Hello everybody,

As a Master 2 student in European Litigation at the University of Luxembourg, I would like to provide concrete information about this Master to any student who is interested in European Litigation or wishing to enroll in such a specialization or simply wondering what kind of jobs such a degree qualifies him for ... Just to point out a few interesting elements that I experienced during the semesters, you should know that the program offers not only a true proximity between students and judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union (notably during the classes) but also a tremendous chance of accomplishing an internship within the CJEU ; as well as an incomparable value for money that, in my opinion, no other university is able to supply in Europe* ! (feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken ok ).

(*The enrollment into most of the LLM programs of the University only costs approximately 200 ).

But of course the University has other LLM programs such as the Master in European private law, the Master in European Banking and Financial law, the Master in European Economic and Financial Criminal Law, ... (to mention just a few). And I'd be glad to answer any of your questions as far as it is possible for me because, obviously, I'm not enrolled in each of those Master programs .

In addition, just to let you know some of the reasons why I decided to study in Luxembourg, I might say that, in the first place, one of the major advantages of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is its geographical location (positioned at the crossroad between France, Germany and Belgium). Then, secondly, the country also stands out for its international dimension where approximately 40% of the population and 65% of the work force are foreign born (I call it a very welcoming country for foreigners !!). And finally, It is true that Luxembourg is home to a recognised European and international financial centre and many key industrial firms are present on its labor market...

Hence, if your interests are close to mine and you need further information, do not hesitate to ask me any question because nothing is better than a true dialogue among students in order to help each other decide our future studies, since the reality of a website may seem "outdated" compared to the actual practice of a university program.

See you soon then.

eres tambien Español, verdad?

No, yo no soy pero yo entiendo un poco por causa de mi portugués :)

Ok, thank you.
Anyway, I am a bit hesitating to apply for the Master in European Economic Law at Luxembourg University because although the programme looks really interesting, the University is still very new, so it may not be really popular in Europe at least. Therefore....:

So please, Could you tell me how many nationalities are represented in your classroom, approximately?
Is there any famous judge or professor teaching currently at Lux University?
In your opinion, What are the real chances to get a good job in a law firm after having studied at Lux University?

Thank you for your opinion and comments!
Edward.

Hi Edward,

To begin I just wanted to make it clear that what I attempt to do here is not to convince you to come or not studying at the University of Luxembourg but rather to simply inform you as well as others students about the University and its Master programs. Hence, the final choice is yours and I can only hope to somewhat help you to do the right one :).

However, I permit myself to make a little remark on your first comment : popularity is not synonymous of quality and sometimes it gets a little while for persons to recognize the quality and the progression of a University. I was at this very University since 2007 and I do not need to have numbers or statistics to tell you that the amount of students is increasing each year (and I dont think that those students only comes for the gorgeous Luxembourgish weather ^^) but to simply confirm my thoughts Ive just made a quick research on the university website and find out that in the winter semester of 2011/2012 the number of students enrolled at the University of Luxembourg has grown of 8% compared to last year i.e. 5700 students and around 100 nationalities (http://wwwen.uni.lu/fdef/news/5700_etudiants_et_100_nationalites).

In addition, one may understand that one of the main advantages of being in such a University is that you have proximity with teachers (and even the judges) and they might be able to know you by your name or at least to recognize you in contrast with the so-called "big universities" where you're unfortunately known as a number. In order to illustrate those words, we have had this year some courses with the famous French teacher Denys Simon (from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne) and we could freely speak to him not only during the breaks but also after the courses and even during the courses ! Im not sure but I presume true that it could be quite impossible to do so in the middle of a huge auditorium, surrounded by multitude of students, like it is the case in Paris.

Then, with respect to your questions :

First, as you can now imagine, there are a lot of nationalities in my class some are common ones in our region and others are more "surprising" but it can also be seen as very interesting for students recalling at the same that European Law is also composed within a comparative approach ; hence, this year, my classmates' nationalities were composed of Luxembourgish, French, Belgian, Bulgarian, Rumanian, Polish, Portuguese, Congolese, and even Canadian students.

Secondly, with regard to the teachers/judges, hereafter youll find a list of the persons that have taught us during the first* and the second year of the Master in European Litigation :

*Herwig C.H. Hofmann, Professor, Jean Monnet Chair
in European Public Law, University of Luxembourg
(Director of our Master in European Litigation) ;

Josef Azizi, Judge, President of Chamber, General
Court, CJEU ;
Lars Bay Larsen, Judge, President of Chamber, Court
of Justice, CJEU ;
Arnaud Bohler, Chef de Cabinet to the President of the
General Court, CJEU ;
Jean-François Bellis, Lawyer, Partner, van Bael &
Bellis, Brussels ;
Marc-André Gaudissart, Greffier, Court of Justice,
CJEU ;
*Jörg Gerkrath, Professor, Uni of Luxembourg ;
Jean-Jacques Kasel, Judge, Court of Justice, CJEU ;
Arjen Meij, former judge, General Court, CJEU; visiting
Professor, Uni of Luxembourg ;
Claire Micheau, former member of the European
Commission, Researcher, Uni of Luxembourg ;
Alessandro Morini, Assistant, Uni of Luxembourg ;
Jean-Denis Mouton, Professor, University of Nancy 2 ;
Elefteria Neframi, Professor, Uni of Luxembourg ;
Andriais Ò Caoimh, Judge, Court of Justice, CJEU ;
Savvas S. Papasavvas, Judge, President of Chamber,
General Court, CJEU ;
Blanca Pastor, Greffier, General Court, CJEU ;
*Gerard C. Rowe, Professor, Europa Universität
Viadrina Frankfurt (a.d.O.), President, Scientific
Advisory Board, Uni of Luxembourg ;
Denys Simon, Professeur à lUniversité de Paris 1,
Panthéon Sorbonne, Ecole de droit de la Sorbonne,
Professeur associé à lUniversité du Luxembourg ;
Verica Trstenjak, Advocate General, Court of Justice,
CJEU ;
Georges Vandersanden, Lawyer, Professeur à
lUniversité Libre de Bruxelles.

Finally, for your last question, I might say that, in the first place, you must bear in mind that the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is home to a recognised European and international financial centre and many key industrial firms are present on its labor market. Then, secondly, without going into much details on its geographical location (positioned at the crossroad between France, Germany and Belgium), the country also stands out for its international dimension where approximately 40% of the population and 65% of the work force are foreign born... Therefore many possibilites are open to you, to quote just a few : National & International law firms (Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Arendt & Modernach,...), Banks (BNP Paribas, BIL, ING,...), European Institutions (CJEU, Commission, Parliament), or even the so-called "CCDL" which provides for complementary courses in Luxembourgish law (a necessary step for those who one day aspire to become lawyer in luxembourg), ...
...BUT it still quite difficult for me to tell you precisely if it is difficult or not to find a job after such a Master degree. At least, as you can read, there are several opportunities to apply for !

Moreover, personnally, Im keeping my fingers crossed as regards to my internship (stage) and the possibility that it could open doors for me later (and this is also true for all my classmates and, of course, also for all the future students of the University of Luxembourg due to the fact that a great majority of the Master programs available offer the opportunity to do an internship in Luxembourg or even abroad in Europe).

If you have further questions do not hesitate ok.

Bye bye.