Amicus Partners

First Person Accounts: Jose Faina on NYU Law’s Tax LLM

May 24, 2022

First Person Accounts (FPA’s) are meant to provide a first-hand account of law graduates who have pursued, or are pursuing, a post-graduate course (LL.M. or otherwise) from different universities across the world.

In this FPA, we get Jose Faina Rodriguez-Vila to talk about the reasons he opted for the LLM in Taxation at NYU Law, his first Tax LLM at IE Law School, preparing for the NY Bar, and a whole lot more.

The NYU LLM was your second master’s in Tax Law. What were the factors that made you consider a second Tax LLM, and once this was decided how did you go about selecting just where to apply?

Tax Law is probably one of the most complex and technical areas within the Law and although the majority of jurisdictions share the same principles, the rules and details vary significantly from European countries to the United States.

I gained my first Tax LLM at a major Spanish university and thus it was focused mostly on Spanish and EU Tax Law. It helped me land my first job as an associate at Baker McKenzie in Spain.

However, my ultimate goal was to become a qualified tax lawyer in the United States specialized in international taxation and structuring of cross-border deals, where I could leverage on both my European and U.S. experience. Consequently, NYU Law was the most interesting route.

For students interested in specializing in U.S. federal Tax Law, there are three – maybe four – major schools well-known for providing first class education. Those are Northwestern University, University of Florida, Georgetown and, of course, New York University.

I applied to the last three schools and fortunately was admitted to all of them. My decision focused then on the overall prestige, tuition, scholarships and location. In this regard, NYU is known for being the top LLM program for Tax Law in the U.S. and it is located at the heart of the financial center of the world.

I received a higher scholarship for Georgetown but finally opted to attend the NYU program because of the multiple networking possibilities that New York offers as a city.

Given the specialised nature of your study, were there any other schools that you shortlisted?

As mentioned above, I applied to University of Florida and Georgetown apart from NYU. In addition, I also applied to Columbia University because even though their Tax LLM is not within the top programs, their overall reputation in law is still likely to be a good investment.

However, by April 2020 Columbia emailed me saying that they would need more time to consider my application. Because I had already been admitted to NYU and received a decent scholarship, I finally withdrew my Columbia application.

Sticking with the application process, any advice on how to approach the application itself? How much time do you think one should devote to the application?

Each candidate should take the application process very seriously. These schools are highly selective and in general the student needs to show good grades, relevant work experience and good command of the English language. The cover letter is also very important because it helps the Admissions Committee to differentiate among candidates and ascertain the reasons why the candidate is applying to their program.

It is advisable to get familiar with the faculty and read some of their publications in order to show that you are interested in the work they do and willing to learn from them. It is also recommended to review the cover letter several times and gather opinions from multiple sources (e.g. friends, family, professors).

Although admissions are highly competitive, weak points can be offset by other aspects of the overall candidacy. For example, having lower-than-average grades should not be a problem if the candidate can prove that he/she has experience working with top firms, has done relevant pro bono work for the community or has other relevant skills.

Looking back, what were some of the bigger differences between the LLM at NYU and the LLM at IE Law School?

The approach was similar because IE Law School is a Spanish school that follows the U.S. teaching approach – socratic method and case study. IE is mostly known for their MBA and their Master’s degrees in Finance and International Business, however it has built a niche reputation for being the top Tax LLM in Spain.

IE also partners with NYU in multiple fields and they have arrangements to send their students for a couple of months to study at the other one. However, although IE has a very diverse class when it comes to its MBA, it is not the case with regards to their LLMs.

NYU is different in the sense that it is one of the top schools for Law and Business, and thus there are students from all around the globe. NYU is also located in the middle of the hustle and bustle of a great metropolis as New York City. Their faculty is excellent in all fields and it has a great career services office to help students in their job search.

Again, with the benefit of hindsight, what were some of the most rewarding aspects of the NYU LLM?

Being able to study at one of the world’s best institutions for legal education is definitely one of the most important aspects to consider. In addition, NYU has such an academic community feeling that I have not seen anywhere else. They offer a lot of flexibility as compared to other top law schools in the U.S.

For instance, during the pandemic, all other major schools (Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc.) were not willing to allow their students to defer their enrolment date even if those students were not able to get student visas on time.

On the contrary, NYU heard its students’ demands and arranged a whole new academic year for us, starting in January 2021 and graduating in December 2021. In addition, it is also very rewarding being able to sit the New York Bar Exam after having successfully graduated from a New York school.

When did you start preparing for the NY Bar exam? And any advice for those considering the NY Bar exam in the future?

As people often say, the NY Bar exam is not a sprint, it is a marathon. Generally bar students start their NY Bar preparation in May after graduating from their LLM / JD. As an LLM, we lack the three years of law school study that JDs have, but do not let that scare you.

