When LSU Law Center alum Michael deBarros’ wife, Jenna, returned from a trip to South Africa in 2008, she couldn’t stop telling Michael about the wonderful people, beautiful scenery and diverse cultures she encountered. Jenna couldn’t wait to go back. A Baton Rouge native, Michael, who had never traveled beyond North America, began searching for legal opportunities in South Africa while still a law student at the state’s flagship law school.

“My research led me to the Constitutional Court of South Africa’s website,” said deBarros. “I was instantly awed by the history of the Court, the number and scope of landmark decisions issued since its inception, and the broad socio-economic rights explicitly protected by their Constitution. I was also thrilled to learn that the Constitutional Court accepted foreign law clerks!”

deBarros received his J.D. in 2009 and worked as a law clerk for the late Judge Ralph Tyson at the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana for...