Prof. Emeritus David Sonenshein with members of the EFLIT delegation.
Temple Law hosted a delegation from the English for Law and International Transactions (EFLIT) program on Thursday, April 27, 2023, for the 3rd consecutive year. Our partnership with EFLIT allows us to continue building connections with Italian and other European legal professionals.
EFLIT founder and University of Parma law professor Stefano Maffei shows how a Temple education creates leaders in the academic and professional legal community. Dr. Maffei, a former visiting research scholar at Temple, led the delegation of Italian judges, professors, private practitioners, and law students studying legal English and the U.S. legal system through a Philadelphia study tour. During their visits, they learned about trial advocacy, the criminal justice system, jury selection, and the Innocence Project.
Established in 2007, EFLIT offers in-person and virtual training in legal and financial English. In line with Temple methods, EFLIT uses interactive and experiential methods in teaching. In addition to training programs, learners also participate in study tours, with Philadelphia being a key location. Over 10 days, the delegation toured the US Federal Court and US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Criminal Justice Center, and the Philadelphia Police Department’s Forensic Science Center.
At Temple, Professor Emeritus David Sonenshein provided practical advice on trial advocacy skills and case management, while Assistant Dean for Graduate & International Programs John Smagula and Assistant Director Sabriya McWilliams provided information about Temple’s LLM for Foreign-Trained Lawyers and Rome summer programs. The delegation also toured the law school and campus then had lunch at Temple University’s Esposito Dining Center at Johnson and Hardwick Halls.
This study tour enabled participants to network globally and benefit academically by visiting world-renowned institutions with diverse teaching methods and research opportunities. This is true for Edoardo Corò, LLM ’20, who following his participation in the 2019 EFLIT study visit, attended the Temple Rome summer program, graduated with an LLM for Foreign-trained Lawyers, and now works with Jones Day in Milan. This year, Professor Gelanda Shkurtaj of Epoka University, who also participated in the 2019 EFLIT study tour, received a Fulbright to visit Temple as a visiting research scholar.
Hosting programs such as EFLIT is one of the ways Temple maintains meaningful relationships with legal professionals in Italy. In addition to EFLIT and the Temple Summer Abroad in Rome program, Temple Law has partnerships with the law schools of Bocconi University, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Luiss, University of Naples Parthenope, Sapienza University of Rome, and the University of Rome Tor Vergata. These partnerships enable us to capitalize on diverse perspectives, resources, and expertise to drive global innovation, growth, and impact.