Passing the NY Bar is absolutely possible if you are willing to make the effort and commitment to full-time studying for 8-10 weeks. Organization is key to success in taking the bar exam. Students should allocate between 8 to 10 hours a day of study, including weekends and festivities. Memorizing the outlines sooner than later may prove to be a huge advantage.

Also, choosing the right bar preparation course is important. There are some differences among the various programs that the market offers. Barbri is generally considered the best one but there are others such as Themis or Kaplan which also have very high passing rates. It all comes down to what your budget is, to whether you prefer studying remotely, whether you need customized service, and things like that.

Finally, it is all about practicing, practicing and more practicing. After doing around 1,500-2,000 MBE questions the learning curve gets more efficient because the patterns we see at the actual exam are very similar to the ones you get during your practice sessions. It is also very important to practice MPTs primarily because of the time constraints.

As long as you are able to manage the timings, you should get 20% of your score with relatively no effort because there is nothing to memorize for that part. When studying for the MEE, it is important to focus on the highly tested topics like Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Miranda warnings, Mortgages or Negligence. You will probably not be able to answer all the questions and problems, but, guess what, you don’t need a perfect score, you just need to pass!

Lastly, any advice for lawyers who are looking to pursue a foreign LLM?

Do not be afraid of failure. We all know doing an LLM in a foreign country is a huge investment but believe me, that with the right dose of effort and commitment it will eventually pay out. Build a strategy for and after the LLM, have a plan B, a plan C and even a plan D; network as much as you can and, most importantly, enjoy the LLM year because you will not have a similar experience ever in your life!

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First Person Accounts: Heli Pathak on the Public International Law LL.M. at Leiden University

May 16, 2022
First Person Accounts (FPA’s) are meant to provide a first-hand account of Indian graduates who have pursued, or are pursuing, a post-graduate course (LL.M. or otherwise) from different universities across the world.

Heli Pathak is a 2014 law graduate of Nirma University, who enrolled for the LL.M. in Public International Law at Leiden University in 2015. In this FPA, she discusses how she went about selecting where to apply, the application process itself, the benefits of the LLM as a working professional, and a whole lot more.

Heli Pathak

At what point of time did you decide that PIL was a field of law you were interested in? And on this basis, what were some of the schools you shortlisted for your LLM?

It was in my undergraduate studies itself, that I had decided I wanted to pursue a Masters Degree. There were no specific goals with which I was pursuing LLB degree, and participating in co-curricular activities helped me understand my skill sets.

Our college had a Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Center, and out of curiosity I attended their meetings. That’s when I really got interested in Public International Law and Refugee crisis. Also all thanks to my professors, they recommended a lot of extra reading material for the same.

In order to realize my interest, I attended courses at ISIL (Indian Society for International Law) and started picking out internships to match my interests. I interned at AALCO (Asian-African Legal Consultancy Organization), NHRC (National Human Rights Commission), etc. to name a few. That’s when I decided I wanted to assimilate further information in this field and started researching my options by talking to people and reading research papers pertaining to this field.

Choosing a school for this course was very easy, because of the fact, that I had already narrowed down the subject of my interest and because its a very niche area, there weren’t many options. Because I talked to people at my internships/extra courses and read research papers on the subject, I had the benefit of limiting my options based on the limited authority in Public International Law domain, particularly Humanitarian Law.

So, I chose only 3 colleges to apply to i.e.
- Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights
- Advanced Studies Program in Public International Law at Leiden University
- MA in International Law and Settlement of Disputes at UN University of Peace
What made you narrow down on the Leiden LLM? What were some of your expectations from the LLM?

All the three Universities were premier ranking in the field of International Humanitarian Law, and I got accepted in all three of them. But it all came down to cost of living, tuition fee and capacity to be absorbed as a professional at the earliest. The location was also something of prime importance.

Personally, the LLM at Leiden for a legal professional is a dream come true because of its proximity to The Hague-International Court of Justice. And precisely for this reason, I chose the LLM at Leiden and also for the reason that it had some of the best faculty in this field, in terms of actual working professionals coming to teach us.

My expectations from the LLM, was just to learn as much as possible along with honing my researching skills and to a certain extent get an insight into working in the field with this knowledge.

Any advice on the LLM application process? Looking back, what were some of the more challenging aspects of the application?

My advice would be to first clear your intent for receiving a masters degree. I think the question I asked myself again and again was “Why do you want to do it?” so that I did not waiver from my goal.

During the application process, I was tempted to apply to more colleges and at times I doubted myself that whether I would get in any of these places at all. I used to also think, if not any one of these three then what after? But I pacified myself with the thought that if not any, then I would apply the following year. I already was working at that time and for me the purpose of my LLM was clear.

