About Us

Through its Southwestern Institute for International and Comparative Law (SWIICL), The Center for American and International Law has a prominent place in international legal education. Established in 1963, SWIICL offers annual programs that focus on international business transactions and private investments worldwide.  We have attracted participants from more than 120 countries – including some who have gone on to become Heads of State, Supreme Court Justices, and Cabinet Ministers.

The current Chair of the Institute is Franco Gianni of Gianni, Origoni y Grippo in Rome, Italy.

Annual Programs

The Academy for American and International Law 

The Institute's premier annual event is the Academy of American and International Law. Since 1963, this multi-week program has attracted participants from 120 countries. Among its alumni are many who have gone on to serve as heads of state, on national supreme courts, as ministers of justice and attorneys general, and as general counsel to major corporations. Through a rigorous classroom and extracurricular schedule, the Academy offers participants the opportunity to forge international relationships that last a lifetime. The 2012 Academy had 68 participants from 30 countries.

Among the Academy’s world-class faculty are Bryan Garner, Editor in Chief of Black’s Law Dictionary; Georgetown law professor Charles Gustafson, the U.S.’s premier teacher on international tax; George Washington College of Law Associate Dean Susan Karamanian; Southern Methodist University law school dean John Attanasio; and Eileen Babbitt of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Harvard Negotiation Program.

Symposium on Global Markets

This annual forum is for experienced lawyers, business leaders and government officials and explores current legal issues vital to international business. Begun more than forty years ago, the Symposium has reached thousands of professionals around the world, facilitating understanding about the complex laws and political realities that influence international business relationships.  Recent Symposia have focused on the relationship between in-house and outside counsel; international mergers and acquisitions; and doing business in difficult economic times.

Other Programs

The Institute also hosts program on corporate compliance, and is developing a new international Academy designed for lawyers from the United States and other common law countries.