AUSTIN, Texas—The Institute of Transnational Law, which will serve as a bridge for students from Latin America and Europe to come together for graduate studies in North American law and European law, has been created at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law.
Professor Basil Markesinis will serve as the founding director of the institute. Markesinis holds the Jamail Regents Chair in Law at UT Austin and serves as the Clifford Chance Special Adviser for European Affairs at University College, London, where he is chairman of the Institute for Global Law. He also has held appointments at Cambridge, Oxford, Cornell, the University of Michigan, and Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne).
A member of the American Law Institute, Markesinis also is an elected fellow of the British Academy, the Royal Belgian Academy, the Academy of Athens and the Royal Dutch Academy. In addition, his work has been honored with the highest national awards from the presidents of Germany, Italy and France, and from the queen of England. His many books include the two-volume The German Law of Obligations(Oxford, 1998) (co-author), The German Law of Torts: A Comparative Introduction(Oxford, 3rd ed., 1994), and the two-volume Tortious Liability for Un-Intentional Harm in the Common Law and the Civil Law(Cambridge, 1982).
Each year, as many as 10 Latin American students will study at UT Austin towards the LL.M. degree in North American law, and another 10 students from Latin America will study at University College, London towards the LL.M. degree in European law. At the same time, a similar number of European students will study at UT Austin either for the J.D. or the LL.M. in North American law, while another group of European students will join their Latin American counterparts in London studying for the LL.M. in European law. This cooperative program is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2001.
In addition, up to three UT Austin School of Law faculty members will teach at University College, London, during the May-June term each year, providing both faculty outreach and a UT presence at the London component of this cooperative program.
Initial funding for the institute is provided by grants from the M.D. Anderson Foundation and the Houston-based law firm of Vinson & Elkins.
“The UT law school is especially grateful to Gibson Gayle Jr. of the M.D. Anderson Foundation and to Harry M. Reasoner, managing partner of Vinson & Elkins, for their interest in and support of this program. With this funding, the institute will support UT law faculty members while they are teaching in London and provide a number of scholarships to students who could not otherwise participate in the program,” said Bill Powers, dean of the School of Law.
For additional information, contact Tom Henninger, UT Austin School of Law, (512) 232-1156, or via email at: thenninger@mail.law.utexas.edu
