Learning by doing is an important part of a law student's practical education.

From January to April 2004, two California Western students experienced two different kinds of internships to develop practical skills, engage in public service and learn about law and development in Chile.

Al Macina worked with former National Public Defender Claudio Pavlic in Temuco, the birthplace of the new criminal procedure reform movement. He learned about the new trial procedures being implemented to consolidate democracy and contributing to the new public defense program.

Elizabeth Pietanza worked with the international law firm of Deloitte, Touche in Santiago, the capital city, and focused on international business transactions. Both students also took special seminar on comparative law and judicial reform with Assistant Dean James Cooper in late February as part of their academic coursework.

Before coming to California Western, Al and Elizabeth volunteered for two years with the U.S. Peace Corps, working in Mali. They are now focusing their legal careers on the exciting movement in human rights and corporate law harmonization occurring in Latin America. 

Chile is an important country to the United States - a Free Trade Agreement between the two countries entered into force on January 1, 2004. Chile is a testing ground for the harmonization of new regulations on intellectual property protection, food safety, and dispute resolution over direct foreign investment.

Chile is also the home of the most successful transition from the inquisitorial model of criminal procedure (with closed, written and secret trials) to the more U.S.-style adversarial system (with open, transparent trials).

Each week, Al and Elizabeth posted reports on their respective experiences to share with the California Western community.  If you have any questions about California Western's exciting internship program please contact Ruth Briscoe.

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