By John Steffy, 3L

In May of 2005 my prospects for a summer internship were slim to none. Out of pride, I like to attribute this to the fact that I was enrolled in a three-week summer course to take place in Brussels , Belgium , during the month of July. The number of potential employers who knew this fact, however, was zero.

The month of June brought with it some good luck. I had previously applied for (and been denied) a job with ABA/CEELI in Tajikistan . The consolation prize from this application was that my resumé would be forwarded to other ABA/CEELI offices that may be willing to take on an intern, although no position was officially posted. During the first week of June the first flakes of what was to be an avalanche of luck cooled my temper. I received an e-mail from the ABA/CEELI Regional Anti-Corruption Advisor (RACA) in the Ukraine , notifying me of their need for an English-speaking legal editor, with the possibility of conducting legal research. I immediately responded with interest, but explained that I would have difficulty finding an apartment, and that I had to spend three weeks in Belgium . After some discussion, it was decided that I would take an employee's apartment, free of charge, while they were out of the country, and that I would be allowed to take my three weeks in Belgium . Three weeks, two plane rides and one foreign alphabet later, I landed at Kyiv-Borispyl airport in the Ukraine .

I had one week to become adjusted to the new city and new job until I would be whisked back to Brussels for a EU seminar. I learned as much as I could about the Ukraine and the legal aspects of the topic of corruption before arriving. During my first week I learned that the RACA, a team of three Ukrainian lawyers led by a retired assistant DA from Brooklyn, would be implementing a project on anti-corruption institutions within Europe .

Thanks to the research and analysis skills I learned in my first year and a half at the School of Law , I was able to speak substantively about corruption with my new colleagues. During that introductory week, the budget of the project doubled, and the scope was widened to be a review of entire law enforcement systems, with the purpose of aiding the Ukrainian government in the construction of a National Bureau of Investigation. We were to review the law enforcement system of Ukraine as it currently existed, and provide two comparative reference reports on the law enforcement systems of Post-Soviet influenced countries that had recently achieved European Integration. Pleased with my interest in and initial research on the topic, I was awarded a parting gift: I would return from Brussels as a "Legal Research and Analysis Fellow," to oversee the development of the two comparative reference reports.

After returning from Brussels , the initial onslaught of work was exciting, if not overwhelming. We were to meet bi-weekly with the Constitutionally created National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to discuss our project, specifically to select the two countries which were to be the object of the comparative reference reports. Of all the thoughts and wonders, questions and reservations, profound legal and political implications of our project-to-be that were inundating my brain, it was perhaps the lightest thought that continually floated to the surface of my mind: I needed to buy a suit.

My Public Interest Law Group (PILG) grant from Saint Louis University had done so much for me already, providing me with funding for airfare to Kyiv, multiple-entry visa expenses and living expenses. Luckily, I was able to stretch it out just a bit more to make myself presentable to the Ukrainian government.

The first meeting was full of smiles and brightly colored neckties. I was briefly introduced, and we set down to work with the multi-party, reformist but factioned government that held power after the Orange Revolution of December 2004. After the dust had settled, my colleagues and I were to briefly research a handful of candidate countries from which we would select the two subjects of comparative reference. It was also agreed that we would partner with OECD, who would draft a more narrow report covering different anti-corruption bureaus and institutions, and that we would draft an introductory section on international law enforcement standards.

Our efforts were focused on identification of experts from within the institutions of law enforcement of Ukraine who could describe the current system and identify areas needing improvement. In practical terms, we were recruiting practitioners to author reports that were critical of their respective institutions - not an easy task, nor one to be taken lightly. It seemed so sudden that I had found myself, for the first time, in a black suit in a black sedan, speeding through the cobblestone streets of the #2 city of the old Soviet Union , rushing to meet with representatives of the powerful State Security Service (SBU) and thinking to myself, "I've seen this movie."

Not only were we able to recruit practitioners from within the Ukrainian system, but also those from Lithuania and Hungary in order to prepare the comparative Post-Soviet influence reform papers. Charged with responsibility for the comparative papers, it was my duty to perform initial research on the law enforcement systems of Hungary and Lithuania , the structure of these institutions and the ministries under which they fell and the relevant laws and regulations governing the institutions. I was also to recruit the practitioners from within the system, through which I was able to refine my negotiation and contract drafting skills.

As the reports were being prepared, we held bi-weekly meetings with the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine to present periodic updates of our progress. Near completion of the Lithuanian comparative report, one of our contracted practitioners was brought to Kyiv for a roundtable discussion of the report. As truly rewarding as it was to be able to participate in these discussions, the real treat came weeks later, when our Regional Anticorruption Office (two Ukrainian attorneys and myself) led a delegation of Ukrainian government representatives from the various law enforcement institutions and ministries within Ukraine . We spent a full week in Vilnius , Lithuania , touring their law enforcement institutions (police, prosecutor general's office, border guard service), the Ministry of Interior and the Seimas (Lithuanian parliament).

At the time of my return to Saint Louis University in January 2006, the NSDC was considering the reports commissioned by ABA/CEELI through RACA in the formation of its draft concept of law enforcement reform. Due to its early successes, the law enforcement reform project has received additional funding as of late, is presently continuing its efforts in Ukraine and will soon be equipped to receive input from civil society through a Web page, whose construction is currently in progress.

Overall, my time spent in Kyiv provided me with a better perspective of international law and foreign affairs, its influence on the reformation process and the reformation process itself. It's a perspective I'll no doubt put to good use while finishing up my law school career, building upon what I already know and taking more back with me in the near future, when I return to practice in the field of international law.

John Steffy's experience was made possible through the summer stipends for public interest provided by proceeds raised at the PILG Auction, the Annual Fund and by the Irvin and Maggie Dagen Fellowship Fund.