Chicago's Bright Lights Shine on BU Law Alumni Safeguarding ...

Assistant Dean Brings
International Flair
to Law School
W
hen John Riccardi (‘91) returned to BU Law
to become acting director of the Office of
Foreign Programs (OFP) in 1997, he saw many
familiar faces—and a new direction in the law
tower. “Returning was fun because many of the
professors I had were still here,” says Riccardi, now
the assistant dean for Graduate and International
Programs. “But what was most exciting
was witnessing the School’s response
to the globalization of law practice ce
and helping the School make its
mark in international legal
education.”
When he joined the OFP, the
globalization of law was not part of
his world. He had been working for
several years as a health care lawyer at
the Boston firm, Ropes & Gray. Suddenly, his main
charge was to build the School’s LL.M. in American
Law Program for foreign lawyers and create study
abroad opportunities for J.D.’s. “The challenge was
to build an international two-way street at BU Law
and to prepare both domestic J.D. and foreign LL.M.
students for global careers.”
Today, the School welcomes between 65 and 70
foreign lawyers each year to attend J.D. classes
through the American Law Program; and J.D.
students can study abroad at 12 foreign destinations
throughout Europe, South America, the Middle
East and Asia, more venues than but a handful of
other law schools.
Riccardi, whose pre-law career was in marketing
and communications, is constantly looking at new
opportunities that will help prepare J.D.’s for practice
in today’s global economy. Most recently, BU Law
added a new semester exchange program at the
National University of Singapore, to complement its
growing presence in Asia.
“Law firms and American
businesses are increasingly
taking note of opportunities
in Asia
and setting up a presence
there, so our graduates are going to
be heavily involved in Asia-related
activities,” he
said. BU Law also offers
programs at the
University of Hong Kong
and at Tsinghua Law
School in Beijing. Future
programs may include India, Eastern Europe and
additional opportunities on mainland China.
“There are very few areas of legal work these days
that don’t somehow implicate international issues,”
says Riccardi. “The additional perspective J.D.
students gain from being fully immersed in a foreign
law school and educational culture is invaluable,”
he says. “In the history of these programs, every
single student who has participated has said they
would recommend the experience and, if given the
opportunity, would do it all over again.”
Riccardi is quick to note that J.D. students don’t need
to leave Boston to gain a global perspective. In addition
to the school’s expansive international course offerings,
the presence of foreign-trained LL.M. students in the
18 | The Record | Fall 2007