JSD students at Stanford Law School have, for a long time, operated in a somewhat parallel universe. After they completed their one-year JSM-SPILS program, they became largely anonymous to the JD, JSM, and LLM candidates who occupy the physical campus and whose lives rarely intersect with this globe-trotting group. Taking perhaps four or five years to complete their thesis, they spend their first year taking classes and participating in the JSD colloquium. Then they’re off, their focus largely shifted from the classroom to the field—their scholarship taking them to the Congo, to Haiti, to Israel and beyond.

Smiling black and white photo of Hensler.
Photography by Natalie Glatzel

But the presence of eight JSD graduates at the 2010 commencement—more than ever before—was a clear indication of how important the international students are becoming to the Stanford Law community. It’s a growing international group. This year, the LLM and JSM programs doubled in enrollment bringing the number of international students to 66—more than 10 percent of the overall law student population. Add to that the 20 or so JSD candidates who come and go as their field research requires and the difference in the makeup of the student population is noticeably more multinational—and much more in line with the reality that lawyers today will encounter in their careers after law school.

While the JSD program has existed at the law school for nearly 80 years, it has changed significantly in the last 10. Previously, the program was not intended for and did not attract many international students. But around the time that JSD program director Deborah R. Hensler, Judge John W. Ford Professor of Dispute Resolution and associate dean for graduate studies, arrived at Stanford Law in 1998 the faculty made a strategic decision to limit the JSD program to international students.

“We’re a small law school. We have scarce resources,” says Hensler. The faculty felt that focusing on international students would fill an important market niche. She explains, “Outside the U.S., lawyers receive an undergraduate degree in law, and it is still generally true that if you want an academic position in a foreign law school, you need a doctorate. And, as a practical matter, that degree needs to come from Oxford, Cambridge, or a top law school in the U.S.”

The strategy paid off. According to Hensler, “we are now attracting the best legal talent who are academically oriented from countries all around the world. These are really terrific students who have been at the top of their undergraduate law class and often have fairly extensive practice careers.”

And a community of legal scholars is forming. In addition to sharing a first-year colloquium, students Skype, e-mail and call their faculty advisors and each other. And when funds permit, they come back to campus for additional research and support. “The enthusiasm that the colloquium has engendered since its inception about four years ago illustrates the value of sustained communication not only between the JSDs and their faculty advisors but among each other,” says Hensler.

The faculty also made another strategic decision: Rather than offering a general degree, the JSD program would focus on a law and society perspective, which involves applying social science theory and methods to legal issues and problems. Thus, JSD dissertations must be empirically based (see Stanford Lawyer issue 82), employing social science research methodology that may include economic, historical, qualitative, and quantitative analysis.

Hensler elaborates, “The idea is that dissertations are not just based on going into a library, reading what other great minds have said and then trying to figure out what you can add to that, but rather actually identifying an interesting legal question that has an empirical—meaning a factual—component and figuring out the best way to collect the relevant facts.”

The success of the program means that admission is highly competitive and the graduates have been extremely successful in the job market—most leaving with teaching offers. “We are especially pleased that in a tough hiring year, three of our JSDs received tenure-track offers,” says Hensler.

But there is more work to be done. The law school hopes to enhance the program by providing additional financial aid for JSD students, who currently receive only minimal assistance with tuition on an as-needed basis. Without a stipend to support their tuition and living expenses, many JSD students can afford to be in residence and fully devoted to their research for only two years and then must return home to complete their degree while also holding down a job. “Ideally,” says Hensler, “we’d like to follow the PhD model. If our students could receive a stipend for four years, that would allow them to stay in residence and get the full benefit of Stanford’s resources. And, of course, these students would add to the community here.” SL

JSD CLASS OF 2010

The profiles that follow illustrate the breadth of research interests, as well as the extraordinary talent and range of experience that the JSD Class of 2010 bring to the law school. To learn more about these students and the program, go to law.stanford.edu/education/degrees/advanced-degree-programs/.

Elin Cohen came to the JSD program from Sweden. Her dissertation, “Improving the Business Climate Under the Hot Sun: Do Small Business Associations Make a Difference?” assesses the current climate in Kenya for small businesses and evaluates membership in business associations and its effects on a business’s success. Cohen is now a part-time lecturer at the University of Washington School of Law.

Benedetta Faedi

Benedetta Faedi, a lawyer from Rome, Italy, received her first advanced degree, an LLM, from the London School of Economics. She entered the SPILS program in 2006 with the intent to earn her JSD. Her academic interests are in the area of gender and international human rights, and her dissertation focuses on sexual violence against women in Haiti, where she spent a year doing research. Faedi, who married a Stanford ’09 MBA alumnus, began a tenure-track position as an associate professor at Golden Gate University School of Law this fall.

Stefania Fusco

Stefania Fusco was a lawyer in Torino, Italy, when she decided to come to the United States for an international experience. After receiving an LLM from Chicago-Kent College of Law and an MBA from the University of Illinois, she realized that she wanted to teach in an area that combined her background in finance and intellectual property. She entered the SPILS program in 2004 and then the JSD program, and in the process she married and gave birth to a son. Her dissertation examines the effect of patent protection in the financial industry. Fusco teaches IP theory and trademarks as an adjunct professor at Santa Clara Law during the 2010-11 academic year.

Yu-Hsin Lin

Yu-Hsin Lin practiced as a corporate lawyer in Taipei for three years before entering the SPILS program in 2004. Her dissertation examines whether independent corporate directors in Taiwan constrain controlling shareholders from siphoning corporate assets. She also has the distinction of being married to another alum, Jyh-An Lee, JSD ’09. Along with their two young children, the couple returned to Taipei where both will teach at National Chengchi University.

Jorge Luis Silva-Mendez came to Stanford Law School after receiving his law degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City. He also received an MS in statistics while studying at Stanford. His dissertation, “How do Principals Deal with Underperforming Teachers? A Study of How Principals from Secondary Schools in Mexico City Manage Underperforming Teachers,” explores the legal and regulatory obstacles in effective management of teachers through a series of interviews with 38 principals working in secondary schools in Mexico City.

Jorge Luis Silva-Mendez

Renee Morhe, a 43-year-old mother of two and Fulbright Scholar from Ghana, came to SLS in 2006 from the faculty of Ghana’s School of Law. Her dissertation examines whether traditional tribal chiefs’ courts can be used to promote access to justice in Ghana by augmenting the governmental court system. Currently, the chiefs have only civil jurisdiction; Morhe was interested in determining whether this authority could be expanded to include criminal matters. Morhe has now returned to Ghana to resume her research and teaching.

Renee Morhe

Marketa Trimble Landova arrived in the United States from Prague in 2004, following her marriage to a U.S. citizen and having worked as a lawyer for the Czech Republic in the Statistical Office and the Ministry of Justice. She interned in the Santa Clara County courts before entering the SPILS program. She decided to pursue an academic career, focusing her JSD research on private international law and cross-border problems involving international IP—specifically patents. Trimble has begun a tenure-track position as an associate professor at William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, teaching conflicts and international IP.

Pei Yee Woo came to Stanford Law School from Singapore to pursue her SPILS studies. She then entered the JSD program and began research for her dissertation, titled “An Empirical Study of Residential Developer Bankruptcies in the United States, 2007-08.” Woo received a tenure-track position with NYU School of Law and began teaching as an assistant professor of law and an assistant professor of business (by courtesy) this fall.