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In spring 2001 four faculty members and 80 students studied and then traveled to Tanzania, Vietnam, Australia, or Cuba.

Before traveling abroad for fieldwork during the Law School's two-week spring break, students first immersed themselves in the legal, social, and political history of their chosen country. These studies provided the framework for the selection and development of individual group projects and helped students understand the potential significance their projects may have on their chosen country.

For example during the initial research, the Vietnam ITP class found that the radical and social changes that have been occurring in Vietnam made it an ideal candidate for ITP. In the midst of massive legal reform, Vietnam has been seeking to create a "rule of law" to support economic reform and to encourage foreign investment. This reform has generated hundreds of new laws, addressing every necessary area that will have a significant impact on Vietnamese society and the government.

"It was fascinating to see how a communist country built a stock market from scratch," said Leontine Chuang, class of 2001, who studied the development of the Vietnamese Stock Market.

After conducting general background research, students split into groups of three to four to focus in on particular topics of interest. They then presented research proposals to their ITP classmates and initiated contact with relevant sources both here and abroad.

Once in their chosen country, students use hotel lobby phones or local Internet cafes to get in touch with their established sources. They arrange interviews with key players in businesses, justice systems, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. A group studying micro-finance in Tanzania spent over an hour interview a lawyer from the Bank of Tanzania.

ITP is a collaborative and team-based effort. Students communicate about expectations and delegate responsibilities. They have to learn to trust in the efforts and abilities of their teammates in order for the project to be a success.

Students studying the juvenile justice system in Tanzania made a group decision to split their resources in order to accomplish all their travel and research goals. While two members were on safari in the Serengeti, second year student Rahwa Gebre-Egziabher returned early to Dar es Salaam and went with Professor Thomas Gerathy to meet with representatives at the Tanzanian branch of SAVE the Children, a British nongovernmental organization. During the meeting she learned of, and was then able to attend, a planning session for Africa's Global Movement for Children. In a later group meeting she shared the new information with her teammates to ensure that everyone was up-to-date on the status of the project.

Another important goal of ITP is to produce final projects that are of publishable quality. By sharing research with the people who have helped make the projects possible, constructive relationships are cemented with contacts who will assist in the creation and implementation of future projects of depth and usefulness.

This year two papers based upon previous years' work will be published. The first, "The Progress of Tanzanian Women in the Law: Women in Legal Education, Legal Employment, and Legal Reform" is forthcoming in the Berkeley Review of Law and Women's Studies. ABA/Loyola Journal of Children's Rights will publish the second, "Street Children in Dar es Salaam."

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