Tag: National University of Singapore

First Person Accounts (FPA’s) are meant to provide a first-hand account of lawyer’s who have pursued a post-graduate course from different schools across the world.

Not necessarily restricted to an LLM, the FPAs should serve as some guide as to which is the ideal law school for you.

Soumya Shekhar, a graduate of NLU Delhi (Class of ’13), completed her LLM from the National University of Singapore (Class of ’16). In this FPA with Amicus Partners, she talks about the things that worked, and those that did not, and a whole lot more.

Amicus Partners: At what point in your undergrad did you start thinking about a masters? Or was this something you chose, after you started working?

Soumya Shekhar: I always had a passion for academics. Since my fifth year, I had a plan in my mind that I would pursue a Masters degree after obtaining some work experience. Hence, a Masters degree was always the plan.

AP: What made you join Luthra & Luthra? Looking back, would you have done things differently?

SS: I had interned at Luthra when I was in my fourth year of law school. The work environment and the learning opportunities there were unparalleled. Hence, when I received an offer, I did not think twice before accepting. No, I would not have done anything differently.

AP: Two years at Luthra, you enrolled for an LLM. How did you choose the course and university? Apart from NUS, were there any other schools that you were looking at?

SS: Since law school, I have been extremely interested in corporate and financial services laws. A number of my publications and paper presentations were also on various aspects of corporate law. Hence, the subject in which I wanted to pursue a Masters was always to be corporate law.

NUS has a very good faculty in corporate law plus I had interacted with a few of its alumni before deciding. I did get through University College London but I chose NUS over that, primarily because I got offered a full scholarship from NUS.

AP: How was your LLM experience at NUS? Anything you particularly liked and/or disliked? If you could give any advice to law students who are looking to do a masters, what would it be?

SS: My experience at NUS was brilliant. The academic culture there and the quality of lectures are very different from the way we are taught in India. The stress on analytical thinking over rote learning was something which impressed me the most.

Students looking to pursue a Masters should do so for the right reasons. Do a Masters if you are genuinely interested in academics and have a passion for learning.

AP: Did you opt for any scholarship/aid for your LLM?

SS: I received the Faculty Graduate Scholarship from NUS.

AP: How were the recruitment prospects of your LLM cohort? Did you consider working in Singapore, or was there little scope of this once you graduated?

SS: At the time of passing out I had three offers from various top law firms in India. My cohorts too had secured good offers. I, personally was not inclined to work in Singapore, however, those who wished to work there did land jobs.

AP: You mentioned that you are now working as an independent consultant. How has that journey been?

SS: The journey has been amazing so far. Being a legal research consultant requires me to provide my clients with impeccable research and legal writing. The wide variety of legal research and the writing style picked up by me during my time at NUS immensely helps me in my current work profile and also adds to my credibility.