International Organizations Clinic

NOTE: Students who excel over the course of the semester will be offered an opportunity to enroll in the Advanced International Organizations Clinic in the Spring 2026 semester to continue working on the project.  Participation in the Advanced Clinic is not mandatory and will be subject to student interest.

Introduction

Over 2025-26 and 2026-27 years, the International Organizations clinic will have a thematic focus on the governance of oceans.

During the Fall 2025 semester, students will study digital data as a technology of ocean governance. As a first step, students will be asked to engage in a mapping exercise to identify which data related to the oceans is being collected (or organized) by different international organizations and under different international legal regimes.  International organizations considered will include the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the International Seabed Authority (ISA), UN Environment Program (UNEP), and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), among others. The aim of the mapping exercise is to understand what data is being collected, where it is stored, how it is maintained, who has access to it, and what its actual and envisioned uses are. Attention will also be paid to data infrastructures – that is, the assemblages of hardware and software, as well as social and organizational practices that constitute, process, and make data available.

The second step will involve a series of interviews with staff of international organizations, national agencies (e.g., U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), environmental advocacy groups, and members of Indigenous communities to understand how digital data is used in and for ocean governance, what are the challenges with data-driven ocean governance, what data (or information/knowledge) is missing, how does data-driven governance incorporate (or not) other forms of knowledge, including traditional knowledge, what role do private (commercial and non-profit) actors play in generation, processing, storage and use of ocean-related data, who participates in the creation and maintenance of data infrastructures for ocean governance, how does law regulate data and, in turn, how do data infrastructures impact the operation of legal regimes, etc.  

Working individually and in small groups, students will prepare a series of memos aimed at illuminating how digital data and data infrastructures are (re)ordering governance of oceanic spaces, ecosystems, non-human species, and human activities. Opportunities will be sought for students to present their work to civil society organizations and members of international organizations.

Using the theme of data and ocean governance, the broader aim of this clinic is to assist students in developing a fuller set of skills required to address increasingly complex global (i.e. both international and transnational) problems. The seminar portion of the Clinic will introduce students to a range of the different legal, political, and regulatory theories informing the legal norms, practice, and policy of international organizations and illuminating their role in global governance. It is designed to help students understand the relevance of inter-disciplinary perspectives to the practice of law in global settings, and to learn the ways in which core cognitive lawyering skills (i.e. mastering legal research tools and methods, developing an ability to integrate factual and legal knowledge, strengthening analytical and reasoning skills, and exercising judgment based on the understanding gained) matter in the practice of international law.

"Thinking like a lawyer" may be more demanding today than it has been in the past, given how complex law and lawyering has become, but it is particularly demanding for lawyers who want to work in an international context and/or on issues of planetary concern. There is increasing demand for lawyers with a sound understanding of the institutional, socio-political and economic contexts within which international legal issues arise and are addressed: how do markets function? How do bureaucracies behave? How do technologies shape change? How do domestic laws interact with international regimes? How do international legal and regulatory regimes and institutions interact with each other?

Course Description

Fieldwork

It is extremely important for students to realize that the fieldwork is not an internship; students will not be working directly with international organizations. Instead, students will be conducting legal and policy analysis to inform practices of international organizations as actors in ocean governance, work with coastal, oceanic, and Indigenous community organizations to devise litigation, policy and advocacy strategies to advance the interests of those typically excluded from, or marginalized in, decisions about exploration, exploitation, and protection of oceans and its ecosystems.

Students will participate (virtually and in-person) with staff of international organizations and subject matter experts and conduct interviews with various stakeholders. Throughout the semester, students also present their interim work to staff of international organizations and other experts.

Seminar

Drawing on existing scholarship and ongoing research conducted by faculty and others at NYU School of Law, the seminar will focus on themes that intersect with projects in the areas of global governance, such as inter-institutional cooperation; the role of lawyers and private actors in the creation, the evolution, and interpretation of international legal norms; different technologies of governance; the role of lawyers within international organizations; the relationship between different international organizations; the diffusion of ideas and legal norms; the North-South relationship in international law, amongst others.

Students will be encouraged to think about the implications of their clinical project for the people affected by it or by broader actions or policies that relate to the project, and to consider the perspectives of under-represented or non-represented constituencies. They will also be asked to consider the role of an international lawyer in the development of international law, to discuss the professional legal responsibility of lawyers working with international or foreign laws, and to examine the ethics of international law and policy. To this end, the seminar might also feature the occasional participation of members of the UN community and lawyers working in the international organizations.

The seminar will also be a forum for discussing the ongoing fieldwork, team dynamics, time management and client relationships, and will allow for peer review and feedback on interim work products.

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge, skills, and competencies that students in the clinic are expected to develop include:

1. Problem-solving: students will be invited to consider what problem(s) the turn to digital data in ocean governance is trying to solve; what are the legal, institutional, and interpersonal frameworks in which the problem is set and how the turn to data-driven governance can (re)shape such frameworks.
2. Interviewing (planning, communication, responsiveness): students will engage in interviews with different stakeholders to understand how data-driven ocean governance impacts different constituencies.
3. Interdisciplinary collaboration: in studying different data infrastructures, students will need to interface and work together with scientists, data scientists, and knowledge management teams in international organizations.
4. Recognizing structural inequalities and developing cross-cultural competence: in studying data infrastructures, students will learn how colonial legacies and persisting forms of inequalities are shaping the ability of different constituencies to collect, store, and process data relevant for ocean governance. Engaging with oceanic and Indigenous communities, students will develop an understanding of the cultural significance the ocean holds, learn about different modes of knowledge production about the ocean and its ecosystems, and develop an in-depth understanding of how law and data shape whose interests are represented and excluded in ocean governance, and whose understandings of the oceans dominate in legal and regulatory frameworks.

Application Procedure

Students interested in applying for the clinic should submit the standard application, resume, and transcript online through CAMS. To arrange an interview, please use the CAMS system as well.

Please note there is a separate application form for LL.M. students. The deadline is different than for JDs, and is posted on the Clinic Application Timelines page.

If you have questions regarding the application procedure, please contact Angelina Fisher via email.

Student Contacts

Students who took the Clinic in Spring 2023 are as follows:

* 6 credits include 3 clinical (fieldwork) credits and 3 academic seminar credits.

** Preference will be given to those who have taken (or are taking concurrently with the clinic) a course on international organizations.