The skills you learn in law school are not only useful in private practice.  They also can be used to embark on a career in the military and civilian intelligence communities.  I have done this through the naval reserves, and it has been an extremely rewarding experience.  The military services recognize that the skills you learn in law school are highly valuable, and the services seek out members of the legal community for reserve service.  In particular, investigative and questioning techniques employed by attorneys are equally important in intelligence collection operations.  Research, writing, and briefing skills as well as a methodical approach to evaluating information are core proficiencies of the intelligence analyst.  I therefore think that legal experience and education, particularly in the area of international law, along with an intellectual curiosity regarding foreign affairs, can be an excellent foundation for a career in the intelligence field.

Coming from small-town Mississippi and having dreams of doing “something international,” I had no idea where to start. The time I spent in Africa before law school gave me ideas and led me to goals I had no idea how to pursue. I am still in the pursuit phase, I have not yet gotten where I hope to be. However, I have learned something about the chase.

The first is the importance of doing the best you can in whatever you’re doing as you figure things out, no matter how little related they seem to your end goal at the time. Doing so leaves you in a position to take advantage of opportunities as they come. Another thing is the importance surrounding yourself with people and ideas that help you broaden your horizon of opportunities. MC’s International Law Center is a great place to do that. Mississippi College is a fine school, and more people than you think are interested in things outside state lines. A final lesson is to be willing to take chances that might leave you out on a limb. While at MC, Professor Bowman helped me see an abundance of opportunities outside traditional legal practice in Mississippi. When I spent my third year visiting at Georgetown, I was able to pick the brains of people who helped me see a little bit further afield. Now that I’m pursuing an LL.M. at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, I find myself in the reverse position from that I was in at MC: the horizon of opportunities before me is broader than I ever imagined, and I’m having to find ways to narrow it.

We live in a legal environment where situs is largely irrelevant. Many firms, including my own, work around the clock on matters of international significance. When the folks on the US side need to take a break for the night, the documents go across the pond for the attorneys/solicitors to pick up where things were let off, and vice versa. With that said, don't think that "international law" studies is the only entree. In fact, while traditional "international law" frequently deals with business transactions and admiralty/custom issues,  international law firms and companies need IP lawyers, litigators/arbitrators, employment lawyers, construction lawyers, etc. Don't limit yourself by thinking just of "international law". Follow the area of law where you have a natural desire and talent, then look for the corporation or law firm with international offices looking for your expertise.

If you think this little essay is off the wall, consider (I'm nearing 70) the evidentiary weight appropriately given to dying declarations.  Stay with me here, my friend . . . .  Growing up I never knew a lawyer, much less set foot in a law firm.  Not for a second did I ever consider law school until, after graduation from Pratt Institute's School of Art, it crossed my mind that a law degree might equip me, beyond the tools found in my paintbox, for making my way in the world. Even then, I never planned to practice law, or to take the bar exam.  I never dreamed I'd spend 35 happy years in the law firm behemoth that pioneered the practice of private international law.  Or that my work (!) would be an adventure for me, my wife and children involving long term assignments in China and India.

As you bless the day (you should) that Fate has prepared you with a legal education, consider the Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared!"  I was never a Scout. I learned this from my younger brother, Paul, an Eagle Scout.  At his challenge, I memorized the "Scout Law." Trust me, you won't find many guides for success more compelling than the injunction found there to be "Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent!" And consider the Scout's slogan: "Do a good turn daily."  My parents urged their seven children never to forget "those magic words:  Please and Thank You."  In considering your path forward, heed such simple but important advice, and you will not fail at anything.

As for a legal career involving international law, before you start a serious job search, look for ways to get out of town at least for awhile; maybe far away, maybe on your own nickel, on a "journey without maps," to experience different cultures.  Learn at least a little of a foreign language. Read my brother Paul's bestselling Great Railway Bazaar, keeping in mind that he wrote it when he was nearly broke, with a wife and two small boys to support, and almost desperate to establish himself as a writer.  Volunteer, if need be, to gain experience.  Insights and ideas will come to you. Lady Luck will beckon now and then.  Doors will open to you.  And, sometime, take a moment of legal research to check the website to find, and reflect upon, the meaning of those words in the Scout Law.

In 2002, in response to the worsening international political situation, I took a sabbatical from the practice of law to volunteer for a year with the American Bar Association's Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (now ABA Rule of Law Initiative, www.abarol.org). The ABA/ROL Initiative works in developing countries on issues of rule of law and democracy development. That one year sabbatical turned into a six year (and counting) career in international democracy development that includes time spent with the United States Agency for International Development (www.usaid.gov).  This career choice has taken me to over twenty-five countries in the last six years, including a year spent in Afghanistan as the Gender Advisor for USAID. I've had the opportunity to work with lawyers and judges who are dedicated to reform in their countries and to be on the front line of current world events, including the recent revolution in Kyrgyzstan and street protests in Georgia that brought about the snap presidential elections on January 5, 2008. The work is challenging and personally satisfying. I know that the work that I and my colleagues do truly makes a difference in our world.

My advice to anyone who thinks they may be interested in international development is to research on the internet for short-term assignments.  There are many organizations offering positions to lawyers with assignments ranging from two weeks to three years. The range of issues is broad, covering areas such as child pornography, human rights, prison reform, gender rights, human trafficking, judicial reform and political party development. A short term assignment will give you the opportunity to see if you like the work, the organization and living as an expat.