Congratulations to Syracuse Law’s LondonEx Program as it celebrates 45 years of sending students abroad during the summer break to gain exposure to the British legal system and take in the culture of London.
Working with the Syracuse University London Centre, Faraday House, students from the College of Law and other ABA-accredited law schools take in an immersive experience that offers the practice of law in a global setting. The first week of the program is spent in an orientation where students gain insight into the legal system of the United Kingdom from guest lecturers, as well as tours through various “legal London” sites such as the Inns of Court, the Old Bailey, and British Parliament, as they start to understand the law beyond the U.S. system.
Students then begin six weeks of work in a professional legal setting alongside civil and criminal barristers, solicitors, and judges in the Crown Court system, human rights and international law NGOs, and others. The cohort comes together throughout the summer over evening lectures, networking events, and programming designed by the program’s co-directors, Assistant Dean Horsfall and Professor Margaret Harding.
The program typically enrolls 15-20 students each summer who have completed their 1L year. This year, Horsfall has been working in London to recruit more sites to host future LondonEx students.
“It was a fantastic opportunity to see how the English system is a bit different from the U.S. During the first week of the program, we took tours to see different places where the barristers practice. We went to Parliament and were able to speak to some of the Members and Lords, and we had the unique experience of seeing a bill passed into law.”
Alex Stolfe ’23, L’25
Alex Stolfe ’23, L’25 studied abroad in Florence, Italy, as an undergraduate, but once she joined Syracuse Law, she thought her days of international study and travel were a closed chapter. Then, she heard about the LondonEx program and was eager to spend time abroad once again, while pursuing the opportunity for an externship to gain experience unlike those of her classmates who remained in the U.S. after their 1L year.
“It was a fantastic opportunity to see how the English system is a bit different from the U.S.,” says Stolfe, who spent the summer of 2023 in London. “During the first week of the program, we took tours to see different places where the barristers practice. We went to Parliament and were able to speak to some of the Members and Lords, and we had the unique experience of seeing a bill passed into law.” Stolfe is Canadian, which made it an even more fascinating experience with yet another legal system to compare.
She spent the next six weeks at an externship at Withers Worldwide, a global litigation firm with expertise in a range of practice areas and legal services for private individual and business clients, art museums, high fashion and luxury brands. There, she was assigned to one of the firm’s partners in the litigation and dispute resolution practice area.
“The biggest difference for me is that the British system doesn’t seem as adversarial,” she says. “It’s very cordial with the barristers wearing their traditional beautiful wigs and robes. They addressed each other with phrases like, ‘My learned friend,’ when speaking to opposing counsel.”
“And, beyond the work and class experience, we made sure we got to see all of the city, including plays in the West End, group dinners, and meeting other mentors in the program, as well as alumni networking events with Syracuse graduates living and working in London.
Alex Stolfe ’23, L’25
Stolfe also had the opportunity to get to know other students spending the summer in London. “The University sets up everything for you,” she says. “And, beyond the work and class experience, we made sure we got to see all of the city, including plays in the West End, group dinners, and meeting other mentors in the program, as well as alumni networking events with Syracuse graduates living and working in London. We definitely became fast friends.”
Stolfe is very pleased that she spent time in London learning about the law in the U.K. “I’ve always been an advocate for exposing yourself to other cultures, and I’m very grateful for the LondonEx program,” she says. “It helps to create more well-rounded lawyers and better global citizens.”
