I have been accepted into the PIL LLM in Leiden and was wondering what the job oppurtunities are after graduation. I will be coming from Ireland and would like to work on the continent. I am finishing my LLB at the moment and will not be qualified in Ireland/UK to practice as a barrister. I love International Law and would like to find a job in this field, and my CV is quite good in this area, but people keep asking me what I will do after and I don't know! What are others planning or are doing after this Masters? I would be grateful for any advice.

Hi, Flynnad.

I don't know yet if this is a good idea or not, but I've been thinking about specialising in regulated sectors. The application of UE directives in European countries to garantee competition is especially important in areas like telecommunications and energy, which have been traditionally managed by governments. So I think a lawyer specialised in such fields could have a double projection for, on the one hand, he must deal with local legislation, and on the other, should be an expert in communitarian law. I am thinking, for example, about an in-company lawyer, working in the Regulatory Department of some big telecom / energy company.

I don't know if that helps, at least it's an idea.

I'm on that LLM now and everyone is looking for a job here, or at least an internship. If you think that there are around 60 people flooding onto the market each year from Leiden, not to mention the people from the other universities in The Netherlands then you'll realise that it isn't easy - but it's not impossible. You might have to just settle for an internship unless you want to work in a non-law related job in Den Haag or Amsterdam. I'm in exactly the same position as you with regards to not being a qualified lawyer and here you're up against people from other countries who are qualified and whose qualification process doesn't take them three years like it does in the UK...