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  • First Person Accounts: Manasi Chatpalliwar on the NUS LLM, writing a good Statement of Purpose & more

    First Person Accounts: Manasi Chatpalliwar on the NUS LLM, writing a good Statement of Purpose & more

    First Person Accounts (FPA’s) are meant to provide a first-hand account of Indian law graduates who have pursued, or are currently pursuing, a post-graduate course (be it an LLM or otherwise) from different schools across the world.

    In this edition, I speak with Manasi Chatpalliwar who completed an LL.M. from the National University of Singapore (Class of ’18) where she was awarded the Faculty Graduate Scholarship. Manasi opted for an LL.M. more than five years after getting a law degree from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University.

    In this FPA, Manasi shares her reasons behind studying law, gaining work experience before embarking on a master’s, Indian law firms and the LL.M., and a whole lot more.

    Slightly off-topic but why did you choose the 3-year LLB course? Did you ever consider the BA LLB course? 

    I was an “Arts” student in 11th and 12th grade. This is not because I wasn’t interested in science or commerce but simply because the there’s no option to do everything together in those grades. After the Board exams, all of the research threw up either law, journalism or a B.A. Hons. course in a reputed university.

    Not being sure about the former two, I chose to study history  Sri Venkateswara College (University of Delhi) till I was able to figure out what I actually wanted to do. By the end of those three years, I was fairly certain that I wanted to do something which required application of the mind, lots of reading, and no fixed timings. I then decided to give the entrance exam for law at Delhi University and enrolled in the 3 year LLB course.

    Did you consider enrolling for an LLM right after your law degree? Or was this something you decided to only after working for a few years?

    Enrolling for LLM was something I always wanted to do. Right after getting my law degree, however, when I actually started working and going to court, I realized that I was not really sure of which field of the law I was most interested in.

    Plus, there were mixed opinions on whether an LLM is actually beneficial for lawyers in the long run if your end goal is to practice in India. So I deferred even thinking about it.

    Around 2016 (I had been in the profession for about four years), I started to feel like I was not reading enough, was not informed enough and wasn’t taking out time to actually study the subject. This is the point where I started seriously contemplating enrolling for an LL.M.

    “I started to feel like I was not reading enough, was not informed enough and wasn’t taking out time to actually study the subject. This is the point where I started seriously contemplating enrolling for an LLM.”

    How did you go about course/university selection? Did you apply to any other schools?

    I researched a lot on NUS and read up about the programmes they offer, the alumni and most importantly, the course structure and faculty. I did apply to other schools but I must confess it was a half hearted attempt because mostly my focus was on completing the admission and scholarship requirements for NUS as I was attempting it at the last minute and the application deadlines were mere days away.

    Did you apply for financial aid of any kind?

    I applied for scholarship and was awarded the Faculty Graduate Scholarship at NUS.

    Any advice on how to go about the SoP requirements? How much time should an applicant devote to the entire application process?

    I think when people think of writing an SoP they think of it as quite a daunting exercise. A statement of purpose however, is nothing but an introduction of yourself on paper.

    Just like you wouldn’t tell someone you meet for the first time everything there is to know about yourself, similarly in a statement of purpose, an attempt should be made to focus on the following:

    1. Why you chose that particular school;
    2. Why that school should choose you (what do you bring to the classroom and your peers if you are admitted for that programme) ;
    3. Your accomplishments and achievements and reason for applying for an LLM – basically what you think the programme will do for you; and
    4. Anything significant that you have done or accomplished that would set you apart from the other applicants.

    I personally don’t think a statement of purpose should be given more than a week to write. My advice on getting this done with as little stress as possible is to jot down points, give the draft a structure, and then get someone to proof read it and discuss it.

    “I personally don’t think a statement of purpose should be given more than a week to write. My advice on getting this done with as little stress as possible is to jot down points, give the draft a structure, and then get someone to proof read it and discuss it.”

    How was the LLM experience? What were some of the biggest learnings during the course? 

    The LLM experience was amazing.  The classes were well structured, the readings voluminous  and the faculty excellent. My peers and class mates were some of the brightest lawyers I have come across which meant that everyone was learning and competing with the best. Singapore is such a beautiful and safe country with amazing weather, food and places to see! I remember the first weeks there I would just take in all the green and the clean air and felt on top of the world for having enrolled in the programme.

