Careers in International Law An interview with Clifton Johnson, U.S. Department of State
by Kaitlin Ball 2013-2014 ILSA Student President W
hile many government offices dab- ble in international law, none are as dedicated to the practice, forma- tion, and promotion of international
law as the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser. Naturally, the Office of the Le- gal Adviser catches the eye of many law students aspiring to practice international law.
Composed of approximately 175 attorneys, the Office of the Legal Adviser counsels the U.S. De- partment of State on the many issues that arise out of the Department of State’s work. These many issues include the negotiation and interpre- tation of international agreements, advising policy- makers on domestic and international law matters relating to foreign affairs, representing the U.S. in meetings of international organizations, and as- sisting with litigation affecting the Department’s interests. Further, the Office of the Legal Adviser (also referred to as “L
”) is structured to reflect the
many bureaus within the State Department, in- cluding issue specific bureaus and region specific bureaus, culminating in a total of 23 distinct of- fices within the Office of the Legal Adviser, in ad- dition to offices at The Hague, Geneva, Brussels, Kabul, Bagdhad and New York.
Each office is led by an Assistant Legal Adviser who overseas the work of the office and provides guidance to the relevant client bureaus, other L offices, senior Department officials, and inter- agency counterparts. Clifton Johnson, a career attorney at the Office of the Legal Adviser, cur- rently serves as the Assistant Legal Adviser for Oceans, International Environmental, and Scien- tific Affairs. Mr. Johnson obtained his B.A. from Penn in 1986, followed by his J.D. from New York University (NYU) in 1989, where he was Book Re-
view Editor of the NYU Law Review. Before join- ing the Department of State, Mr. Johnson served as a judicial law clerk to Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
When did you first become interested in international law?
I stumbled into international law. I had always been interested in international affairs and had lived abroad in several countries, but I did not focus on international law until I joined the State Department. I came to the State Department by chance, when Judge Kravitch passed me a letter from the Office of the Legal Adviser (L) inviting applications. She knew I had an interest in inter- national issues and thought it might be a good fit. Although I had been thinking about a career as a prosecutor, I was intrigued by the work at State and once I joined I never looked back.
How did this affect your legal education?
It meant I focused my legal studies on other things, which in some respects probably made me a better international lawyer. At the time I was in law school, and to a fair degree today, international law was rarely taught by practitio- ners and took a largely conceptual and theoreti- cal approach. In my career, though, I have found international law to be a lot more about practice and problem solving. A broad legal education that develops excellent analytic, writing, and presen- tational skills – whether that is developed through courses in criminal procedure, conflict of laws, or elsewhere – is critical in producing effective inter- national lawyers.
ILSA Quarterly » volume 22 » issue 3 » February 2014
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