On January 22, 2024, Santa Clara Law faculty visited Universidad Iberoamericana (IBERO) Law in Mexico City to collaborate with their faculty, clinics, and students. The two Jesuit law schools recently signed an exchange agreement, and Santa Clara Law looks forward to hosting study abroad and LLM students in the 2024-2025 academic year.
Evangeline Abriel, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Ninth Circuit Immigration Clinic, andFrancisco Rivera, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the International Human Rights Clinic met with Professors Jorge Peláez and Luis Xavier Carrancá from the IBERO’s Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Legal Education to discuss opportunities to collaborate.
Professor Abriel said, “I was so impressed by the extent and effectiveness of the work the Aleida Foppa Refugee Law Clinic does. The Clinic has five full-time lawyers, supported by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. … It was so inspiring to hear from these amazing lawyers.” Professor Rivera noted that, “I very much look forward to receiving students from IBERO interested in gaining practical legal experience through Santa Clara Law’s International Human Rights Clinic. Much of the work we do in this clinic involves Spanish-speaking clients, so it would be very helpful to have native speakers working with our law students on the clinic’s cases and projects.”
IBERO Law, which requires all graduates to take a course in International Law, is home to an accomplished and engaged international law faculty. They hosted a lunch for the Santa Clara Law visitors, and learned about Santa Clara Law’s Journal of International Law from Mike Flynn, Clinical Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Global Engagement.
It was a special privilege to connect with President of IBERO, Father Luis Arriaga Valenzuela. He was an important member of the Santa Clara Law community from 2016 to 2018 as the chaplain and visiting human rights scholar. A special thanks to IBERO faculty members Dr. Ricardo Alberto Ortega Soriano and Dr. Pedro José Martinez Esponda, who organized the visit.