    However, what you do find out the hard way is that being part of a gruelling programme in a place far from home does take its toll.  I think our whole batch went through phases where everyone had Impostor Syndrome. Once the initial euphoria of having successfully enrolled in the programme wore off, we learnt fairly quickly that procrastination was just not our friend. It was then a whirlwind ride of classes, no sleep, research papers which seemed to be perpetually due and class assignments which were all graded.

    “Once the initial euphoria of having successfully enrolled in the programme wore off, we learnt fairly quickly that procrastination was just not our friend.”

    Was it difficult to switch back to student life given that you had worked for half a decade before the LLM?

    I think I was relieved. I enjoy reading and studying. The LL.M. gave me an opportunity to take a break from work, and at the same time retain productive use of the year while exploring a beautiful city.

    The traditional perception is that Indian law firms don’t place much of a value on LLMs – thoughts? 

    I am not really sure if this perception has any actual basis. I think candidates need to be more worried about how they look at their LLM and whether they are honestly able to place a value on their effort in completing the same.

    If LLMs are being pursued for some sort of external validation or in the hopes of negotiating a higher salary with a law firm etc. then that’s just silly.

    “If LLMs are being pursued for some sort of external validation or in the hopes of negotiating a higher salary with a law firm etc. then that’s just silly.”

    Lastly, any advice for Indian law graduates looking to apply for a foreign LLM?

    For those looking to study abroad, it is really important to recognize that a lot of things change very fast and you have one year to cope with it all. So I think it is really important to decide whether you actually want to do it.

    Once you are certain, look at each university, courses offered and the faculty and the alumni and decided accordingly.

    Another thing to really think about is how you are placed financially. A foreign LLM entails expenses towards air travel, accommodation, food and medical insurance etc. in addition to the tuition fee and other university expenses. It is really important to organize colleges with these factors in mind before picking one which suits.

  • The Amicus Interviews: Lakshmi Neelakantan on LLM alternatives, legal academia & more (Part II)

    The Amicus Interviews are meant for broader discussions on legal education, and the legal profession. As I may have mentioned earlier, one of the goals of Amicus Partners is also to explore some of the slightly non-traditional education paths that have been taken by the Indian law graduate.

    Lakshmi Neelakantan
    Lakshmi Neelakantan

    In the second part of the interview (read Part I here) with Lakshmi Neelakantan, I get her to discuss how she went about planning her doctorate degree, what exactly a doctorate degree entails, the future of Indian law schools, and a whole lot more.

    The PhD – How do you go about choosing your supervisor?

    I can speak about the UK because that is what I am familiar with.

    There are essentially two ways: one, you apply for a studentship. This is when a professor has received a grant to do research on a particular topic. And as part of this grant, they have received some funding to hire PhD students who will work on, say, a particular aspect of this research.

    So, when you apply for a studentship, all you have to demonstrate is that you are capable of doing this research. And if you get this studentship, then all your fees, your living stipend is all taken care of.

    The upside of this is that you don’t have to sort out your own funding, but the downside is that you have less flexibility of what you research. All studentships in the UK are advertised on jobs.ac.uk.  So, if you are keen to pursue a studentship in the UK, you would be hard pressed to find something that is not on the website.

    It is important to mention that with regard to studentships, many of them will pay the fees at the UK/EU level. So, as an Indian student you will have to pay the difference in fees between the UK/EU and international rate. But many universities do have some scholarships that make up that gap.

    “It is important to mention that with regard to studentships, many of them will pay the fees at the UK/EU level. So, as an Indian student you will have to pay the difference in fees between the UK/EU and International rate.”

    The second route is that you come up with your own research proposal, and you find a supervisor you can work with. Ways of finding a supervisor include reading papers in your field, looking at University websites, Google Scholar, Research Gate, and drawing up perhaps a potential list of supervisors you can work with.

    It is really important in the UK system that you have some contact with your supervisor before you apply because that carries a lot of weight in the admission process. Many academics are happy to chat about this process if you email them. So, if you apply with your own research proposal, you are responsible for sorting out your own finances, usually by applying for PhD scholarships offered by the university or another institution (like the Commonwealth scholarship).

    “It is really important in the UK system that you have some contact with your supervisor before you apply because that carries a lot of weight in the admission process. Many academics are happy to chat about this process if you email them.”

    Alright, so apart from gallivanting across the world, what does a PhD student do?

    Obviously, my main job is to do my research, and to do this within three years because that is when my funding will run out. But I also do other research projects. For instance, I am working on another research project for my supervisor at the University of Oxford.

