University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Joins with Leading University in Mexico to Establish Groundbreaking, Bilingual Law Program

On Tuesday, April 29th, 2008, from 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm, The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law (UDM Law) and the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Mexico’s leading private law school, will hold the official signing ceremony for the launch and creation of the “North American Lawyer Multiple Degree Program,” also known as “The NAFTA Lawyer Program.”

The NAFTA Lawyer Program is the first of its kind and the only known degree program in which students can earn law degrees in three countries–the United States, Mexico, and Canada-with courses taught in English and Spanish. Unlike programs at other institutions, this unique program enables UDM and ITESM to award participating students the J.D. degree in the United States and the L.E.D. (Licenciado en Derecho) degree in Mexico. With these degrees, students will have the educational credentials necessary to qualify for admission to practice law both in the United States and Mexico. Students can also participate in UDM’s joint degree program with the University of Windsor Faculty of Law, thereby enabling them to earn a Canadian law degree (the LL.B.) as well.

“We are very pleased to enter this pioneering agreement with the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law,” said Dr. Salvador Trevino, Dean of ITESM’s Monterrey Campus School of Business which oversees its Law Program. “It is one thing to talk about being a NAFTA lawyer, it is quite another to have the training in two – or even three – NAFTA legal systems. This unique program will give students throughout the hemisphere a distinct advantage in practicing law in the 21st century,” said Lic. Marlon Omar Lopez Zapata, Director of ITESM’s Monterrey Campus Law School.

Attending the official signing ceremony will be Mexican Consul in Detroit Vicente Sanchez Ventura; Pamela Zarkowski, UDM Interim VP for Academic Affairs and Provost, Mark Gordon, Dean of UDM School of Law, Dr. Alberto Bustani, ITESM Rector de la Zona Metropolitana de Monterrey, Dr. Salvador Trevino, Dean of ITESM’s School of Business (of which Law is one division) and representatives from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.

“This groundbreaking program offers students a unique opportunity: to actually learn both the US and Mexican legal systems and to be in a position to represent clients in each country,” said Dean Mark C. Gordon, Dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. “By receiving certification in both a common law and a civil law system, students will also be better positioned to represent clients around the world, including clients with interests in areas such as continental Europe and Latin America which use a civil law model.”

WHO:
The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey

WHAT:
Formal Signing Ceremony and Program Launch

WHEN:
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
2:30 – 3:30 (signing ceremony), 3:30 – 4:30 (press interviews)

WHERE:
Room 337 at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, 651 East Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, MI

For more information about UDM Law, please visit www.law.udmercy.edu or call Carolina Rincon at 646-367-3414 “*

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