Jason Bugg II, 2024-25 Associate, SBS and running the Marine Corps Marathon
This year, the World Bank Group celebrates 10 years of collaboration with Howard University Law School for an exciting hands-on externship program that places top law students in key departments at the Bank. These departments focus on various aspects of dispute resolution, and the Sanctions Board is a perfect fit for this kind of work. Take Jason Bugg, for example¡ªhe is currently working as an Associate at the Sanctions Board Secretariat (SBS), where he helps advise and support the Sanctions Board members. Before joining the program, Jason gained experience interning at Locke Lord LLP in Texas, representing clients at Howard University's Fair Housing Clinic, and working with Rising for Justice, a public interest equal justice project supporting tenant rights in Washington, DC.
1. What has been your journey as a law student and what brought you to the externship program at the World Bank?
My law school journey has been very exploratory. Unlike a lot of my peers, I did not come to law school with a definitive plan or path I intended to follow. All I knew was that my interest was in studying law and that the legal field was where I wanted to end up. So, while carving out a path for myself, I found a passion in international legal work which in turn led me to the World Bank Externship with Howard University School of Law through three of my friends who were in the program last year.
2. How can you describe your work at SBS? Are there some highlights? Surprises?
A lot of the work I do as an Associate involves learning about the World Bank Group anti-corruption practice by reading through past Sanctions Board cases, assisting in organizing current case documents, and reviewing case data for trends.
But I honestly feel like everything I do is a surprise. While I joined with some knowledge of the SBS work program and the WBG as an organization, I had no idea how involved the SBS¡¯s work on anti-corruption on the international level was. For instance, even outside just Sanctions Board case work, the Secretariat team does so much anti-corruption awareness work through conference speaking, publishing notes on particular anti-corruption topics, and traveling around to world to advocate for better practices in sanctioning corrupt individuals. So, I think the biggest surprise when joining the SBS team, was how passionate everyone is about spreading the anti-corruption practice all over the globe. And as a student trying to make a career, seeing the whole team so passionate and involved in their work is truly inspiring.
3. Where do you think your career will take you after law school? What skills or lessons from working at the World Bank Group will you carry away?
Personally, I don¡¯t think I am set in stone on where I want my career path to take me. But, I really hope my career leads me to doing international litigation or into the international anti-corruption field. Through my time in law school, I have really found my stride doing all the lawyering stuff you see in TV shows like Suits and the Lincoln Lawyer. And with the enjoyment I have found working here at the WBG, I hope I can find a way to combine these two passions. With that in mind I really hope to be able to argue to panelist, judges, or countries on an international scale to really hone my skills as an international lawyer.
4. Last but not least, please share something not school or career related!
I love art and photography. So, I feel so lucky to be able to live in a city like DC where there are so many beautiful places and festivals to explore. One of my favorite places is the National Art Gallery East Building that just put up a new Impressionist in Paris art exhibit and I hope every gets an opportunity soon to check it out; or visit your favorite place in DC if art isn¡¯t your forte.