Summer Experience: Elizabeth Rives ’28L This summer, Elizabeth Rives worked as a Summer Associate for the Global Initiative for Transnational Crime in Vienna, Austria.

Elizabeth Rives ’28L

Elizabeth Rives ‘28L is a second-year law student at Washington and Lee and is originally from Alexandria, Virginia. She is an active member of the W&L community, serving as the Treasurer of the Women Law Student’s Organization and an oralist on the Jessup Moot Court team. This past summer she worked as a Summer Associate for the Global Initiative for Transnational Crime in Vienna, Austria. After law school, she hopes to continue working in the transnational law space.

How did you find this position?

With the help of my background in Russian language studies throughout high school and college, W&L’s Transnational Law Institute connected me with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and engages with intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations and European Union.

Did anything surprise you about this work experience?

I found a new area of interest in law that I was not aware of before: the problems that persist in the new international cryptocurrency transactional space. I was surprised by how much cryptocurrency law involves both international relations and gaps between different legal systems.

What were some skills you developed this summer?

I developed my legal research skills by researching international cryptocurrency regulation and cross-border financial crime across Eurasia. I compared domestic VASP regulations with FATF standards and looked at how regulatory gaps can facilitate sanctions evasion and transnational crime.

What was your favorite aspect of this summer work experience?

I liked that the work combined international relations with legal theory. I enjoyed researching why countries approach the same emerging legal problems differently and thinking about how those differences affect international enforcement.

Has this experience helped you figure out post graduate plans, and if so, how?

Yes. It made me more interested in continuing to work in international law while developing a deeper understanding of cryptocurrency regulation, emerging technology, and cross-border financial crime.

How do you think this experience will shape the rest of your time at W&L Law?

I want to continue exploring international law and build on my interest in crypto law. I also hope to take more opportunities to approach legal issues through both an international-relations and legal-theory lens.