    I did some tutoring as a teaching assistant. I really enjoyed my teaching time, and I just love interacting with students. The process of talking to students, who really push you to be prepared, to question your own thinking and assumptions, and just to help them figure out what they want to do is pretty awesome.

    Part of being a PhD student is to be plugged into the research community, and as a PhD student your primary research community is probably your department. At my department we have seminars where PhD students regularly present their work. We have a student-run conference which I am helping to get organized. We are going to start a blog for our department. I edited a newsletter for the department as well.

    “Part of being a PhD student is to be plugged into the research community, and as a PhD student your primary research community is probably your department.”

    And if you go back, say 2014-15 – is this something you thought you would be doing?

    Not at all. I just knew that I wanted to explore what was outside of law. I really didn’t know where it would take me. I changed my mind a lot during that one year I was doing my master’s. And there are times even now when I question what I can do and what I cannot.

    Really?

    Research is filled with doubt. I have a lot of moments when I am definitely unsure of my place within this research community but also my future in research. But thankfully, I have gotten through those periods. It is always good to introspect, to question where you are and to think about where you want to go.

    “It is always good to introspect, to question where you are and to think about where you want to go.”

    Any advice for law students who are thinking of a doctorate?

    Well I would say I think it is important to be, not sure, but at least reasonably certain of wanting a research career. Doing a PhD is a lot of time to invest if you are not planning a research career. And if you are not sure, put it off, work for a bit until you are quite certain.

    But I do know of many people that finish a PhD and then go into non-academic careers which is also perfectly fine. So, if you do start it, it is not a bad thing to finish it, enjoy that process and then decide that you don’t really want an academic career.

    I would be careful about choosing the field of study; it is important to know what you want. And to be quite careful about the department, and the course of research that you are going to pursue.

    I think it is also important to be careful of choosing your supervisors. They will be your mentors, who will have a big impact on your research and you as a person. It is important to talk to them, to find out if you are compatible, and figure out if what you consider important is agreeable in that person.

    And sometimes it is not easy to find out, they are probably a stranger to you, so how do you find out? You will never really know, but at least you can put in that effort to try and figure out.

    “And sometimes it is not easy to find out, they are probably a stranger to you, so how do you find out? You will never really know, but at least you can put in that effort to try and figure out.”

    And while doing the PhD? How do you keep yourself motivated?

    Well, sometimes, motivation is irrelevant. Sometimes you just have to show up, and do what you can, and keep that process going. If I had to be motivated every single day to do the PhD, I would probably take ten years to finish it.

    It is not about having amazing days all the time, it is about having consistent days where you put in work over a period of time that adds up.

    “It is not about having amazing days all the time, it is about having consistent days where you put in work over a period of time that adds up.”

    But I love what I do, and I take time to look after myself in this process. For instance, I try not to do anything PhD-related for at least one day of the week.

    I know this is a broad question, but what do you think is the purpose of legal education?

    When I started off as a law student, I thought legal education was meant to start someone on the path of being a complete lawyer (which one then spends their entire career becoming).

    I have since had some time to think about what that purpose should be.

    I think one purpose is to make students familiar with legal concepts, institutions, and legal reasoning. But I think a more important purpose should be understanding law, in a broader, social and political context.

    In this day and age, a legal education should probably allow to some extent a diverse set of careers. Some even outside law. I don’t necessarily think that law schools are just for preparing students for legal practice. They have a larger goal.

    “I don’t necessarily think that law schools are just for preparing students for legal practice. They have a larger goal.”

    A good legal education should probably equip someone with the core training along with some complementary modules. But also to teach someone to be critical and questioning in their thinking, and equip them with the skills to adapt to new and challenging situations.

    That is probably quite a broad answer no? (laughs)

  • The LLM #Admission Interviews: Toni Jaeger-Fine, Fordham Law School

    The LLM #Admission Interviews: Toni Jaeger-Fine, Fordham Law School

    The Admission Interviews, are meant to provide insights into LLM admissions right from the law school itself. The primary idea behind this series is to provide that little bit of extra information that may not be available on the law school’s website.

    In this edition, we speak with Toni M. Jaeger-Fine, the Assistant Dean of International and Non-J.D. Programs at Fordham University’s School of Law  in New York City. In this e-mail interview, she discusses the benefits of a foreign LLM for the Indian law graduate, writing a good personal statement, and much more.

    What are the benefits that an international LLM would provide to the Indian law graduate?

