Kirby Simon Fellow Spotlight: Max Pushkin ’28 at the International Committee of the Red Cross

“Bring IHL Home” is the International Committee of the Red Cross’s shorthand for a persistent question in international humanitarian law, or IHL: how do you make sure a treaty signed in Geneva changes what happens on the ground in legal systems around the world? 

Max Pushkin ’28 is collaborating with the committee’s legal counsel team this summer on exactly that dilemma. The group, he explains, works directly with national governments and outside actors on national implementation of international humanitarian law.    

Pushkin’s path here started during his undergraduate studies at Brown University, where a summer internship with the International Rescue Committee's Resettlement Program sparked his interest in humanitarianism. Then, as a Marshall Scholar, his research at Oxford and St. Andrews focused on IHL and emerging technology. By the time he arrived at Yale Law School, he knew that human rights and humanitarian law were his passions.

That’s what makes the Kirby Simon Summer Fellowship, which funded his placement at the ICRC, matter so much to him.

“I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do the work I care about if I wasn't being funded by this fellowship,” Pushkin said. 

The Kirby Simon Fellowship is part of the Orville H. Schell Jr. Center for International Human Rights and is supported by the Robina Foundation. It funds Yale Law School students to spend their summers engaging in human rights work through an internship or research at international organizations, NGOs, and courts worldwide. Pushkin is one of 16 Yale Law School students who received a Kirby Simon Fellowship this summer.

Pushkin says the fellowship has enriched his law school education. 

“In school, everything is theoretical — you're not necessarily seeing how things are done on the ground by actual practitioners,” he said. “There’s no field where that's more abstract for law students than international law. To see up close what the actual legal work looks like has been really fascinating.” Expressing his gratitude for this opportunity, he says, "There's really no other place than the ICRC when we talk about the promotion of IHL. They are the IHL organization."

Additionally, the fellowship is exposing Pushkin to new perspectives, which he finds rewarding. 

“I think with most internships, you're working with other American law students, but I don't work with a single person who is trained in the legal system that I am being trained in now,” he said. “We can learn as much international law as we want, but this is truly operating in international law with people internationally across borders.”

Pushkin hopes other students will consider the field — and the fellowship. Citing the sheer volume of ongoing conflicts and the subsequent humanitarian impact,

Pushkin believes that international humanitarian law is a critical area of focus. As he puts it, “If you're interested in human rights, especially at the moment we're globally, it's really important for us to be doing this sort of work. IHL still matters and I feel really proud to be in an organization like this.” 

As for the Kirby Simon Fellowship, Pushkin said, “It's very rare to find an opportunity where you can be compensated and learn in such a positive way. It's definitely something I recommend applying to.”

Visit the Schell Center’s website for information about the Kirby Simon Summer Fellowship and how to apply. Yale Law School students: for human rights summer fellowship advising, contact dina.haynes@yale.edu.