After an undergraduate degree in Vancouver, Canadian Brady Gordon decided to move to Europe to study law. In England, he finished his LL.B., and graduated recently with an LL.M. from Trinity College, where he is now working on his Ph.D. with a specialization in tax law.
He discusses his LL.M. experience and how he thinks the LL.M. benefits his academic and legal career.
Why did you choose Trinity College to do your LL.M.?
I had done an undergraduate English degree in Canada and a law degree in England, but throughout I had always wanted to go to Ireland. Trinity College is one of the seven ancient universities, and comes with an amazing reputation. If you have one of the seven ancient universities on your CV, it's instant recognition. Trinity had always been my favorite out of them. So for three years at Manchester, I was waiting to graduate hoping that I could go to Trinity for one year.
Also, I was really interested in the Irish legal position in the European Union because there are a lot of things about their economy that make them quite unique. So it was just a perfect school for me, really.
What did you expect from the program?
I had been in university for seven years. The whole time I just been doing exams, basically learning what they wanted me to learn. All I really wanted was to go to this amazing school and study what I wanted to study and write about what I wanted to write about.
At Trinity, you can take the courses that you think will support your research. So, if you ever had a real interest in something you really wanted to pursue, Trinity is sort of the place to do that.
What was your favorite class and why?
I had two. One was ''Banking and Securities Law'' because the professor works at the Irish Central Bank, and so he gives you a really good bird's-eye view on exactly what's going on. If you ever don't understand why something is happening or the reasons behind it, he is a fantastic resource, because he is personally involved in regulation and decision-making.
The other one was a public law course with a professor who worked on one of the biggest cases in the European Union after the financial crisis. So being in her class, learning about that case – it was quite cool, I thought.
What do you think the LL.M. has added to your profile?
The LL.M. was given me a lot. It has completely changed my course. When I graduated from Manchester, I had two degrees and seven years of school, and I was pretty much like everybody else. I was applying to firms where sometimes I would get interviews and sometimes I wouldn't, but there was nothing really to set me apart.
Trinity completely plugs you in. I now have an offer with one of Ireland’s largest law firms, and I've been offered funding for a Ph.D. on the back of my LL.M. work. So it has given me a whole new set of opportunities that I didn't have before. Now I am working towards becoming an expert in my field, at the firm I really wanted, in the place I really wanted. Before that, I was perhaps slightly jaded about my future, but now I have a lot more choice. The difference from one year ago is phenomenal.
What was the most challenging thing about living in Dublin?
You have to be aware that the Irish are very social, and they have an unreal nightlife, so you have to figure out the way to balance the workload Trinity gives you and all of the temptations the city has to offer. So I suppose that's the challenge.
