Regional Dialogue, in partnership with Tashkent State University of Law (TSUL), organized a 5-day Summer School for graduates of TSUL who were admitted to LLM programs at US law schools for the academic year 2024-25. The program was designed by Professor E. Joan Blum of Boston College Law School, who was recently awarded an honorary professorship at TSUL for her contributions to legal education. As Professor Blum noted, the Summer School program was conceived as an intensive orientation to enable the participants, who as LLM students in the US will be working within an unfamiliar legal system and educational culture, to arrive in the US ready to derive full benefit from their LLM programs.
The program faculty—Professor Blum, Professor Lurene Contento of Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Daniel Hassenfeld, a US lawyer—succeeded in building an informative and intellectually stimulating training. They worked closely with the participants, introducing them to the legal system of the United States, common law analysis, statutory interpretation, and key legal concepts and vocabulary in the areas of legal ethics, tort law, contract law, constitutional law, and civil procedure. Other topics addressed in the program included legal writing and research, academic integrity, study skills, and appropriate use of generative artificial intelligence in law study and practice.
The participants engaged in lively discussions and actively participated in small group work and role plays. They demonstrated keen interest in the presentations and materials and demonstrated the commitment to academic excellence that is essential for success in the highly competitive environment of a US law school.
Zooming with the participants, Umidjon Sobirov, a participant in the 2023 Summer School who last month earned his LLM degree from Penn State Law School, noted that his participation in the Summer School was instrumental to his success in his LLM program. He strongly recommended that participants in this year’s Summer School retain and use their Summer School materials to help them in their LLM programs. Umidjon also shared helpful advice about the experience of studying and living in the United States as an LLM student.
Regional Dialogue is grateful to our trainers for their outstanding efforts and dedication, together with their invaluable human touch and supportive attitude. Regional Dialogue thanks TSUL for its fruitful partnership, and wishes the students success in all their academic endeavors.
