"I've studied in three countries, and have experience with each legal culture. Without any doubt, the programme in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution at Queen Mary University was the best organised, had among the best industry connections, and across the board, provided the best support for students. This became especially clear during their well-coordinated response to the pandemic."
Year of graduation: 2020Name of programme: Comparative and International Dispute Resolution LLMCountry: Canada
Early in my career change, an arbitration professor for whom I have a lot of respect told me that Queen Mary's programme was one of the best in the world, and something I should aim for. A few years later, I found myself in the position of applying for London based LLMs, and Queen Mary was my first choice.
All the professors are at the top of their field, in their own right. They also understand how to impart their knowledge, and how to connect with students to help them learn. The professors made learning complex material feel natural and easy - exactly the way it should be. Having studied in three countries, I have a basis for comparison: I received the best overall education at Queen Mary.
While a superior education is important, industry contacts are, if anything, more important. The competitively selected student mentorship programme, together with regular networking events, allowed me to connect with professionals in my field that I would never have had access to otherwise.
I combined modules in risk management and sovereign debt, from the Banking and Finance specialisation, into my programme in Dispute Resolution. One of the main advantages was to help give me a foundation in a rewarding field that I would otherwise have been deprived of. I now understand the basics of several structured financial products, and can take advantage of an increasing trend where cross-border financial disputes are settled by arbitration.
Ask many questions, and make an effort to get to know your professors. They are caring, intelligent, and often understand how to navigate confusing career decisions.
Despite the setbacks to my career posed by the pandemic, I have an invaluable network and personal connections with colleagues that will last a lifetime. As my career progresses, I will be in a position to mentor people from my community who want to take an underexplored path in the legal profession.
Again, despite the pandemic, my best experience was taking all the knowledge I had gained over the last year, and combining it into my dissertation. I am very proud of the work I produced. I could never have written something of that quality without my education at Queen Mary, and I have used that knowledge more than once in my writing since graduation.