Hi guys. I just got admitted to this program. Can anyone who's been a former student tell me how the program was? Was it worth it? Did you learn a lot? Are Leiden's career services good?

I also got admitted into the EUR: Commercial and Company Law and Maastricht: Globilisation and Law with a spec. in Corporate and Commercial Law

So I'm trying to figure out which the best program is for me. If anyone has any experience with any of the universities or the above program, please let me know. I've been scouring the internet but haven't found a lot of information as to how the programs were - like an actual review from a former student.

Also, I did my LLB from the University of London and have 2 years work experience.

Thanks in advance!

Hi @sanaw,

I attended the program during academic year 2016-2017. It was a very interesting program and I did lean a lot. The program focuses on a wide range of topics (conflict of laws, contract law, property law, finance, IP, corporate, insolvency, tort, litigation and arbitration) that are are explored through both common law and civil law lenses. I did learn a lot and I still make use of most of the concepts I gained there. Lecturers are outstanding.

For any further information or curiosity, just drop me a message.

All the best,

Iacopo

Studying at Leiden is a once a lifetime experience. The city is strategically located between Hague , Rotterdam and Amsterdam- key for internships. Leidens global ranking is also higher. Maastricht is a bit back and beyond and not well connected compared to Leiden. University, faculty and the program are pretty outstanding.

Hi @sanaw,

I attended the program during academic year 2016-2017. It was a very interesting program and I did lean a lot. The program focuses on a wide range of topics (conflict of laws, contract law, property law, finance, IP, corporate, insolvency, tort, litigation and arbitration) that are are explored through both common law and civil law lenses. I did learn a lot and I still make use of most of the concepts I gained there. Lecturers are outstanding.

For any further information or curiosity, just drop me a message.

All the best,

Iacopo

Studying at Leiden is a once a lifetime experience. The city is strategically located between Hague , Rotterdam and Amsterdam- key for internships. Leidens global ranking is also higher. Maastricht is a bit back and beyond and not well connected compared to Leiden. University, faculty and the program are pretty outstanding.

Hi there, I was also a student for the programme in 2016. First thing, you will learn a lot as the study load is quite big, so you will indeed be exposed to different areas. How useful this will be to you depends on your career or expectations. In my case, I did not care much for some classes such as property law since I have never liked property nor financial law, but found the corporate and insolvency readings very interesting as they were more in line with my professional experience as a corporate attorney, and corporate had great guest lecturers. Torts is very interesting, particularly as you get to learn about how different jurisdictions deal with different cases, and the book is particularly interesting (if they are using the same book that is, but chances is they are) and I was sawI had to sell it before I left Leiden for weight issues. I also really liked the Ethics class at the end of the programme. Having had ethics before they were pretty boring classes, but professor Casterman and Van Woensel were great to have as lecturers and the perspective they give to the ethics class is really great for corporate attorneys. The only problem is that you are on thesis duty by then so you'll be stressed out, a lot.

On to the practical side, Leiden has a great reputation. I am on the other side of the pond (Latin America) but my experience in the year since I graduated is that the university is well known and carries prestige with it. I recently had dinner with friends who went to LSE and UCL and they tell me Leiden is held to a very high standard and is better known in law circles than other universities in NL. I still haven't seen the rewards when it comes to employment as I went back to my old firm when I returned but so far it seems Leiden is very well regarded as I said.

Now, living in Leiden. Sore subject for me. Personally, I prefer cities. Leiden is a classic dutch town, 100k population with around 30k being students. Shops are small, carry just the basics and entertainment is limited, bars close early and restaurants are often up to capacity. In this light, I much preferred going to Rotterdam for nightlife and The Hague for shopping needs (although The Hague also has some good bars and restaurants, I recommend the Biergarten, its close to the main shopping street and through the Passage). BUT, overall Leiden is very pretty, itself those pretty pictures of classic dutch houses and canals which are representative of Dutch culture, but without the tourist mobs you find in Amsterdam. Also a student, you will probably have much fun at house parties and small gatherings so you may not need much outing.

Finally, one recommendation is that the LLMs offer a chance to sit in another classes from another LLM. Most people don't take this opportunity but it can be nice to both get to know the other lawyers studying another speciality and also to learn another topic you may be interested in but don't want to commit fully (e.g. exam). I took the arbitration class from the European Business Law because I totally bunked one ICCL class but I enjoyed it fully and it also was my favourite class in the whole year, the professor is fantastic (Brooks Daly), whom you'll meet when you visit The Hague for ICCL's arbitration class, but there are others to choose from.

Anyway, hope you get a good idea of the programme from this, but if you want to discuss further, you can write me a PM.