    There are myriad benefits associated with a U.S. LL.M. degree. The benefits depend largely on what an individual student wants to get out of his or her LL.M. experience.

    Here are some of the principal benefits one can expect to receive by pursuing a master’s degree in law in the United States:

    • Learn about the U.S. common law system.
    • Specialize in a matter of professional or academic interest.
    • Develop an appreciation for U.S. legal culture and the legal culture of countries represented by other LL.M. students.
    • Master the specifics and nuances of the U.S. legal language.
    • Qualify to sit for the bar examinations in certain U.S. states, including New York.
    • Work in the U.S. to develop a sense of the professional culture in the U.S.
    • Enjoy living abroad for a year or more.

    And what are the benefits that are specific to the LLM at Fordham?

    Fordham Law School and its LL.M. program are unique in a number of ways, among them the following:

    • Areas of Specialization: Fordham’s LL.M. program offers eight areas of specialization in fields that are at the cutting-edge of the global legal economy: Banking, Corporate, and Finance Law; Corporate Compliance; Fashion Law; Intellectual Property and Information Technology; International Business Transactions; International Dispute Resolution; International Law and Justice; and U.S. Law. Students who spend one additional semester at Fordham Law can receive their LL.M. degree in any two areas of specialization.
    • Diversity: LL.M. students at Fordham Law come from more than 40 countries around the world offering excellent learning and networking opportunities among students themselves.
    • Real World Experience: Master students at Fordham Law may apply to take part in live client clinics and externships and to serve on one of the Law School’s journals. LL.M. students at Fordham also may take a series of experiential, practice-oriented courses that give them training in the real work of lawyers.

      “LL.M. students at Fordham also may take a series of experiential, practice-oriented courses that give them training in the real work of lawyers. “       

      Many of these courses are taught by adjunct faculty members—legal professionals who teach one or two courses and bring a dynamic and highly practical dimension to their teaching.

    • Begin in August or January: Students may begin their studies in August, as in all U.S. law schools; or they may begin their studies in January, an option that is available only at a handful of U.S. law schools.
    • Location, Location, Location! Fordham Law is located in the heart of Manhattan, giving students unparalleled access to the nation’s top law firms, companies, NGOs, and of course all of the dining, clubs, and museums and other cultural attractions for which New York City is famous. The Law School is located in midtown-west, directly across the street from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and two blocks from Central Park.
    • The Fordham Law Network Connection: Fordham Law is known for its friendly, welcoming environment. Our alumni work in top law firms, companies, NGOs, and governmental positions around the world. Our Law School community feels like a family. Your classmates and professors, and Fordham Law alumni, are here to help you find your way through your studies and in the profession.

    What advice would you have for the prospective applicant when it comes to writing the personal statement? How does one fit so much into just 500 words?

    The most important thing about the personal statement is that it be a solid example of your writing. Lots of applicants feel anxious about what they should write in the personal statement.

    My advice is to say something about yourself that may not be apparent from your resume. Some applicants have not had much personal or professional expedience and that is fine—at the end of the day, the most important thing about your personal statement is that it be well-written.

    “Some applicants have not had much personal or professional expedience and that is fine—at the end of the day, the most important thing about your personal statement is that it be well-written.”

    In terms of the word length, remember that you do not have to reduce your entire life to the personal statement – just some aspect of who you are, your plans, etc. And it is almost always true that when it comes to writing less is more!

    Does seeking financial aid affect an applicant’s chance of securing admission?

    Not at all! We admit every candidate that we want to have in our LL.M. community, regardless of finances.

    Could you share the kind of organizations that LLM students extern at? 

    In recent semesters, students have had externships with judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court; law firms such as White & Case; the United Nations; and companies such as TED Talks.

    You have written about how legal expertise and legal education is simply not enough to be successful in today’s market. How do you think international LLM grads can increase their chances of recruitment post the course? 

    This is my favorite topic! I have recently written a book called Becoming a Lawyer: Discovering and Defining Your Professional Persona, which addresses these topics. In today’s competitive legal marketplace, technical skills and legal knowledge are insufficient to succeed.

    What each of us needs is a robust professional persona with strong foundations and a range of attitudes and behaviors for both self-regulation and dealing with others.

    I would be happy to do another interview on this subject. If any of your readers are interested, my book can be purchased on Amazon.com or through West Academic.

    Lastly, there is a growing number of Indian law grads who are considering research-based careers. Any advice on how they should approach the SJD degree? Does Fordham prefer students who have graduated from Fordham? 

