From left to right: Vice Dean Yang Li, Professor Weiping Sun, Emory Law Professor Paul J. Zwier II, and Director of International Programs Associate Professor Xu Xiaobing.
A new master's degree program designed to teach the evidentiary and advocacy standards of the U.S. criminal law system will bring Chinese prosecutors to Emory University's campus in spring 2013.
The master's of comparative law degree is a partnership created by Emory University School of Law and Shanghai Jiao Tong University's KoGuan Law School. It is designed for Chinese criminal prosecutors, as well as a selective pool of experienced criminal lawyers and KoGuan graduate students who have passed China's national judicial examination.
"For years, Emory Law has maintained a strong litigation training program through our Kessler-Eidson Program in Trial Techniques,” says Robert Schapiro, Emory Law's interim dean. "Through this partnership with KoGuan Law School, we extend the global reach of the Kessler-Eidson Program and further our vision of promoting the rule of law at home and around the world.”
KoGuan Law School was established in 2002, and in 2007 the U.S.-based Leo KoGuan Foundation donated $30 million to help the law school build a facility in the center of Shanghai. The school awards juris doctor, master's and doctor of juridical science degrees.
In addition to Emory, KoGuan has established ties to other law schools in the United States, including Yale, Columbia, Georgetown and Cornell universities.
Students participating in the Emory-KoGuan partnership will complete a 10-hour course of study at KoGuan in the fall before beginning a 14-hour program in the spring at Emory. The master's of comparative law will be from Emory Law.
Emory faculty will teach introductory seminars at KoGuan each fall, and a KoGuan faculty member will be in residence at Emory in the spring.
In the first year the program is expected to enroll between 10 to 30 students.