Cheers

RCR

Hi there, I was also a student for the programme in 2016. First thing, you will learn a lot as the study load is quite big, so you will indeed be exposed to different areas. How useful this will be to you depends on your career or expectations. In my case, I did not care much for some classes such as property law since I have never liked property nor financial law, but found the corporate and insolvency readings very interesting as they were more in line with my professional experience as a corporate attorney, and corporate had great guest lecturers. Torts is very interesting, particularly as you get to learn about how different jurisdictions deal with different cases, and the book is particularly interesting (if they are using the same book that is, but chances is they are) and I was sawI had to sell it before I left Leiden for weight issues. I also really liked the Ethics class at the end of the programme. Having had ethics before they were pretty boring classes, but professor Casterman and Van Woensel were great to have as lecturers and the perspective they give to the ethics class is really great for corporate attorneys. The only problem is that you are on thesis duty by then so you'll be stressed out, a lot.

On to the practical side, Leiden has a great reputation. I am on the other side of the pond (Latin America) but my experience in the year since I graduated is that the university is well known and carries prestige with it. I recently had dinner with friends who went to LSE and UCL and they tell me Leiden is held to a very high standard and is better known in law circles than other universities in NL. I still haven't seen the rewards when it comes to employment as I went back to my old firm when I returned but so far it seems Leiden is very well regarded as I said.

Now, living in Leiden. Sore subject for me. Personally, I prefer cities. Leiden is a classic dutch town, 100k population with around 30k being students. Shops are small, carry just the basics and entertainment is limited, bars close early and restaurants are often up to capacity. In this light, I much preferred going to Rotterdam for nightlife and The Hague for shopping needs (although The Hague also has some good bars and restaurants, I recommend the Biergarten, its close to the main shopping street and through the Passage). BUT, overall Leiden is very pretty, itself those pretty pictures of classic dutch houses and canals which are representative of Dutch culture, but without the tourist mobs you find in Amsterdam. Also a student, you will probably have much fun at house parties and small gatherings so you may not need much outing.

Finally, one recommendation is that the LLMs offer a chance to sit in another classes from another LLM. Most people don't take this opportunity but it can be nice to both get to know the other lawyers studying another speciality and also to learn another topic you may be interested in but don't want to commit fully (e.g. exam). I took the arbitration class from the European Business Law because I totally bunked one ICCL class but I enjoyed it fully and it also was my favourite class in the whole year, the professor is fantastic (Brooks Daly), whom you'll meet when you visit The Hague for ICCL's arbitration class, but there are others to choose from.

Anyway, hope you get a good idea of the programme from this, but if you want to discuss further, you can write me a PM.

Cheers

RCR

Hi Sanaw,
I have attended ICCL at Leiden University in the 2017-2018 academic year. It was a great journey for me. I developed several parts of my legal knowledge. The most important feature of this program was, in my opinion, the combination of common law and civil law concepts in a specific field of law. this would enable you to compare different solutions proposed by two major legal systems to similar problems. It ultimately teaches you how to deal with legal problems in the most efficient manner. I am sure you will add a plus to your legal understanding upon the graduation from ICCL.
I should also mention how the professors and staff of the program are friendly and nice. They are all supportive and accountable.
I wish you the best in your choice! GOOD LUCK!

Hi to everyone,

I'm a male lawyer from Latin America that wishes to study, work and live in Europe, especially in The Netherlands, very inclined to International Law, so this LLM and Leiden University seemed like the most natural choice for me. This was the only LLM I applied actually.

I also got accepted to ICCL in late January this year. Last year I got accepted as well, but had to defer my application from 2018, due to some delays with the results from my English certificate and J.D. degree.

I have a strong background and interest in and with International Law in general, and now I have been working in International Civil and Commercial law for almost a year now. For those who have completed the LLM, do you think 1 year of experience is enough to embark on the LLM and the job market in The Netherlands/EU? Besides being fully bilingual in English and Spanish Im also learning french to enhance my prospects. Open to learn Dutch as well. Do you think that being native in Spanish is an advantage?

Lastly, I have read a lot about the fantastic lecturers and class contents, so no questions on that. Leiden is indeed an amazing University. I wanted to ask you about the thesis requirement, how long do you have to submit it and when do you start with the project itself? Do you have proper guidance from professors?

If you have any suggestions, comments or recommendations for me, that would mean a lot.
Thanks a lot!

[Edited by RLV on Mar 26, 2019]

Hi! Jumping back into this forum to see if anyone else has decided on this program for 2019-2020. I would love to get in touch if that's the case.

Hi! Jumping back into this forum to see if anyone else has decided on this program for 2019-2020. I would love to get in touch if that's the case.

Hi! Jumping back into this forum to see if anyone else has decided on this program for 2019-2020. I would love to get in touch if that's the case.

Hi! First of all, apologies for meddling in your post! I just wanted to check others opinions, but now that I think about it, should have used another thread.

Anyway, looks like we will be classmates! I decided to go for Leiden even after 1 year of experience because I really look forward to life in The Netherlands.

Hope we meet soon!

Will do! Likewise, we will meet soon!