Gabon. He works regularly with U.S. citizens. In fact, the U.S. Embassy is one of his clients. Although Georges already speaks five languages, he wants to continue to improve his English as well as his understanding of U.S. law, which is quite different from the legal system of Gabon.

Regardless of their reasons for participating in ALLEI, this year’s students were very enthusiastic about ALLEI’s law and legal English classes and the many visits with American lawyers and judges in courts, law offices and government agencies. As Nama said at the end of the program, “ALLEI will revolutionize my law practice!”