The Linkage Program: Summer in South America

Each summer the Law School sponsors a student exchange with several universities in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Students involved in the Linkages Program focus on a wide range of areas including human rights, constitutional law, international law, and criminal law through participation in classes, meetings with professors, and workshops at universities in Buenos Aires, Santiago, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. In addition, students visit government institutions, meet with national authorities, and work with local NGOs. Students live with host families. The Law School pays students' travel and living expenses.

In February, twelve students come from Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to spend three weeks at Yale Law School. The academic components of the program include class and seminar participation, small-group meetings with professors at the law school, paper presentations, publication of short articles in the Linkages Newsletter, and trips to Washington DC and New York. These trips have included meetings with members of Congress, representatives of international organizations (such as the United Nations and the Organization of American States) and non-governmental organizations, and with law firm members. Professors Owen Fiss, Robert Burt, and Daniel Markovits direct the program.

The deadline for applying to the 2010 program will be in November, 2009 and we will begin planning events for the Latin American students' February visit in December. All that is needed to apply is a current CV, a statement of interest including mention of the relevance of the program to personal and professional goals (no more than three double-spaced pages), and a current law school transcript (excepting 1L students). More details on each country are available by following the links on the left panel and the YLS Linkage schedule from 2009 can be consulted by following the link below.

Linkages 2009 YLS Schedule