Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program

Since 2012, the Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program's esteemed mentorship has helped outstanding law students from the top US law schools explore timely legal issues and develop leadership skills and connections needed to shape a better world through careers in international law. 

For each Fellow's original research paper, select faculty from the top US law schools offer guidance on how to make their argument more effective and how to succeed in publishing papers in journals across academia.  

In parallel, lawyers and other mentors from both public and private practice guide Fellows in exploring a range of traditional and non-traditional career paths in international law and public service, helping them to align their passions with personal impact.  

Each year's program also includes several keynote speakers who share their career expertise and insights in international law. 

Each year, Salzburg Cutler Fellows are invited to present an original research paper on a topic of private or public international law. 

Their research covers international, transnational, or comparative law, including international human rights and humanitarian law; national security law; international environmental and climate law and policy; international courts and tribunals; international finance, investment, monetary and trade law; international technology and artificial intelligence (AI) law, or the comparative law of other legal systems.

The Salzburg Cutler Fellows Program is currently open to students from the following 15 US law schools: Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Michigan, New York University, Northwestern, Penn, Stanford, UCLA, Virginia, and Yale. 

Lloyd N. Cutler (1917–2005), described as the last “superlawyer,” had a brilliant legal career. A founder of the Washington, DC law firm, Wilmer Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale), and White House Counsel to two US presidents, he fulfilled the calling of a public servant over his lifetime. 

He was repeatedly nominated for and accepted appointments in Democratic and Republican administrations alongside a vast array of charitable, educational, and legal organizations. 

Cutler was a long-time champion of Salzburg Global, serving as chair of its Board of Directors for a decade and as a Board Director for more than 20 years. 

Believing passionately in the role that law plays in nation-building and in the ability of the law and legal experts to contribute solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges, he attracted high court judges from around the world to Salzburg. 

In addition, he was personally committed to ensuring that promising young international lawyers, academics, and jurists had access at Salzburg Global to a rich variety of judicial traditions, international legal institutions, and the international legal community at large. 

Today, Salzburg Global remembers him not only for his intellectual brilliance, but also for his commitment to advancing respect for the law as a tool for resolving the great issues of our times. 

The Cutler Lecture is held under the auspices of the Cutler Center for the Rule of Law and was inaugurated in 2010 to honor Washington “super lawyer” Lloyd N. Cutler (1917–2005). The Lecture focuses on international legal issues and the rule of law. 

The Lecture is held annually in Washington, DC, in a discussion that underscores Salzburg Global’s roots in the United States and its enduring commitment to advancing the rule of law worldwide. 

Former lecturers include Eric Schmidt, former CEO and chairman of Google; Justice Richard J. Goldstone, Former Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda; Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer; Dr. Fiona Hill, foreign affairs specialist and former deputy assistant to the U.S. President; and Hugh Verrier, Former Chair of White and Case LLP.