This summer, Aiman Shahab L’26 worked with the Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM) in Mexico City.
Aiman Shahab L’26 is a rising 2L at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School from Atlanta, GA who aims to be a litigator with a focus in cross-border and immigration law.
This summer, I am working as a law clerk at Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM) in Mexico City. CDM is dedicated to supporting the rights of migrant workers, and I’m grateful to have received the Global Justice and Mead Fellowships from Penn Carey Law to fund this experience. My role as a law clerk thus far has included conducting client interviews, drafting complaints and memos for workplace violation cases, and educating female migrant workers on their legal protections.
I was keen to work abroad this summer at an organization where I could build my language skills and get substantive experience. I initially learned about CDM after meeting Sarah Paoletti, Practice Professor of Law and Founder and Director of the Transnational Legal Clinic, who sits on the board of CDM.
Spanish has been crucial in my work here, and I appreciate Penn Carey Law’s support in helping me prepare.My conversations with Legal Practice Skills (LPS) Senior Lecturer Silvia Diaz were instrumental; she even conducted client intakes in Spanish with me, mirroring much of the work I do now. The Office of International Affairs also provided a micro-grant for Spanish classes before my internship began.
Several Penn Carey Law classes were pivotal in preparing me for my legal work at CDM. “International Law” with Professor of Law Bill Burke-White was a standout. I am leveraging what I learned in class to understand international trade & labor treaties like the USMCA and ILO. My LPS course with Senior Lecturer Karen U. Lindell equipped me with legal research and writing skills, which I use often in my internship.
Through CDM, I’m building on skills that are crucial for the work I hope to do in the future. In the fall, I’m externing at the Nationalities Services Center doing detained immigration work, and the client skills developed at CDM will directly support the externship. I plan to pursue a career as a litigator with a focus on international law. I also hope to support immigrants facing human rights violations. The client-building, legal research, and cross-cultural skills I’m building through CDM directly supports these interests.
Pathways to the Profession highlights Penn Carey Law students and post-graduate fellows as they launch impactful legal careers. From summer internships in the private sector to public interest post-graduate fellowships and externships, these firsthand accounts of substantive legal work demonstrate the myriad opportunities available to Penn Carey Law students and graduates.
Read more Penn Carey Law students’ Pathways to the Profession.