In terms of challenges, the biggest obstacle I faced was, absolute lack of guidance. No one I knew, was pursuing this specific degree, whom I could ask questions pertaining to preparing application, writing an SOP, career options, etc.

In 2015, social media/professional network on internet was still at a very nascent stage, so connecting with people in this field was not as easy as it is now.

Did you apply for/receive financial aid?

Yes, I did apply for Student Education Loan from a bank, which was the most difficult part of the process. I was granted the same as well after crossing various hurdles.

How was the Leiden LLM experience itself? Were your expectations met?

The Leiden LLM was an overall extremely enriching experience. The course itself was very demanding with regard to academics, but in that span of a year, I can safely say that not only did I acquire knowledge but sharpened my research skills.

My expectations were 100% met and it was in consonance with my professional growth.

With the benefit of hindsight, how have you seen the LLM help in your own professional and personal growth? For instance, as a judicial clerk, have you found the LLM experience helping you manage workload?

In hindsight, I sub-consciously acquired skills which have helped me immensely in all the jobs I took up. Some of them are:
- Deadline pressure: In the LLM course, the mode of teaching was very non-traditional (as compared to India). So instead of conducting conventional written exams, many of the subjects had paper submissions and take home exams. These forms of assessment pushed our limits and helped me form well researched, fact based legal opinions in a very limited time.
  As a judicial clerk, for my employer to carry out his function of speedy disposal of cases, I have to assist him with very thorough and detailed research notes, which are multidimensional as well.
- Networking: Because the LLM course itself was non-traditional, within the coursework, we were encouraged to interact with the professors, visiting faculty and the alumni. These interactions helped me in connecting with people and maintain healthy professional relationships.
- Attention to detail: In the masters program, the faculty pushed us to have a microscopic view of each and every issue that was presented to us. This helped me in forming a subjective and objective view with an exhaustive analysis covering all facets of the issue at hand.
Lastly, any advice for the Indian law graduate who is considering a master’s abroad?

My advice would be to make a reasoned, calculated and thorough decision before pursuing a master’s degree abroad. Such courses are highly professional in nature it depends on the individual, as to how much advantage can you siphon out of it. Try and talk to as many people as possible to be guided in the right direction or meet your goals in the most effective manner.

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Event Alert: Attend National Jurist’s “Coming To America” (May 12, 2022)

May 6, 2022

Legal education publication The National Jurist will be hosting a three-hour long online event titled “Coming to America” which will see participation from 10 different law schools.

Here is an excerpt from the registration page:

Are you thinking about an LL.M. in America? Do you wonder how easy it is to get admitted? Is an American LL.M. worth the cost and time? What can you do to maximize your chances of getting into a great school? How do you choose the best school?

The event is scheduled for May 12, 2022 at 18:30 hours IST.
Captain Obvious strikes again or Law Schools can build India recruitments by building an online presence

May 6, 2022
A recent webinar held by the excellent people at PIE provided a welcome degree of validation for us here at Amicus Partners. Discussing the role of technology in student recruitment, the speakers provided some great insights into the present and future of student recruitment. The “validation” part kicked in as the speakers began talking about the cost advantages that technology provides, especially when compared to the costs of offline events such as education fairs.

At Amicus Partners, I have seen the cost advantages up close. Targeted campaigns on Facebook for instance can be up and running for less than 5 cents a click; higher visibility campaigns (resulting in nearly 50,000 clicks a month) can be had for roughly 20 cents a click.

These are mind boggling numbers, and as any law school’s finance department will tell you, far, far lower than what will be spent on travel costs for one education fair alone.

Which is not to say that education fairs or in-person events are meaningless, far from it. At the risk of sounding like a Luddite, I continue to believe that in-person interactions are crucial. But they need not be the only method of outreach.

Think of online campaigns as the first step of any outreach activity as opposed to the be all and end all. And, as elucidated above, these online campaigns do not necessarily entail a substantial financial investment.

Such campaigns should ideally include a social media presence, which in itself is again not that difficult to do. In fact, this is something that law schools around the world are already doing, some to great effect.

Having said that, and this is something our former intern Swati researched on, law schools rarely have a separate social media presence for LLM applicants alone. Instead, the presence is largely for and by the JD audience.

Which is unfortunate to say the least.

Not only does this mean that graduate admissions teams do not have access to the leads which social media campaigns can churn out, but it also adds to the perception that graduate programs are low down in the priority list for foreign law schools.

Which is, again, quite unfortunate.

But this can change. At very little cost.

