Stanford Law School’s Rule of Law Program is partnering with the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) to develop a pilot legal education project, the Iraq Legal Education Initiative (ILEI)—increasing to five the number of student-run projects in the program. Working collaboratively, the partners designed a program in which Stanford Law students research and write materials about the laws of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, while faculty at AUIS teach the ILEI curriculum to Iraqi undergraduates interested in studying law.  “We are pleased to participate in training the next generation of leaders in Iraq (including Kurdish Iraq), equipping them with the critical-thinking and problem-solving skills that they will need in one of the fastest growing and most complex regions of the world,” says Erik G. Jensen, director of the Rule of Law Program and professor of the practice of law.

AUIS launched ILEI’s first course in February 2014 with LGS 201: Introduction to the Laws of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, taught by Asos Askari. A delegation from Stanford Law visited Sulaimani in late March 2014 to observe the class and to meet with judges, lawyers, and legal academics for input on the local legal education environment.

“We were extremely impressed by the thoughtfulness and energy of the students in the inaugural law class, as well as the commitment and skill of their instructor. This would be a great class at any American university,” says Megan Karsh, JD ’09, a teaching fellow at Stanford. “Sulaimani is in the midst of an exciting phase of growth.  Each of us was struck by the city’s energy, which was evident from new developments and the continued expansion of existing institutions such as AUIS.”

The collaboration has deep ties to SLS. AUIS’s current president, Dawn Dekle, JD ’99, and AUIS board member, JP Schnapper-Casteras, JD ’08 (BA/MA ’05), are both alums. SLS graduate, Eli Sugarman, JD ’09, serves as an advisor to ILEI, assisting Jensen and Karsh. SL