The SAIS International Law Society (ILS) returned in 2025, reviving after a pause during the pandemic years. Operating at the crossroads of international law and the many thematic focus areas that define SAIS—conflict and security, development, climate, governance, and beyond—the Society organizes panels, workshops, and screenings that examine how international law frameworks interact with global affairs. It also serves as a bridge connecting SAIS students to the legal and policy community, including professional conferences and moot court opportunities.
International law is not the exclusive domain of lawyers, and legal literacy is a genuine asset across global affairs work. SAIS Dean James Steinberg holds a law degree, as do many practitioners who move fluidly between policy, diplomacy, and law. Many others—lobbyists, advocates, and researchers—work on international and social challenges in close collaboration with legal professionals, drawing on legal frameworks without holding bar licenses. ILS exists to make international law accessible and relevant to students across all focus areas, and to foster that kind of cross-disciplinary engagement at SAIS.
Over the course of the 2025–26 academic year, ILS hosted six events across both semesters, beginning in the fall. The Society opened its programming on November 5 with a lunchtime career conversation featuring Tom Carothers, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, held in collaboration with the Global Security and Conflict Management (GSCM) club. Drawing on decades of experience at the intersection of peacebuilding, democracy, and law, Carothers spoke on conflict management and the role of international law in post-conflict state-building, while also offering students a candid look at career pathways in conflict management, international law, and the think tank world.
A week later, on November 12, ILS partnered with the American Society of International Law (ASIL) for “Stand Tall for the Rule of Law: Ukraine and the International Legal Order,” a documentary screening and panel discussion centered on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its implications for the international legal order. The event opened with a 20-minute documentary on the Lviv Summit, where ASIL lawyers met Ukrainian counterparts to discuss accountability, reparations, and the future of the international legal system. The panel that followed was moderated by SAIS International Law Professor Jeffrey Pryce. Marney Cheek, Partner at Covington & Burling LLP, addressed Ukraine’s cases before the International Court of Justice and accountability mechanisms for the crime of aggression, while Svitlana Starosvit, ASIL International Law Fellow, examined proposals for compensation and the legal debates surrounding the seizure of Russian sovereign assets.
The fall activities concluded on November 18 with an interactive workshop on international environmental law and the climate crisis, led by Professor Daniel Magraw, whose work has shaped international negotiations on climate change, toxic chemicals, oceans, and sustainable development. The session examined how legal frameworks address planetary-scale environmental crises, what tools exist for climate mitigation and adaptation, and how practitioners and advocates can navigate climate governance. Students engaged directly with Professor Magraw, supported by a background paper he prepared specifically for the workshop.
Spring programming opened on February 16 with a career-focused panel on lobbying, advocacy, and government relations, held in collaboration with SAIS Global Careers. The event featured two distinguished SAIS alumni: Ned Steiner (SAIS ’99), Managing Director for International Trade & Governmental Relations at Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., and Mimi Burke (SAIS ’91), Policy Director at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Both speakers discussed how their SAIS training shaped their career trajectories, what their day-to-day work looks like, and how students can position themselves to enter this competitive field.
On February 24, ILS co-hosted “Green at What Cost? Human Rights & the Energy Transition” with the Development, Climate, and Sustainability (DCS) Focus Area, examining the human rights dimensions of the global energy transition. With over 40% of minerals critical to clean energy located on lands inhabited by Indigenous Peoples, the panel addressed the gap between green ambitions and rights-respecting implementation. Moderated by Professor Nina Gardner, the discussion brought together Emily Greenspan, Co-Lead of the Natural Resource Justice Global Program at Oxfam America; Maria Lettini, CEO of the US Sustainable Investment Forum (US SIF); and Kate Finn, Executive Director of the Tallgrass Institute. Together they explored practical strategies for companies and investors, Indigenous rights frameworks, and the role of legal and advocacy tools in building a genuinely equitable transition.
ILS closed the academic year on April 15 with a screening of Anuja, the Oscar-nominated short film (97th Academy Awards, Best Live Action Short Film) now streaming on Netflix, presented in collaboration with Shine Global, the Governance, Politics, and Society (GPS) Focus Area, and the South Asia Society. The film follows a nine-year-old girl working in a garment factory in Delhi who faces a life-defining choice for herself and her sister. Following the screening, a panel moderated by Professor Nina Gardner brought the film’s themes into sharp policy focus, featuring Adam Graves, Writer and Director of Anuja; Amber Barth, Director of the ILO Office for the United States; and Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy at the National Consumers League and the Child Labor Coalition. The conversation addressed child labor in global supply chains, enforcement gaps in existing frameworks, and pathways for corporate accountability and policy reform.
The Society is grateful to every co-host, panelist, guest speaker, and member of the SAIS community who supported its work this year and looks forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead. ILS was led during the 2025–26 academic year by President Poorabi Nanda, Events Coordinator Daliyah Hammoud, and Treasurer Clarisa Merkatz, along with First-Year Representatives Vidya Gonuguntla, Marya Khan, and Daiki Mai.