November 20, 2025
Leading human rights lawyer Agnieszka Fryszman, L’96, joined students, alumni and members of the Georgetown Law community on Nov. 13 to deliver the Human Rights Institute’s annual Drinan Lecture on Human Rights.
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In her address, “Against the Headwinds: Human Rights Lawyering in a Fractured World,” Fryszman discussed the role of lawyers in advocating for survivors of human rights violations amid rising authoritarianism and challenges to the rule of law. “All of you, you can do this,” she urged the students in the audience. “You can represent clients and change the trajectory of their lives.”
“You need to find a law that fits,” said Fryszman, who in the spring semester will teach a course on human rights litigation in U.S. courts. “It might be negligence law, it might be foreign law, [it] might be international law.”
Fryszman also noted the importance of avenues beyond legal advocacy, including electoral politics and public policy, in helping uphold human dignity and the rule of law.
“Even though it’s never been perfect or fair, that promise of the rule of law, of justice in our courts, is worth fighting for,” she said. “With a little bit of legal creativity, a little bit of luck and a lot of tenaciousness, I think it’s possible to hold onto and expand that promise.”
Read Human Rights Lawyer Agnieszka Fryszman, L’96, Delivers 2025-2026 Drinan Lecture on Human Rights.