hi
I'm indian law graduate and is on the verge of my llm from from nottingham trent univerity,UK in international trade law. can anybody guide me toward a decent job any where in the world. I'm ready to study part time if there is any coure i needed to go along with that job.

I'm intrested in working in WTO if anybody can guide me way toward it. i have done PGD in humanitarian right from Indian Inst. of Human right and a Diploma in corporate law in Estonia.

though I now it's mile to before I sleep. So, if anybody can guide me.


loking forward for the reply

JAI GURU DEV

Shivani i think you should come to India and work in a law firm. coz the trend in India is moving North... far from saturation... theres gr8 demand for lawyers although getting a good job wount be a cake walk... also depends whether u are interested in lit or corporate...

Sahil

thanx a lot
i hv practice in india and their is lots of discrimination but having a job their is nice.
will they give job with int trade llm frm uk #
also i want to know about any scope in wto
plus if i prefer usa what frims should i apply in

Shivani frankly speaking I have li'l knowledge about U.S. firms. And as regards your query that whether they'll take you keeping in view your specialization, the answer to that is a definite YES. WTO is in demand unlike anything else. If you are interested in Mumbai, try AZB Partners, Amarchand Mangaldas & Suresh S Shroff & Co. and Wadia Gandhy. Nishisth Desai is also an excelent firm but I'm not sure whether it deals in WTO Laws. I think for you, Mumbai should be more suitable. By the way did u try for a job in U.S. or U.K.?

And what kind of discrimination are you talking about?

Sahil Tagotra

I agree. WTO is up and coming field and you have plenty of opportunities there.

US and UK law firms also should have openings for the right specialization like tax etc.

But it all depends on what you want to do eventually.

All the best.


All the best.

thanx a lot
i will try in the said firms.
n
abt uk they reject the application by saying that i don't have enough visa, allouth i can extend for two yrs under sgs and also if they give me job it will be extended but.. anyways

i will surely want to try in us but don't know how to start with if you can guide.
thanx a lot for ur support
best regards
shivani

anybody..
if please help me..

i want to go for something good and really i'm disappointed at this movement...

plz plz plz guide me

will be greatfull

thank you

There are lots of myths on what WTO Law is and what it is not. With five years of study/experience in the field of int. trade law I am qualified to give you an opinion more informed than the naive guys who replied above.
- It is a joke to believe that Law Firms hire WTO Lawyers for one simple reason: there is little demand for their services. Although a firms such as Sidley. Wilmer, and a few other do have a real WTO Practice, the fact is that it is pretty much limited to retired officials with 20 yrs of experience. As for firms like Baker & McKenzie and many many others that offer 'WTO' it is simply a joke. If you take a look to each of the members of their practice it says 'has litigated, negotiated or whatever before panels or the AB', but it does not say that their members have done it while at Baker.

- However there are a few more chances if you go for Rules, but you need some fair understanding of the domestic system where you plan to work. Antidumping is actually what is more in demand and gives you more chances to get a job, but really depends on the country you are living (the more protectionist the better in this case).

- Your best shot to get into the system is by gaining some years of experience in government service. Working for the equivalent of the USTR in your country, DOC, or ITC is the kind of things that give you chance to go for a WTO job. Although I said: chances.

- The other option is to start maybe trying with internships. But be aware that for the WTO internships the number of applicants ranges between 250-700 in a single year while they offer is very limited in number.

Hi Simon,
For someone interested in a future in WTO law practise, the info on the limited demand for WTO lawyers was quite a shock. In any event I was wondering if you could clarify a few things for me.

I am presently working on trade remedies litigation, anti dumping / anti subsidy to be specific. The logical next step for me is to seek a future as a '' WTO lawyer " with a possibility of being involved in some way in dispute settlement proceedings. I was wondering if my experience in trade remedies would be a good enough substitute for the government experience that you speak of.

Also, I was thinking a masters in this field might be in order after perhaps some more experience in trade remedies. Was wondering if you could guide me on the better places for WTO law practise.
Have heard of Georgetown (LL.M) and WTI (Master of International Law and Economics). Was wondering if the latter was a handicap for a career in WTO "Law"?

Just another question. Would it be fair to say , that while the quantum of work that say Baker would have with regard to WTO law per se (as distinguished from domestic trade remedies) might be limited its not too bad to hang around in these places doing trade remedy work, and WTO law work would surely come by, except of course if Sidley or Wilmer Hale decide to bring in less experienced people? And do these guys hire from around the globe for the Trade Practise in Washington and Geneva or is there a national treatment problem?

