Dean J. Rich Leonard discusses his initiative in creating the Joseph E. Zaytoun International Judicial Clerkship, a program that sends American law students to serve in African appellate courts.
A phone call can change your life. Two have changed mine. The first came in my final year of law school. Desperate to return home to North Carolina, I was finding that my Yale law degree was not a help. Only two judges were even willing to consider my application for a judicial clerkship, and the time in which each said they would decide had long passed. I was getting on my bicycle after class to head home when a buddy stopped me. “There’s a note on the bulletin board for you to call some judge in North Carolina,” he said. I raced back in and made the call. It was to perhaps the most respected federal judge to ever sit in our state, Franklin T. Dupree, Jr. He offered me a two-year clerkship which I accepted on the spot. That call opened the door to a long career in the federal courts.
The second call came in the spring of 1994. At that point, I was a federal bankruptcy judge with chambers in Wilson, when a fellow professing to be from the State Department called and asked if I would like to go to Zambia as a consultant to their judiciary. I immediately said, “Sure, where’s Zambia?” Eight weeks later I was in Lusaka, starting what came to be virtually a second career working with courts all over Africa for three decades. Those experiences completely changed my life.
Helpful Contacts
Last year, I was pondering how to connect these two themes in my life for the benefit of my students. The proverbial light bulb went off. What if I could provide judicial clerkships for my students in African appellate courts? I set out to try.
Contacts became helpful. I had met the former Chief Justice of Ghana at an international conference in 2017 and expressed my desire to create an African experience for my law students. She immediately responded, “You will come to Ghana.” And she turned to one of her law deans and said sternly, “And you will make it happen.” We did just that. Except during the COVID years, I have led a terrific, life-changing three-week study abroad program in Ghana for my students. I was not a stranger to the Ghanaian courts.
My Previous Experience in Africa and New Contacts
One of the countries where I had done substantial work two decades earlier was Namibia. The then Chief Justice appointed a Commission on the Reduction of Costs and Delays and invited me to staff it. In that capacity, I had met and become friends with the newest (and shyest) High Court judge, Peter Shivute. Peter is now the Chief Justice.
A third country where I was interested in exploring was Rwanda, where I had no formal contacts with their judiciary. However, the summer prior I had persuaded Pepperdine Law School to allow one of my students, Kevin Goodman, to travel to Rwanda under the auspices of their internship program. He had been a huge hit. His contacts got me through the door.
The Joseph E. Zaytoun International Judicial Clerkship Initiative
A program like this is not cheap, and there was no room in my operational budget to fund it. I began looking for outside assistance, and one of my major backers, Robert Zaytoun, came to my aid. He had been looking for something to name in honor of his father, who was quite the internationalist, and we came up with the Joseph E. Zaytoun International Judicial Clerkship Initiative.
Deciding to approach all three countries, I sent a letter of inquiry as to whether there would be interest. When the judiciary in each country indicated a willingness for further talks, I drafted Memoranda of Understanding with each and sent them over for comment.
In a whirlwind trip across Africa last March (where flying Ethiopian Air, I changed planes in Adis Ababa six times), I met with Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie of Ghana, Chief Justice Domitilla Mukantaganzwa of Rwanda, and Chief Justice Peter Shivute of Namibia. All enthusiastically embraced my idea, and we finalized and formally signed Memoranda of Understanding in each country.
Returning to the law school, I quickly advertised these remarkable opportunities. From a number of students who showed up at an interest meeting, eight persevered with an application. The model I offered them was simple. They would serve as judicial clerks in appellate courts in these countries for eight weeks during this past summer. As an inaugural Zaytoun Fellow, each would receive a stipend of $12,000 to cover all of their expenses. On May 25, 2026, they began work: three in Namibia (Tracy Harris, Angelena Antenuci, and Ryan Hogan), three in Rwanda (Brittany Wilson, Lukas Ireland, and Eric Kinyon), and two in Ghana (Emma Rogers and Jarrick Hawkins).
Focusing Efforts in Africa
To explain why we focus our efforts on Africa, it is important to look beyond familiar images of a continent known mainly for spectacular landscapes and distinctive wildlife. Africa comprises 54 sovereign nations, each with its own history, culture, and government. Some are chaotic and disorganized under corrupt autocrats; others rank among the world’s most successful democracies. We focus on the latter.
By 2050, 1 person in 4 on earth will be African. Nigeria will have supplanted the United States as the third most populous country. Seven of the ten fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. Africa is a storehouse of critical minerals, with 40% of the world’s gold, 90% of platinum and chromium, and massive reserves of cobalt, diamonds and uranium needed for global technology. As the world population grows and food becomes more difficult, 65% of the uncultivated arable land is in Africa. Going forward, Africa will be a massive market for trade and provide vast and unique opportunities for investment. Lawyers who are familiar with the continent will have the advantage.
The Fellows and Their Experience
In meeting with the Fellows upon their return, all reported a life changing experience. In each country, they were treated warmly, with appreciation for the quality of their work.
Each country was different. The two Fellows in Ghana spent much of their time participating in trials in the High Court, where they witnessed the excruciatingly slow pace of litigation. In an effort to compile a simultaneous written record, all proceedings are transcribed in real time by a typist whose work appears on the screen. Litigation turns into a group proofreading session as lawyers, witnesses, and the presiding judge correct the transcript as it appears. My students reported it could take as much as an hour to ask and answer ten questions. The program gained widespread interest, as the Fellows were invited to make a formal presentation about their work at the American Embassy to officials working there.
The Fellows in Rwanda quickly discovered that although English is an official language and all of the judges and court officials are completely fluent, many of the written submissions and oral arguments were in the native language of Kinyarwanda. One of the supervising justices told me that AI had come to the rescue, as it flawlessly translated documents between the two languages. In the courtroom, my students were provided with an interpreter when proceedings were in the native language.
Namibia was the most formal setting for the Fellows. Each was immediately assigned to two justices and put to work on their caseloads. They were provided with the formal robes and cravats of court officials that they wore in the courtroom. Their work was appreciated and served as the basis for formal opinions. They were featured on national television in Namibia in a conversation between the Chief Justice and the American ambassador focused on American attempts to aid the Namibian judiciary.
The three courts have given the program glowing reviews and are committed to its continuation. Because law school is an undergraduate degree across Africa—as it is in most of the world—there was some initial skepticism about how much sophisticated help law students could really provide. The justices soon came to understand that law students in the United States are a different breed—older, more mature, and extensively trained in legal research and writing.
Sometimes an idea works, and this one has. Our generous benefactor, Robert Zaytoun, has pledged to continue his support for an expanded program for the next five years. It will provide an experience for Campbell law students unmatched elsewhere.
Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash