Oklahoma City University School of Law launched a study-abroad program this month with one of China’s most prestigious law schools.

An agreement between OCU and Nankai University School of Law in Tianjin, China, culminated one year of negotiations for a “Summer Institute for International Law,” which focuses on international and comparative law.

Four OCU law students are among the 18 American students participating in the four-week, four-credit program.

Their course work includes an introduction to Chinese law, securities markets, international bankruptcies and international taxation.

Classes are taught in English by professors from OCU, Nankai, Florida State University College of Law and Stetson University College of Law, OCU’s partner in study-abroad legal programs.

OCU School of Law Professor Norwood P. Beveridge will teach a course on China’s company and securities law.

“What makes the subject so interesting is that the opening of the two stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen in China in 1990 and 1991 came after nearly 40 years of a communist government that had virtually abolished private property,” he said.

The program grew out of a fact-finding mission in April 2005 when OCU School of Law Dean Lawrence K. Hellman attended a conference in Beijing co-sponsored by the Association of American Law Schools and the Guidance Commission on Higher Education under the Chinese State Ministry of
Education.

The conference goal was to foster closer relationships between American and Chinese law schools.

During the conference, Hellman traveled to Tianjin, a city of 11 million within three hours of Beijing, to begin discussions with Nankai officials.

After months of e-mail exchanges, he returned in April 2006 to sign a final agreement establishing the program.

He also signed a letter of intent for Nankai to send up to 30 students to Oklahoma City each summer for a four-week course in American law beginning in 2007.

Additionally, the two universities are identifying continuing legal education programs for OCU to offer to Chinese lawyers, prosecutors, judges and government officials.

The program is approved by the American Bar Association and is open to anyone attending an accredited American law school.

For more information, visit http://www.okcu.edu/law academics/international.

CONTACT: Oklahoma City University School of Law
Lorene A.Roberson, 405-208-5335
lroberson@okcu.edu

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 23rd, 2006 at 10:21 pm and is filed under Education, Study Abroad. Tags: College, Education, Student, Study. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.