Month: November 2023

Master of Laws Interviews Season 2: Episode 9: Allan Achesa Maleche Human Rights Lawyer and Global Health Expert

How to change the world as an internationally trained lawyer?

On a regular Thursday, Allan started his day by moderating a UN General Assembly session in New York City on how to achieve inclusive governance and what we have learned from the HIV response. The day before, he won a case after 9 years in litigation, where four women living with HIV challenged their forced and coerced sterilization. The ruling marked a historic moment, as it was the first time a court had declared such an act discriminatory.

By Yi Song

How to change the world as an internationally trained lawyer?

Allan Achesa Maleche

Human Rights Lawyer and Global Health Expert

On a regular Thursday, Allan started his day by moderating a UN General Assembly session in New York City on how to achieve inclusive governance and what we have learned from the HIV response. The day before, he won a case after 9 years in litigation, where four women living with HIV challenged their forced and coerced sterilization. The ruling marked a historic moment, as it was the first time a court had declared such an act discriminatory.

Allan is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards in social justice and human rights law, including Economic and Social Rights Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year Award and the Elizabeth Taylor Human Rights Award. What are the most important takeaway(s) from his legal education in the U.S.? What are the important lawyering skills internationally trained lawyers need to possess to excel and thrive? Who are his role models in the law?

Subscribe to the LinkedIn weekly newsletter to receive FREE insider tips. Read Allan’s tory here.

Master of Laws Interviews Season 2: Episode 8: Ruoke Liu Partner, Investment Funds, Morgan Lewis

By Yi Song

Ruoke Liu
Partner, Investment Funds, Morgan Lewis

The hiring partner tells you: what is BigLaw looking for when hiring internationally trained lawyers?

When Ruoke graduated from law school, the U.S. economy was in the midst of the subprime crisis. The job market posed unprecedented challenges. Undeterred, she persisted and eventually secured a position in the investment funds practice group.

Now, as a hiring partner at Morgan Lewis, she interviewed and hired many candidates. What lawyering skills and qualifications do BigLaw firms seek when hiring internationally trained lawyers? What advice does her have on effective networking? What was her most important takeaway about legal writing? Why does she believe that listening to English improves writing as a non-native speaker?

Subscribe to the LinkedIn weekly newsletter to receive FREE insider tips. Read Ruoke’s story here.

Master of Laws Interviews Season 2: Episode 7: Nikolaos Doukellis Associate Attorney, Investigations and White Collar Defense, Hogan Lovells

By Yi Song

How did he transition from the World Bank to BigLaw?

When Nick arrived in the U.S. for his LL.M, he planned to return home after graduation. However, a few weeks into the LLM, he found his classes intriguing, and he began to reassess his plan. Soon he realized that he would need to pass the bar to keep practicing law in the U.S. He took more courses after he graduated to meet the New York Bar requirement, he successfully passed the bar exam two years after he graduated. His externship at the World Bank became a permanent position, which he stayed on for five years with a short stint at PwC. Today he is an associate attorney at the Investigation, White Collar and Fraud practice at Hogan Lovells in DC.

What activities and events he attended during law school are the most helpful to develop his career? How did he get the externship at the World Bank? How did he turn his externship into a permanent position? Why did he say that law school is a journey of self-discovery?

Subscribe to the LinkedIn weekly newsletter to receive FREE insider tips. Read Nikolaos’ story here.

Master of Laws Interviews Season 2: Episode 6: Monica Murayama International Arbitration Attorney, Steptoe & Johnson LLP

By Yi Song

How to network and ace your BigLaw interview with a personal touch?

For most internationally trained lawyers, the job search in the U.S. begins on Day One of their LL.M. Program. For Monica, it started from Day Zero. She started searching for jobs in the summer before her LL.M. program began. She dedicated eight months to meticulous research, networking and interviewing with potential firms that could hire her. A Brazil-trained lawyer fluent in Portuguese, French and English, Monica had countless coffee meetings with BigLaw partners specializing in international arbitration. Some generously shared their own career journeys, while others were more blunt, “I have five minutes. What do you want?”

One day, while preparing for one of these informational interviews, Moica discovered that the senior partner who was to interview her had lived in Brazil for six months some thirty years ago. She seized this connection to add a personal touch to their conversation. Today she’s working with the partner at Steptoe & Johnson specialized in international arbitration.

How did she jumpstart on networking from Day Zero to land a prestigious externship? How did she turn the externship into a permanent position at another renowned firm? What’s her strategy to network with partners at BigLaw and effectively following up with them? How can you add a personal touch to the daunting process of networking?

Subscribe to the LinkedIn weekly newsletter to receive FREE insider tips. Read Monica’s story here.

Master of Laws Interviews Season 2: Episode 5: Ignacio Zabala Alonso, International Arbitration Lawyer licensed in NY, Spain and England & Wales, McDermott Will & Emery

By Yi Song

How did he turn his BigLaw externship into a post-graduation job offer?

When Ignacio walked out of his first interview for a competitive externship position, he wasn’t feeling optimistic. He was thrown off his pace by the interviewer’s first question: “So, do you have any questions for me?” He managed to get hired as an extern anyway in the International Arbitration Group at McDermott Will & Emery. The externship later turned into a long-term position that allowed him to stay with the firm after he graduated with his LLM degree.

How did he turn things around during the interview, even if he felt like he started off on the wrong foot? How did he turn the externship into a long-term position? What is expected of an internationally trained lawyer like Ignacio in BigLaw? Being a licensed attorney in Spain, England & Wales, what’s Ignacio’s take on the work culture difference between BigLaw in the U.S. and in Europe?

Subscribe to the LinkedIn weekly newsletter to receive FREE insider tips. Read Ignacio’s story here.

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