IU McKinney Students Take Part in Hands-on Learning Opportunities in China
08/19/2016
Two students from IU McKinney, Matthew Whitlock and Addison Koester, were among the six students who participated professional work experiences at Chinese law firms as part of the Chinese Law Summer Program (CLSP). The program commemorated its 30th anniversary in 2016. The opportunities have been coordinated since 2010 by CLSP director Professor Tom Wilson.
The internships can serve as a capstone to the students’ experience during their time in China, Professor Wilson said, as well as provide a means for them to gain legal experience by doing work for a Chinese firm, and insight as to how law is practiced in another legal system and culture. Internships also are a means for IU McKinney’s Chinese alumni to give back to the school in a meaningful way. Nearly every firm or corporation who hosts a CLSP student for an internship has a partner, senior associate, or in-house counsel who is a IU McKinney alumni. “These alumni are eager to ‘give back’ to the law school,” Professor Wilson said, “and the law school is proud to have continuing relationships with our alumni.”
Whitlock spent his two weeks at the firm Lehman Lee & Xu, upon the recommendation of LL.M. alumnus/former visiting professor Jiang Kenan, ’05. Whitlock developed a deep appreciation of Chinese culture during his time there, and his goal is to earn an LL.M. in Chinese Law at Renmin University of China School of Law beginning in Fall 2017. His goal long-term is to practice in trade law, foreign investment, and government relations. In the photo at left, Whitlock is at the Great Wall.
“There is something about studying law half-way around the world that helps put what I have learned in my time at IU McKinney into perspective,” Whitlock said of the six weeks he spent in China during Summer 2016. “I could think of no better way to confirm my choice to attend law school, and my choice to become a lawyer, than to challenge my worldview in ways I could never have expected as I begin what will be the final year of my J.D. education.”
Not speaking the language was a challenge, but not an insurmountable one for Whitlock. At the law firm, he worked with lawyers who spoke English either as a native or secondary language “and I never felt that I wasn’t able to fit into firm culture” at Lehman Lee & Xu, Whitlock said. Communicating outside the office was another story, but it has a good ending. “The Chinese people are extremely welcoming and I was never far from someone willing to help me out and make sure that I was able to order food, pay the correct amount, or find my way on the subway,” he said. “I found that even though I was immersed in a foreign culture, what I recognized back home as ‘Hoosier hospitality’ was not too different from the hospitality that I was shown by Chinese hosts.”
IU McKinney 2L Addison Koester interned at the law department of Alltech, a Kentucky-based exporter that does $2 billion in sales to China. Koester was hosted by corporate counsel at Alltech, IU McKinney LL.M. alumnus Yu Hengli, ’05. Yu also has served as a visiting professor at IU McKinney in Indianapolis.
Koester helped Yu draft a couple of agreements, and was invited by the Alltech Beverage Division to attend its marketing activities on his last day of his internship, Yu said. “I think Addison has left a good impression on the Alltech team here and has opened the door for further cooperation between IU McKinney and the company,” Yu said. In the photo at right, Koester (right) shakes hands with Yu.
And Alltech made a good impression on Koester, too. “I loved working at Alltech,” he said. “I was able to edit and even write provisions into the contracts for the company. I would definitely recommend a similar experience.”
The experience was a good one, Koester said. “I took part in the CLSP because I am very interested in other cultures. I had never been to Asia and wanted to learn about the life and law there,” he said. “I want to work in international business law” after graduation, he said.
In addition, long-time friend of IU McKinney Liu Sen, IU McKinney LL.M. alumnus Leng Shuai, ’07, and IUPUI alumnus and Director of International Department for Bejing DHH Law Firm Shan Luan hosted two CLSP interns at the Beijing law firm. Another CLSP student interned at Toutiao, a leading internet service provider in China, on the recommendation of LL.M. alumna Han Ting, ’08. And one student interned at Jia Yuan Law Firm, hosted by LL.M alumnus Xu Ying, ’06.
