ALUMNI STORIES & MORE: GET TO KNOW.....

I am currently working as an Associate in the M&A Department of the German law firm Hengeler Mueller (Frankfurt office) and I attended the LL.M. Finance Program in the academic year 2021/22.

I had been working in my home country for about 6 years when I decided to move to Frankfurt for personal reasons. I had completed my bachelor's and master's degrees in Lisbon in Law and Commercial Law, respectively, and was building my career as an M&A lawyer in the same city, but was faced with the uncertainty of a potential career change when moving to Germany. Since completing an LL.M program had been a dream of mine for some time, I looked into potentially interesting programs in the Frankfurt area and soon discovered the ILF website. The variety of classes offered, that spanned from Law to Finance, Business and Management - all important know-how for an M&A lawyer to have - quickly convinced me that this was the right program for me. And indeed, the next year I joined the Class of 2022 and was not disappointed.

From the quality of the subjects taught to the excellence of the faculty members, I felt both relieved and proud to have made the decision to put my career on a brief hold to complete this program. There is no doubt that the knowledge acquired during my year at the ILF helped me become a better professional and achieve new standards for my career.

But, as important as hard skills are, the aspect I valued the most in my year at the ILF was most definitely the people I met. Enrolling in the LL.M. Finance Program meant becoming part of a group of internationally diverse people. All of us came to Frankfurt from different countries, continents and cultural backgrounds, and yet we all found common ground and friendships in each other. Getting to know people from around the world and forming lasting bonds with fellow jurists that I would probably never have met had it not been for this LL.M. Program will forever be my most treasured memory from that year and the biggest asset I take with me for the future.

My overall experience at the ILF and the fact that the program provided us with a first introduction to the Frankfurt job market with its internship program definitely weighed on my decision to stay in the city, as it was through the ILF that I first got acquainted with the team I currently work with. On top of that, the quality of the program and its reputation particularly in Frankfurt are also key factors in any job search in the area, which is - in my view - just another reason for any prospective student to want to come and establish themselves here.