General LLM

Diana Goldau, Germany

General LLM 2008-2009

"As a practising lawyer in Germany for one year after my traineeship I realised I needed a broader knowledge of my field of law to succeed in the international market. Hence I was looking for a program to navigate me into the complicated professional sphere of tax and international commercial law.

When considering my alternative for a postgraduate program I was looking for a school that offered a range of options that suited my needs and challenged my academic skills. I chose Queen Mary because of its worldwide academic reputation and teaching staff as well as its outstanding results achieved by Centre of Commercial Law Studies.

To my mind the programme’s biggest assets were the professionals, including lawyers such as David Southern and Angie Raymond, as well as Senior lecturer Ann Mumford, who are the best amongst their fields of law. They brought their first hand experience of the financial world into the classroom. Further they knew how to balance between practice and theory on various foreign affairs and presented issues of the past and the present.

The teaching atmosphere was dazzling and the classes itself seemed to be a mixed cluster of intellectual minds. Since Queen Mary attracts various talents from all over the world, an international environment prevails, which helps to create a great mixture of different people and cultures. Hence, getting involved with all sorts of people made me benefit from a worldwide network"

Sarah E Dooley, USA

General LLM 2007-2008

My path to Queen Mary spanned nearly two years. I first considered a postgraduate law degree while I was still a law student in New Hampshire. I wanted a degree that would expose me to very specialized knowledge in immigration law. By that point I had nearly two years of experience in US immigration law, but I wanted exposure to other immigration schemes and to have a broader knowledge of the comparative law. When I started my search, I was only able to find a handful of schools where taking immigration courses at the LLM level was even possible, and only at Queen Mary was I able to focus my entire LLM study within the field. Upon my learning about the program, I e-mailed Dr Mitsilegas, the LLM tutor and a professor of EU immigration law. I received an answer immediately. His answer was so thoughtful and thorough, and really made me believe that my research interests would be fostered and encouraged. I knew this was the school for me, plus it had the ultimate bonus of being in London.

When I ultimately decided to come to Queen Mary, it was nearly one year later, and I was at a crossroads in my career. I had graduated from law school one-year prior, had recently been admitted to the bars in California and New Jersey, and was clerking in the Family Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. I had several opportunities to stay in New Jersey and work as an immigration attorney, but I wanted something different. Queen Mary came back into my mind. I applied, was accepted, and after many e-mails between Dr. Mitsilegas and myself, and having the counsel of former professors, my family, and my supervising judge, I came to the realization that coming to Queen Mary was the right choice.

Since arriving in London, I have never regretted my decision to come. While I am one of very few students making an exclusive study of immigration law, the personal attention from the faculty has been incredible. I love my courses, I am studying comparative immigration law, immigration in the European Union, and the legal treatment of migrants once they enter a new host nation. It is fascinating. I have had the opportunity to work under the supervision of some of the premier academics in the field. I also have been given the opportunity to further my studies by being selected to attend a summer school in Vienna hosted by the European Union to further study security, border control, human rights, terrorism and public policy.

Queen Mary also provides a great deal of support. While I am a native English speaker, I have taken advantage of legal writing classes for both my dissertation and my upcoming exams. I am also a member of the LLM Staff and Student Liaison Committee which is a group of student representatives who meet with academicians and law school administers to discuss issues as they arise. The University and the School of Law want to make sure that we succeed and they provide the tools for us to do so.

Living in London has also been fantastic. When I first arrived, Queen Mary arranged for international students to be collected from the airport so I didn't need to arrange private transport. They also provided orientation to the local area, the services provided by the school, basic living (like banking and healthcare) in London, and studying law at the LLM level in the United Kingdom. I also have become involved in activities that I never would have thought of doing, like fencing. I am actually even competing now. Also, London has endless possibilities in restaurants, nightlife, museums, and culture.

I would recommend anyone to study at Queen Mary. Coming here is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Cristiane Dias, Brazil

General LLM 2006-7

Cristiane Dias, Brazil

"After graduating, I worked as a correspondent lawyer in Rio (in the field of commercial law) for several law firms before deciding to do an LLM. I chose Queen Mary because it is a prominent institution and I received great treatment from the staff whilst applying, having visited the University.

I studied Public International Law focusing in Environmental Law, which was taught by leading experts, as I hoped to use this knowledge when I returned to Brazil. I am now working in the Environmental department at Thyssenkrupp CSA, a German company, based in Rio."