Past Program

In our fast-moving, interconnected world, the rules-based international order and accountable judicial systems are critical to peace and progress. Between emerging debates over human rights, climate change and global economic challenges, questions of international law are central to upholding prosperity and stability in the 21st century.

The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program helps outstanding law students from the top US law schools explore timely legal issues and develop leadership skills and connections needed to forge careers in international law to shape a better world. 

The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program is a one-of-a-kind program for students from the top 14 US law schools who intend to pursue careers in international law, legal practice, and public service. The Program identifies and empowers outstanding talents, fosters leadership skills, and builds lasting collaborative networks within the legal and public service sectors.

The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program was launched in 2012 in memory of Lloyd N. Cutler, a Washington “super-lawyer” and counselor to two US Presidents. During his service on the board of Salzburg Global Seminar, Cutler regularly mentored young lawyers and brought them together with international jurists to discuss the rule of law, including principles of judicial independence, human rights, and democratic governance. Successful lawyers across the world cite their Salzburg experience as highly influential in developing their legal philosophy, global networks, and career paths.

Salzburg Cutler Fellows follow in these footsteps as lawyers pursuing careers in international practice with an abiding interest in public service. Each Fellow prepares and presents a research paper on a topic of private or public international law. Some of the top law faculty in the US offer advice on how to make their argument more effective and how to succeed in getting papers accepted by journals in across the world. In parallel, lawyers and other mentors in public service help Fellows explore traditional and non-traditional pathways to careers in international law and public service that can align passion and personal impact.

Salzburg Global Seminar works to foster lasting networks and partnerships for creative, just and sustainable change. The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program helps participants develop the skills and contacts needed for effective engagement and communication across the public sector, business, and civil society. These strengths can help Fellows play a leading role in emerging opportunities and challenges, including achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, in their home countries around the world.