    Our S.J.D. program is highly competitive. While we do not favor Fordham LL.M. graduates, studying in our LL.M. program can give students an opportunity to meet faculty members who might be willing to supervise their doctoral work, which is a pre-requisite for admission to our S.J.D. program.

    But it bears repeating that our doctoral program is deliberately small, and that its admissions process is highly competitive.

  • The Amicus Interviews: Lakshmi Neelakantan on LLM alternatives, legal academia & more (Part I)

    The Amicus Interviews are meant for broader discussions on legal education, and the legal profession. As I may have mentioned earlier, one of the goals of Amicus Partners is also to explore some of the slightly non-traditional education paths that have been taken by the Indian law graduate.

    Lakshmi Neelakantan
    Lakshmi Neelakantan

    And fitting this bill is Lakshmi Neelakantan, who is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Edinburgh. A graduate of the National Law University in Jodhpur (Class of ’13) , Lakshmi worked at a law firm for a couple of years before embarking on her post-graduate degree.

    But instead of the traditional LL.M, she opted for an MSc in Evidence-Based Social Intervention & Policy Evaluation at Oxford University (Class of ’16)

    In the first part of the interview, she discusses how she landed up in the MSc course, advice on post-graduate applications, a career in the development sector for the Indian law graduate, and more.

    You worked at LKS after graduating from NLU Jodhpur. A few years into the job, you decided that you wanted to do something different.

    LKS was a really nice place to work, and I was especially pleased when I was placed with the trade law team, because I had done trade law when I was in law school. I worked with a lot of great people at LKS and learnt a lot.

    But the plan to go for graduate studies was always there.

    I was thinking about having an academic or research career but I realized that my core research skills were only in law. I had little to no knowledge of research methods in the wider social sciences whether it was qualitative or quantitative.

    “I realized that my core research skills were only in law. I had little to no knowledge of research methods in the wider social sciences whether it was qualitative or quantitative.”

    Additionally, I was young with no immediate financial responsibilities and so if I wanted to explore another field, it probably had to be then.

    And my third reason was that I was interested in living and working in different parts of the world – this was an ambition I had had for a very long time. I thought expanding my skill set was a good way of going about that.

    So, when you look at my profile now, it is important to mention that I really didn’t have a plan at that time. There was a whole world of courses out there once I started to think of options apart from law. I looked up everything – public policy, social welfare work, development studies, economics, anthropology – anything that sounded interesting to me.

    And then I just could not stop; there were just so many possibilities.

    “I looked up everything – public policy, social welfare work, development studies, economics, anthropology – anything that sounded interesting to me. And then I just could not stop; there were just so many possibilities.”

    How did you balance the applications, the scholarships, and the work itself?

     I started very early; I started in April or May 2014 for graduate studies in October of 2015. By July or August (of 2014) I had my statements roughly ready, and my recommendations almost done. I don’t think you will ever really have this perfect version [of the statement]; it is just important to have a draft and keep working with that.

    I worked on my applications any chance I had – lunch breaks, even if it was just ten minutes that I could spend writing just two sentences – that really went a long way.

    “I worked on my applications any chance I had – lunch breaks, even if it was just ten minutes that I could spend writing just two sentences – that really went a long way.”

    Another thing I would say is that you have to be organized. I had an Excel sheet of all the deadlines, and then I would create these internal deadlines for myself that were often well before the actual deadline, because things often go wrong.

    I also got all the tedious stuff out of the way first. The transcripts for instance, but also the English tests (IELTS); I did it in September, and it was much easier to do this because by March-April everyone wants to take them.

    So, the initial plan was to do the MSc and come back to a legal career?

    When I started the MSc, there were roughly two paths I could have taken – it could either have led to a new career or I could have just thought of it as this really interesting year long learning experience.

    I first needed to know that I was not going to be completely terrible at this new field – there was a good possibility of this happening.

    But specifically, in April 2016, I was starting to work on my exams and thesis quite a lot. And I was really starting to enjoy the process of research, and I was keen to think about a research career in this field.

    Why?

    I always liked asking questions and figuring out ways to answer those questions. And then translate that into some meaningful policy. I felt that this was something missing from my practice as a lawyer.

    And if I had to break it down, doing research involves all the things I really enjoy. I love writing. I love digging into a topic and really understanding it, to come up with a good answer in a meaningful way.

    As nerdy as it sounds, I like applying for stuff. Part of research is about applying for grants, and things like that. It is weird that I enjoy that process, but I do.

