John MacManus
I thoroughly enjoyed my time as VP Marketing for the European Law Students’ Association – Maynooth however the highlight during my LLM was the opportunity to study alongside and make lifelong friendships with students from all over the world.
VP Marketing – European Law Students’ Association ("ELSA") – Maynooth
I looked at several Irish Universities, but the opportunity provided by the LLM in International Business Law at Maynooth was the most appealing. The chance to study law in both a civil law jurisdiction and a common law jurisdiction was an interesting challenge. The first semester of the masters is spent at UCLy in Lyon, France and the second semester at Maynooth University. The module choices were interesting and the experts who lectured us were always fascinating: In particular, the intensive week of lectures from experts from the WTO. At the end of the two semesters you are awarded a Masters 1 Degree in France and a Masters of Laws (LLM) from Maynooth University.
On a professional level, the course on International Contract Law has been a massive help in my day to day work and has helped me become aware of issues to look out for. Additionally the opportunity to study with other students from around the world gave me a greater appreciation of other cultures which has been of a tremendous benefit for me both personally and professionally working in a multinational company, particularly one with the values and reach of Coca-Cola.
Do it! From my perspective, I have no doubt that the LLM in International Business Law has stood to me. If you can speak French, brush up on your language skills before flying to France, but this is not critical, as the course is delivered in English.
I began my undergraduate during the start of the global recession and as such, decided to study a broad undergraduate degree. The Economics, Politics and Law (“EPL”) Course in DCU stood out to me for this reason and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Many of my friends have gone on to qualify as solicitors while others are in politics, finance, supply chain and human resources to name a few. I managed to get a two-week internship in a criminal law firm the summer between my undergraduate and my LLM. I really enjoyed my time there, but it confirmed my belief that I wanted to study International Business Law. I then moved to France to start my LLM and moved onto Maynooth for the second part of the LLM. Upon completion of my LLM, as I was lucky enough to start a job in a Commercial Law Firm in Dublin working in the Public and Regulatory Law team. This was very interesting work and it really helped me improve professionally. From there, I was very lucky to move on to Coca-Cola, where I have remained ever since and where the knowledge and skills, I learned in my postgraduate really helped me. During my time in Coca-Cola I have moved from a legal graduate role, to a paralegal role and now to my current role as trainee solicitor. I have worked on many different aspects of the business, and with people across multiple jurisdictions. I have also completed my PPC 1 course in the Law Society of Ireland and am due to start my PPC2 course in July, as part of the inaugural PPC Hybrid class.
Being heavily involved in the implementation and roll out of GDPR in Ireland and France was a highlight. This helped me grow professionally and took me out of my comfort zone as I had to learn fast and also was lucky enough to travel to a number of European cities to attend meetings with colleagues from all across the EU.
I still have an involvement with GDPR however I also split my time between international commercial contracts, Company Secretarial and Corporate Governance work.
The most interesting thing about my job is that, on a daily basis, I am dealing with people from all over the world. This at times can also be challenging due to time zones etc. (although time-zone wise, Ireland is well placed to do business). This challenge can be alleviated through the use of technologies such as Microsoft TEAMS and consideration of attendees locations when scheduling meetings.
I just searched the standard job websites (e.g. LinkedIn and the Law Society vacancies page) and came across the job advertisement. I applied and when they contacted me to interview, I made myself completely available. I would tell newly graduated students to keep their head up as I do remember that there was a gap from the time of applying and getting a response, so I wasn’t expecting to be interviewed but was delighted when I eventually heard back.
Try to get work experience during your summers off. Obviously experience in a legal practice is ideal but even experience in an office benefits you and makes you more employable down the road. You won’t believe how different the transition from studying to working in an office can be. I think it is important to have your C.V. ready as soon as you finish your course. I was very lucky that I touched up my C.V. just after I finished my thesis. Our class received an email for a job opportunity from Maynooth’s Law Department on a Thursday and the deadline was the Friday. I simply emailed my C.V. back and then was lucky to have been interviewed and offered my first professional job. I would recommend getting involved in a Society such as ELSA or the Law Society in Maynooth. This is one thing that was flagged to me from a large law firm as something I was missing prior to my LLM.