Some students arrive at law school with a carefully mapped-out career plan. Bryan Thompson arrived with something different: an insatiable curiosity.

After a 16-year career as an aviation charter broker coordinating flights for college athletic teams across the country, Thompson made the uncommon decision to begin again. He earned a master’s degree in law before enrolling at Ave Maria School of Law, bringing with him not only professional experience, but a habit of asking questions that don’t always have easy answers.

That curiosity eventually carried him thousands of miles from Naples to Iceland. What he found there wasn’t simply another legal system. It was another way of thinking about the law itself.

While legal education is often associated with casebooks and courtrooms, some of the most meaningful lessons happen when students step beyond familiar surroundings. Ave Maria School of Law encourages students to pursue opportunities that broaden their legal education and challenge them to view the law from new perspectives.

Chief Justice Bogason
Bryan Thompson (left) with Benedikt Bogason, president (chief justice) of the Supreme Court of Iceland, following the group’s visit to the Supreme Court of Iceland.

This summer, Thompson participated in a comparative law study abroad program in Iceland hosted by Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. Based at the University of Iceland in Reykjavík, the program explored land use, natural resources and the Icelandic legal system through classroom instruction and firsthand experiences with the country’s legal and governmental institutions.

One of the first concepts students explored was the distinction between Europe’s civil law tradition and the American common law system. Unlike common law, which develops significantly through judicial precedent, civil law relies primarily on comprehensive legal codes enacted by legislatures. Rather than asking which system was “better,” students were encouraged to consider why different societies have developed different legal traditions to solve many of the same challenges.

For Thompson, that question became the thread that connected everything that followed.

“It wasn’t just about the law,” he said. “It was a lot of things.”

One of the most memorable experiences was a visit to the Supreme Court of Iceland, where students met with Benedikt Bogason, president (chief justice) of the Supreme Court of Iceland. Hearing directly from the leader of the nation’s highest court transformed comparative law from an academic subject into a living legal system. Instead of reading about Iceland’s judiciary in a textbook, Thompson gained firsthand insight into how the country’s courts interpret and apply the law within the context of its history, government and society.

As the program continued, another realization began to take shape. Iceland’s approach to fisheries, land use and environmental stewardship illustrated how deeply a nation’s laws are influenced by its geography, economy and culture. Those policies weren’t merely regulations. They reflected generations of decisions about what should be protected and why.

The experience also gave Thompson a greater appreciation for the responsibility that accompanies the law. Whether managing natural resources, planning communities or resolving disputes, legal decisions often have consequences that extend far beyond the present generation.

“You don’t realize just how important some of these policies really are when they’re not done right,” Thompson reflected. “You can’t get it back.”

Later, the experience took Thompson to Strasbourg, France, where visits to the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights expanded his understanding of how legal systems can work together across national boundaries. Seeing the institutions firsthand and learning how they coordinate among Europe’s many nations, languages and legal traditions gave him a new appreciation for the complexity of international cooperation and the enduring importance of the rule of law across national boundaries.

Gradually, Thompson realized that many of the legal questions Americans wrestle with are not uniquely American. Different countries may arrive at different answers, but they often grapple with the same fundamental questions of justice, morality and the common good.

“It opened up my eyes to things I had never considered,” Thompson said. “I think that’s part of this whole experience in law school. You just keep finding yourself in these things, going, ‘I didn’t really know this existed or considered it,’ but it’s certainly important.”

For Thompson, the experience confirmed that studying the law is ultimately about more than understanding statutes and precedent. It is about understanding the people, places and principles the law is meant to serve.