As an associate with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer based in New York, Lexi Menish is looking forward to work involving international arbitration in the firm’s dispute resolution group.
Menish became interested in pursuing a career in international law while working in China as an English teacher and private school administrator. “The rule of law in China is evolving very quickly, but there are many limitations on people’s legal rights,” she said. “During my last year there, I became especially interested in studying international law because I was helping to run a business.”
Menish did most of her research on law schools from China. Vanderbilt ranked high on her list both because of its location near her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and its strong International Legal Studies Program. “Vanderbilt’s international faculty is incredibly well-connected, and they make a special effort to help students find internships and jobs,” she said.
After her 1L year, Menish studied international law with Vanderbilt in Venice and then spent six weeks in The Hague working for attorney Guenael Mettraux on the defense team at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, an internship she secured with help from Professor Michael Newton. Mettraux also served as a consultant for the defense in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and Menish continued to support his team during her 2L year with research she completed in Newton’s International Practice Lab and through an independent study. “I had an opportunity to research case law from all international criminal tribunals and human rights courts,” she said. “My project involved international legal standards for the restriction of religious practices in prison for clients M. Mettraux was representing, and it ended up being a 30-page survey of customary international practice comparing various national standards with jurisprudence from international criminal and human rights courts.”
Menish secured a position as a summer associate with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in New York in summer 2010 through Vanderbilt’s On-Campus Interviews (OCI) and joined the firm permanently in summer 2011. “Dean [Elizabeth] Workman was very helpful throughout the process,” she said. “She knew the interviewer and gave me helpful feedback before my call-back interview.”
She recommends that all students interested in an international law practice enroll in the Vanderbilt in Venice summer study program after their 1L year. “Vanderbilt in Venice made a huge difference for me at OCI,” she said. “All four of the courses in Venice focus on international law. Going into interviews at the beginning of my 2L year, I was able to say that I’d taken a course in international commercial arbitration and discuss that area of law. That gave me quite an advantage.”
As a 3L, Menish worked with Newton to involve his Practice Lab students in several research projects for Mettraux. “One great thing about Vanderbilt’s International Legal Studies Program is that I was able to take substantive courses in international topics every semester, including arbitration, investment treaties, trade law, criminal law and business transactions,” she said. “I was then provided with many opportunities, through the Practice Lab and internships, to use and expand this knowledge through actual practice.” According to Newton, many students pursue independent research and practice lab projects related to international externships. “International Law Practice Lab projects are designed to help students build a solid base of experience, and they often generate interest in greater exploration of a particular issue as an independent study project or lead to an externship,” he said.
At Freshfields, she has joined the firm’s dispute resolution group and feels well-prepared to start work on cases involving international arbitration and commercial litigation. “That’s what I hope to focus on, and I am thankful to Vanderbilt for helping make that possible,” she said.