Faculty

The program is directed by Professor Maryam Ahranjani who is Associate Director of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project and teaches a seminar called Education and the Constitution and in the Externship Program at WCL. Co-author of Youth Justice in America, Professor Ahranjani is an expert in the educational and criminal rights of young people. She holds a B.S.Ed. from Northwestern University, a J.D. from WCL, and is completing an LL.M. in Comparative Children's Rights from the University of Pennsylvania.

Professors Ahranjani, Billie Jo Kaufman and Carl Monk will be in charge of supervising the two classes, conducting the midterm and final reviews, and writing and grading final exams.

Students receive instruction from distinguished faculty members of our partner institutions, as well as leading Chilean practitioners and policy makers. Many of these professors are playing key roles in the strengthening of Chilean democratic institutions and in developing Chile's trade policy. Each class is taught by a leading Chilean or Argentine expert in the field of study.

In addition, students have the opportunity to meet for informal question-and-answer sessions with American professionals working in Chile and with representatives of governmental, non-governmental, and international organizations. Visits may include the Supreme Court, the Department of Economy, the Department of Justice, the Chilean Bar Association, Congress of Chile and Argentina,, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Chamber of Commerce, nongovernmental organizations, and law firms. Students observe the civil law tradition at work during visits to tribunals and governmental organizations.

2011 Faculty Included


Prof. Jorge Correa:

  • JD from Catholic University of Chile, LLM, Yale University
  • Former Dean of the Universidad Diego Portales Law School
  • Former Executive Secretary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Chile
  • Undersecretary of the Interior Department under the administration of former President Ricardo Lagos
  • Former Justice of the Constitutional Court

Prof. Jose Zalaquett

  • Co-Director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Chile and Professor of International Human Rights Law
  • Former president of Amnesty International
  • Former Commissioner of the Inter American Commission of Human Rights
  •  JD University of Chile
  • Prof. Zalaquett received honorary doctorates from the University of Notre Dame and the City University of New York. His awards include a MacArthur Foundation award (1990 to 1995), the UNESCO Prize for the Teaching of Human Rights (1994), the B'nai B'rith Human Rights Award, and the National Prize for Humanities and Social Sciences (Chile, 2003)

Prof. Lidia Casas

  • Professor of Law at Diego Portales Law School
  • Lead expert in Reproductive Rights in Chile
  • B.A. University of Saskatchewan, Canada in Regional and Urban Planning, JD, University Diego Portales, LL.M. University of Toronto in International Human Rights Law in Reproductive Health

Prof. Gonzalo Valdes Budge

  • J.D. Universidad de Chile, 1970. New York University School of Law, Interamerican Law Institute, Diploma Anglo American Law, 1971. Licence en Sciences Economiques, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1975
  • General Manager, HNS Bank
  • Partner, Coddou y Valdés, Legal & Financial Advisors
  • Director, Tecnomix S.A.
  • Professor, Microeconomics, School of Law, University of Chile

Prof. Tomás Vial

  • Professor Constitutional Law (Universidad Andres Bello, 2003-2004); Director Public Law Department, Universidad Andres Bello Law Faculty (2004)
  • JD Catholic University of Chile; LL. M (Notre Dame 1992); Master in Public Law Catholic University of Chile, PhD, University of London

Prof. Patricio Leyton:

  • Expert in Enviromental Law and Natural Resources Legislation
  • J.D, University of Chile School of Law, LL.M Georgetown University Law Center (1999)
  • Professor, Environmental Law at the University of Chile
  • Coordinator for Latin America and Researcher of Mining Minerals and Sustainable Development, London, England (2000-2001)
  • Partner at Ferrada y Neme

Prof. Felipe Marin

  • Professor of Criminal Procedure at the Diego Portales Law School, in charge of the Clinical Criminal Program at the Universidad Diego Portales Law School.
  • JD Universidad Diego Portales, LL.M. University of Wisconsin

Mr. Joaquín Morales:

  • J.D., Law School of University of Chile
  • LL.M. in International Legal Studies, Washington College of Law – The American University
  • Former General Counsel, Chilean Foreign Investment Committee
  • Partner of the law firm Etcheberry/Rodriguez

Ms. Angie Armer:

  • Specializes in international arbitration under ICC, ICSID and LCIA rules
  • JD Columbia Law School, B.S, F.S Georgetown School of Foreign Service in 1995

Santiago Montt:

  • Professor of Public Law at University of Chile, School of Law
  • J.D Universidad of Chile, School of Law
  • L.L.M Yale University
  • S.J.D Yale University

Rodrigo Stein

  • J.D University of Chile, School of Law
  • Master University of Chile, School of Law
  • L.L.M New York University

Ximena Fuentes

  • Professor of International Law, University of Chile
  • J.D University of Chile, School of Law
  • S.J.D Oxford University

Enrique Marshall

  • Council member of Central Bank (Chilean Federal Reserve)
  • Commercial Engineer Universidad of Chile
  • Masters Degree in Economics in Notre Dame University
  • Phd and Masters Degree in Economics in Notre Dame University

Jorge Contesse

  • Human Rights Professor Diego Portales University
  • J.D Diego Portales University
  • L.L.M Yale University

Lucas Sierra

  • Law Professor University of Chile
  • J.D University of Chile
  • L.L.M Yale University
  • Phd Cambridge University

Andrés Jana

  • Law Professor University of Chile
  • J.D University of Chile
  • L.L.M Harvard University