Howard Law/World Bank Group Externship Program

Howard Law/World Bank Group Externship Program

Homer C. La Rue, Professor and Supervising Attorney

Who can apply? Rising 2L and 3L Students

Application Process: Apply through the clinic application process during spring semester.

Placement Process: Students are placed through the program. 
Prerequisite Course: ADR Survey Course
Is the program year-long or semester-long? Year-long
How many credits? 8, upon completion of full year

About the Howard Law/World Bank Group Externship Program:

The Howard Law/World Bank Group Externship Program (“Program”) is a competitive eight (8) credit, year-long externship course. The Program is a collaboration between the Law School and various units of the World Bank Group (the “WBG”).  

The Program is a unique collaboration between the Law School ADR Clinic and the HUSL Externship Program, to provide Howard Law students with a capstone ADR experience. Through this program, students are afforded an experiential opportunity to learn how alternative dispute resolution mechanisms function in an international organization. Activities include engagement in mediation services, internal investigations, neutral administrative dispute resolution, and leadership building.

Aligned with Howard Law’s mission of cultivating leaders who can advocate and defend the rights of all, the Program enables students to develop their highest capabilities and skills as lawyers in the international and alternative dispute resolution sectors.

What is the WBG?

The World Bank Group is the largest and most famous international development institution that extends financial and technical assistance to developing nations. It is made up of five organizations: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) – commonly known as the “World Bank”, the International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Akin to Howard Law’s mission of engaging, as an institution, in pursuit of solutions to international problems, the WBG is committed to reducing poverty and building shared prosperity on a livable planet through reducing the share of the global population that lives in extreme poverty to 3 percent by 2030, and by increasing the incomes of the poorest 40 percent of people in every country. The WBG 
employs more than 30,000 individuals in over 100 offices worldwide, with a significant number of staff working in the WBG’s headquarters in Washington, DC.

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, which works in more than 100 countries, using their capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries.  Like Howard Law’s mission of engaging in solutions to economic problems, the IFC seeks to unlock private investment, create markets and opportunities where they are needed most to create a strong and engaged private sector to help end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.

The internal conflict resolution systems of the WBG, including IFC, provide both informal and formal means of addressing staff complaints and employee-related matters.

Acceptance into the Program:

The Program is open to a maximum of eleven (11) students each year. A prerequisite for acceptance in the Program is the ADR Survey Course; however, students who have not completed the ADR Survey Course by Spring may apply for the Program. Preference for acceptance will be given to students who have taken the ADR Survey course.  In addition, preference will be given to students who have a demonstrated interest in employment law and international relations, although courses in employment law and international relations are not prerequisites for the Program.

Student-Work in the Program:

Acceptance into the Howard Law WBG ADR Program will be based on an application and an interview. Externs will work in one of the following units of the WBG: 

  1. Mediation Services; 
  2. Integrity Vice Presidency; 
  3. Ethics Investigations; 
  4. The Staff Association; 
  5. The World Bank Administrative Tribunal; 
  6. Peer Review Services; 
  7. The Legal Institutional Administration; 
  8. ICSID; 
  9. (9) The Sanctions Board Secretariat; 
  10. (10) IFC Compliance Advisory Ombudsman; and 
  11. (11) IFC Legal Department.

Students serve in their assigned unit(s) for the duration of the externship and must work between 13-16 hours per week at the site of the World Bank Group in Washington, DC.

Classroom Component and Credit Hours:

There is a seminar classroom component which meets once per week for 75 minutes. Students will receive a total of eight credit hours for the course, four credits per semester—with the understanding that a student must complete both semesters of the course to receive any credit for the Program overall.