UW Law’s deep connections in East and Southeast Asia lead to unique summer internship opportunities.
As Evan Feeley’s ’25 classmates lined up summer plans around Wisconsin and other states, he packed his bags for a destination more than 8,500 miles away: the Ho Chi Minh City office of YKVN, a leading law firm in Vietnam.
“A lot of economic development is going on in Southeast Asia right now, and it could be a good opportunity for the ambitious American lawyer,” said Feeley. “A good law school exposes their students to opportunities those students couldn’t contemplate, which opens a world of possibilities for them.”
For over 20 years, the East Asian Legal Studies Center at University of Wisconsin Law School has offered more than 100 J.D. students the opportunity to intern with law firms in Thailand and Vietnam.
“It’s a very unique program,” said John Ohnesorge, George Young Bascom Professor of Law and director for the East Asian Legal Studies Center, which established and financially supports the program. “I don’t know of any other law school that has a program to place their J.D. students with law firm practices abroad.”
It’s just one of the benefits of UW Law’s deep relationships in East and Southeast Asia, where the Law School has a vast alumni network and growing partnership programs. In 2024, UW Law sent four students to law firms in Bangkok, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
“They go to international business firms and get experience working in the region,” Ohnesorge said. “It’s eye-opening for a lot of our J.D. students. Some of them have traveled, but they haven’t generally worked abroad, and they certainly haven’t practiced law in a place like Ho Chi Minh City.”
“A good law school exposes their students to opportunities those students couldn’t contemplate, which opens a world of possibilities for them.” – Evan Feeley ’25
At YKVN last summer, Feeley conducted legal research for international companies.
“I’ve really enjoyed learning more about how international companies work on large real estate development projects and the kind of contracts they use,” said Feeley, who hopes to work in real estate law after graduation. “Working on construction contracts at YKVN has given me a lot of insight into how large real estate developments come together.”
In 2022, Jonathan Winkler ’24 interned in the Bangkok office of Tilleke & Gibbins, Thailand’s oldest law firm. There, he conducted legal research, drafted documents and observed court proceedings.
“We are very fortunate at UW Law School to have the opportunities to intern in Southeast Asia because of the comparative law perspective it offers for students,” Winkler said. “As society becomes increasingly globalized, even students who are not interested in careers in international law would benefit from working with premier law firms in Southeast Asia.”
Winkler enjoyed his summer in Bangkok so much he returned during his 3L spring semester as an exchange student at Thammasat University, where he also coached the Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot team and set up a virtual moot competition between Thammasat and UW Law.
“That summer experience in Vietnam was instrumental in my obtaining both the AILA position and the U.N. job.” – Dennis Rios ’20
After graduation, Winkler joined McCormick Barstow LLP in Fresno, California, to focus on business litigation and labor and employment. Eventually, he hopes to work in international commercial arbitration.
“I am excited to gain experience as an attorney, and these experiences have certainly helped me develop my interest in areas of the law,” he said.
Dennis Rios ’20 also fondly recalls his summer internship at YKVN in Hanoi, Vietnam, an experience that helped launch his career abroad.
After graduation, Rios worked for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in Washington, D.C., and then joined the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is part of the United Nations (U.N.) system. At IOM, Rios worked as an associate legal officer in Panama before moving to the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to work as a human resources specialist.
“That summer experience in Vietnam was instrumental in my obtaining both the AILA position and the U.N. job,” Rios said. “It showed that I was serious about an international career and that I was able to move and adapt to a different culture.”
Ohnesorge continues to look for new opportunities to help students develop a global perspective. While in Korea as a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in 2023, he traveled to several other countries in the region to network and build relationships with Law School contacts, including those that already host summer interns.
“These are the places that are hiring our graduates, both J.D. and LL.M.s, so we like to ask: ‘What can we be doing to better prepare our students to get jobs at firms like yours?’” he said.
By Nicole Sweeney Etter