So, if you are a law school that is looking to build on India recruitments, here are a few things you can do:
- Build a presence on at least one platform such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook (In that order)
- Have a specific data collection page for LLM applicants to derive maximum benefit from the campaign
- Outsource work to organisations such as Amicus Partners (cough cough)
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First Person Accounts: Diya Mehta on the LL.M. at University of Cambridge

April 28, 2022

First Person Accounts (FPA’s) are meant to provide a first-hand account of Indian graduates who have pursued, or are pursuing, a post-graduate course (LL.M. or otherwise) from different universities across the world.

Diya Mehta is currently pursuing an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge. The 2019 LLB graduate from Jindal Global Law School shares her thoughts on the Cambridge LL.M. application process, how she shortlisted her law schools, and a whole lot more.

Diya Mehta

Before getting to the LLM itself, let us discuss the LLB. What prompted you to take up the LLB course after your undergrad? Looking back, has it been a rewarding choice?

My undergrad degree had certain law subjects that sparked my interest in the course. By the time I graduated I knew I had to make my career in the legal field and so decided to pursue LLB at O.P Jindal Global University.

I think my time and exposure at O.P Jindal had a massive role to play that pushed me towards getting an LLM. It acted as a necessary catalyst and that is from where I embarked my journey towards getting a Masters. Jindal provided me with the opportunities that helped me know my potential and helped me file my skills-set. From working as a teaching assistant to participating in moots, it made me reach where I am today.

As for the LLM, when did you start considering a foreign master’s? Any any other schools that you looked at?

The atmosphere that Jindal provides is such that you will want to work hard and push the envelope. The professors are friendly, supportive, and so inspiring that you find yourself wishing to be like them. And for me the journey began in the first semester of LLB itself. That’s what impelled me to wake up every day and work towards my goals. That’s where and how I learnt that sky is the limit indeed.

My primary focus was on the US Universities and even though I had offer letters from NYU, Columbia, Cornell, and Berkeley, my plans of pursuing Masters from the US could not solidify due to the pandemic and I guess every cloud has a silver lining.

Applying to Cambridge was a shot in the dark that made it to the target.

What were the criteria you relied on for shortlisting schools?

To lay the foundations, I started with making the top 10 universities in the world my holy grail and that was certainly all or nothing for me. My next focus was the subject I wanted my specialisation in and that made me narrow down the list further.

The professors at Jindal were extremely helpful with their guidance. I gave due consideration to my long-term plans while making my final choice. Thinking ahead will come handy as LLM is an investment and you would not want to put your money where the return is not guaranteed.

The Cambridge LLM application requires applicants to be quite succinct in their submissions – any advice on how to go about this, as well as the application process itself?

In my personal experience, it’s easier to work with the applications that don’t have over the top prerequisites and limits on words counts. Easier the application process, the easier it is for you to brush up on them. Cambridge application process requires you to be concise with your submissions because they primarily look at your academics and they do demand consistency in academics for you to make a mark.

Put all the details in your SOPs that you consider will help you steal the show. Don’t be repetitive with your CVs and SOPs as both the submissions serve entirely different purpose. Your SOP needs to reflect your drive and your willingness to thrive.

The entire journey can rather be bumpy, and you would need mentors and friends around you to guide you towards right path.

Did you seek a waiver of the English proficiency requirement? And if not, how early/late did you register for the IELTS exam?

No, I did not seek a waiver of English proficiency requirement. I started my preparation in tandem with rest of the application process i.e., a year prior to submitting applications. I resorted to self-studying and referred certain online blogs. Subsequently, I scheduled my test after a month’s long preparation.

Early days, but how has the Cambridge LLM experience been? What have been some of the most challenging aspects of the course?

My time at Cambridge has been a pure bliss so far. The lecture hours are properly streamlined, and the curriculum is very engaging. It is definitely not a cakewalk and juggling between academics and social life (also your sleep schedule) can be quite draining.

But all in all, meeting new people, the way the course is structured, the professors, and the city itself has so much to offer. It has been a rewarding and a wholesome experience, where the city feels like home and people around you like one big family.

Lastly, any advice for the Indian law grad who is considering a master’s abroad?

The application process in general can be exhilarating as each law school has its individual requirements. But also, it’s not rocket science. The best course of action will be to start with the process at least a year before.

Have a plan in place, keep a tab on important dates and deadlines, pursue the professors you seek LORs from and make sure that they know you not just academically but who have confidence in your capabilities. Make sure to browse through the shortlisted universities’ website minutely.

Have a general framework in place and hone your SOPs and LORs as per each universities’ specifications. Dot the i’s and cross the t’s before pressing the send button.

Most importantly, enjoy the entire process. As draining as it sounds, it is also an experience that will get you closer to the finish line.

Lastly, I would say, dream big – dream very big.

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