    “As nerdy as it sounds, I like applying for stuff. Part of research is about applying for grants, and things like that. It is weird that I enjoy that process, but I do.”

    Post the MSc, you did worked at JPAL – how does one choose something like this?

    I don’t think I can give good advice because personally I found that process to be quite stressful. The only sector that I really knew in detail was law, and so I was actually avoiding applying for jobs.

    But one of my friends told me, even before I left for the master’s, about JPAL and I looked it up.  They do a lot of randomized evaluations – that is JPAL’s bread and butter. It was a sort of direct application of what I learnt during the MSc.

    Once I saw JPAL, I was able to find a lot of other organizations that do similar work. It is actually a massive field, there is a lot of scope for this kind of work. There is a website called DevEx where you can find pretty much any kind of organization out there.

    ID Insight in India do some really nice work. The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) do impact evaluations, so do Evidence Action. I mean, the list is endless.

  • First Person Accounts: Abhinav Lohia on an LL.M. from George Washington University

    First Person Accounts: Abhinav Lohia on an LL.M. from George Washington University

    First Person Accounts (FPA’s) are meant to provide a first-hand account of Indian law graduates who have pursued, or are currently pursuing, a post-graduate course (be it an LLM or otherwise) from different schools across the world.

    In this edition, I speak with Abhinav Lohia who is a Director at Canam Investor Services in Chicago. Abhinav graduated with a law degree from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in 2007, and worked for nearly five years before enrolling for an LL.M. at George Washington University Law School.

    After your undergrad law degree, you chose to join litigation and worked in Delhi for nearly five years. What prompted you to enrol for an LLM?  

    I drafted a research paper in Law School in India on Brain Mapping and Narco Analysis. Due to lack of Indian precedents I researched U.S. Case laws. I was amazed at the speed at which the U.S. Judiciary functioned.

    After spending nearly five years in Litigation I was frustrated with the lack of urgency with which Indian judiciary operates so I left.

    How did you go about selecting law schools, and what got you to narrow down on GWU? 

    At the time of selecting my University, I was primarily focussing on Intellectual Property Litigation at the High Court of Delhi. My primary focus was attending a Law School on the East Coast known for its I.P. Program.

    The faculty at George Washington University School of Law had exceptional credentials. GWU also ranked 3rd that year for their LLM in I.P law.

    What were some of the biggest learnings made during the LLM?

    The L.L.M at GWU was a life changing experience. Our program was focused on not only the study of law but also the importance of networking. We were pushed to network with other law students and lawyers. This has helped me a lot with my business development skills.

    “We were pushed to network with other law students and lawyers. This has helped me a lot with my business development skills.”

    Also, my LLM class had 120 students from 48 countries, I was exposed to a lot of new cultures. My exposure to attorneys from around the world is definitely advantageous to my immigration practice.

    What was the recruitment market for international LLM students when you graduated from GWU? Was it relatively easy to find employment post the LLM? 

    It was very difficult to find a job. While law firms were open to hiring International Students, not many are inclined to sponsor a work visa. This reduces employment options for international students.

    However, if someone is motivated enough, they will be able to find a firm willing hire them and sponsor the work visa.

    You have built up quite a practice in immigration law – was this something you were contemplating while doing the LLM? 

    Not at all, I wanted to be an I.P. attorney. It was lack of employment options that pushed me into joining an immigration law firm. However, when I joined an immigration law firm, I started focussing on investment immigration or EB5 Visas, it gave me an opportunity to use my Indian legal skills and also tap into the network of international attorneys I had built at George Washington University.

    After just two months, I knew that I wanted to build a career in investment immigration. I really enjoyed representing EB5 Investors.

    Given your work profile, you have a ring side view of immigration from India. Do you think Indian law grads can look at an LLM (or any other masters) as a stepping stone towards immigration? 

    An LLM in the States is not just a course, it is an experience. It definitely adds value whether or not someone is able to immigrate to the United States. That said, it is definitely a foot in the door if someone wants to immigrate to the United States.

    “An LLM in the States is not just a course, it is an experience. It definitely adds value whether or not someone is able to immigrate to the United States.”

    Lastly, any advice you would have for Indian law graduates who are considering a master’s abroad? 

    I highly recommend at least 3 years of work experience prior to pursuing an LLM. An LLM is more about critical thinking and application of law, something that comes with practice. I feel fresh graduates from Indian law schools will not be able to take full advantage of an LLM course.

    End Notes