Regards

- As I said, working in Trade Remedies is perhaps the best chance to get into the WTO Secretariat. But to be honest, I do not know if Rules at Private Firm would be considered as good as a former government official. I simply dont know. There are some posts from time to time at WTO where they ask for people with as little as 3-5 years of experience in remedies, but obviously it's a fierce competition for the job.

- Yes, I have heard of the LLM at GTown for a very simple reason: I hold that the degree. Usually WTO asks for people with an 'advanced degree in law or economics', however it is different from country to country because a JD from the US may have (talking about the degree requeriment) a bit more chances of qualify as 'advanced degree' than someone from a civil-law country. Case-by-case basis. WTI I have heard but I dont know if their alumni have secured a good rate of jobs in the field.

- Washingtown and Gva Firms (add also Brussels). Nationality may be an issue because I know from an insider of a Gva office litigating WTO that they rarely hire someone who is not resident at that moment in Switzerland. The problem is that it is a huge problem to get a residence permit. Indeed American young lawyers have the same problem because Ch is simply very strict with those things. Washington firms tend to hire American JDs and having an LLM does not mean really much. From time to time they do hire people trained in other jurisdiction but honestly chances are very low if you have no experience, no matter how good you are.

- I know a guy who was working at Sidley Gva right upon graduation but the thing is that he is swiss and had no problems with the residence permit obviously. Offices in Brussels tend to strongly favor EU Citizens for the same reasons but in the case of Was the main reason may not be the same since at the US the requirements are not THAT high compared to the other places but as I said the truth is that they strongly favor JDs. In a word, yes, firms in the field sometimes hire very young lawyers but not so often and if you are not a resident in that country chances are really low as a general rule.

Kind Regards,
M

Hi Simon

Thanks a lot for the information. Really appreciate it.

- As I said, working in Trade Remedies is perhaps the best chance to get into the WTO Secretariat. But to be honest, I do not know if Rules at Private Firm would be considered as good as a former government official. I simply dont know. There are some posts from time to time at WTO where they ask for people with as little as 3-5 years of experience in remedies, but obviously it's a fierce competition for the job.

- Yes, I have heard of the LLM at GTown for a very simple reason: I hold that the degree. Usually WTO asks for people with an 'advanced degree in law or economics', however it is different from country to country because a JD from the US may have (talking about the degree requeriment) a bit more chances of qualify as 'advanced degree' than someone from a civil-law country. Case-by-case basis. WTI I have heard but I dont know if their alumni have secured a good rate of jobs in the field.

- Washingtown and Gva Firms (add also Brussels). Nationality may be an issue because I know from an insider of a Gva office litigating WTO that they rarely hire someone who is not resident at that moment in Switzerland. The problem is that it is a huge problem to get a residence permit. Indeed American young lawyers have the same problem because Ch is simply very strict with those things. Washington firms tend to hire American JDs and having an LLM does not mean really much. From time to time they do hire people trained in other jurisdiction but honestly chances are very low if you have no experience, no matter how good you are.

- I know a guy who was working at Sidley Gva right upon graduation but the thing is that he is swiss and had no problems with the residence permit obviously. Offices in Brussels tend to strongly favor EU Citizens for the same reasons but in the case of Was the main reason may not be the same since at the US the requirements are not THAT high compared to the other places but as I said the truth is that they strongly favor JDs. In a word, yes, firms in the field sometimes hire very young lawyers but not so often and if you are not a resident in that country chances are really low as a general rule.

Kind Regards,
M

The truth is that I have no fucking idea about arbitration. At georgetown there are lots of people doing it and it seems they have at least one or two good professors but as for labour opportunities I simply do not know how that works.

I am also from a civil-law country originally trained. However, my advice is that whatever your choice is you should go to a common-law jurisdiction to get trained. Definitely. I know lots of people will disagree but on my experience it is much better that you get trained in common-law now. The system is harder but it makes you be really fucking good. The fact is that if you are civil-law trained lawyer you are more likely to be seen as handicapped than if you have both background.

Furthermore, at the int level people tend to be very receptive to the fact you are trained in that tradition.

Anyways, keep looking for advice for arbitration in particular since I am sorry but I am not familiar to the field.

M

Thanks very much for your good and honest assessment. Regards.