In keeping with Hawai‘i's location, culture and history, the Law School has long emphasized Pacific-Asian Legal Studies (PALS). Our Pacific-Asian courses are increasingly important as American law practice has become ever more globalized. They continue to provide a comparative perspective on the U.S. legal system, which we believe is valuable for all of our students.
The Law School offers more courses on Asian law than almost any other law school, and we are the only American law school to teach Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islands law.
At Richardson Law School, students have access to:
- an broad selection of courses on Pacific-Asian legal issues;
- permanent faculty members who teach courses in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean law on a regular basis, and
- visiting Asian scholars who offer shorter specialty courses on law in Pacific-Asian states.
Real-world experience
We encourage our students to broaden their exposure to Asia and the Pacific through
- externships,
- language training and law study abroad opportunities, and
- participation in area studies centers on the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa campus.
Learn more about the PALS program below: