Romain holds a Master 2 in European and International Business Law from the Sorbonne and an LLM with a certificate in Business Law from the prestigious Duke University in the USA. Read his testimonial below and find out more about his university experience with the LLM at Duke University!
Profile
FIRST NAME : RomainNATIONALITY FrenchçaiseNAME OF COURSE FOLLOWED : LLM NAME OF UNIVERSITY : Duke University
Why did you choose to study abroad?
Which courses did you apply for abroad (in the UK and elsewhere)?
Why did you choose this subject/curriculum for your Bachelor’s degree?
I started law school at Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne in 2011 and returned to Duke in 2017, a year after finishing my M2.
I can’t say why I went to law school, but I can say that I found my voice.
My studies were tinged with a very strong international dimension and this dimension is now reflected in my professional life.
What other universities did you apply to (in the UK and elsewhere) and why did you end up choosing this university?
I applied to UC Berkeley, Cornell, UMichigan, UPenn, Georgetown and Duke.
Duke is a very good law university (it’s part of the famous T14) and is highly reputed in the USA.
The program and subjects offered were very interesting and the professors recognized by their peers for their skills.
The size of the LLM program at Duke also encouraged me to go.
There were less than 100 of us (whereas in some colleges there are more than 300-400), which allowed me to get to know all the other students.
What’s more, since Durham is a small town, there was a real bond created within the class, and we were often all together. 
What was the admissions process like for you?
Did you have to go to an interview?
If so, how did you prepare?
On the substance, I made contact with Duke Law students and alumni.
I was able to ask them all my questions so that I could demonstrate my knowledge of the program during the interview.
In terms of form, I did several English conversation sessions with an English-speaking friend, which helped me acquire the vocabulary I needed for my interview.
Why did you choose this particular university?
Have you been influenced by the rankings?
Do you think students should look at rankings to choose?
Yes, of course rankings help.
It’s still a major investment, so I think you have to be careful when choosing.
After that, rankings help to a certain extent.
I think there comes a point when all universities are more or less equal.
I don’t think there’s much difference in level between Duke, UVA, Northwestern and so on.
So at some point it becomes a really personal choice, and also a financial one.
Some universities will be more inclined to offer a scholarship than others.
Did the content of the curriculum at your particular university influence your choice of university?
Yes, of course.
The beauty of the LLM at Duke is that it’s completely free!
There are only two compulsory courses during the year, and the rest are à la carte. However, if you decide to take a state bar exam at a later date, you should be aware that there are a certain number of prerequisites, and that in this case the choice of courses is largely dictated by these prerequisites.
Even if you choose to do an LLM in General Studies, there is always the possibility of completing the course with a Certificate, of which there are three at Duke: Business Law, IP Law and Environmental Law. 
What do you think of the campus and the city in which it’s located?
I have extraordinary memories of it.
Duke is located in Durham, North Carolina, on the east coast of the USA.
It’s a part of the U.S. that, as a French person, we don’t really know much about, and really, it’s a must-see!
I think that Duke and Durham as part of an LLM are a perfect match.
In fact, I think the best thing about an LLM is the way itopens you up to the world, to the USA on the one hand, but also to lots of other countries!
In my class there were 99 students from 34 different countries. As a result, I was able to discover all these countries through the students who came from them.
To come back to Durham’s interest in the LLM, you have to bear in mind that Durham is a sprawling city with a low population density.
As a result, the students in my year always got together to go out or travel.
We also all know people who live in NYC or LA, so we tend to rub shoulders with these people when we live in these cities, and make less of an effort to rub shoulders with the students in our class.
In conclusion, Duke has a very good LLM program, and the city of Durham helps create a bond between LLM students.
As for the Duke campus, it’s beautiful.
It has a Harry Potter Hogwarts feel with its Gothic architecture!
And everything is easily accessible, even though it’s very big. There’s a bus network and car-sharing late at night once the buses have stopped running.
What are the 3 things you like best about your university and the 3 things you’d like to improve?
The campus, the quality of the teaching and the availability of the professors, the atmosphere within our class.
There is, however, definite room for improvement in the links between JD and LLM.
Do you have any international friends (French or otherwise) at your university?
Are there many international students at your university?
How easy do you find it to integrate and make friends at your university as a foreigner? Out of a program of 99 students, we were 7 or 8 French.
More generally, I didn’t get the impression that there were many French people at the University; I came across a few in the other schools, but fewer than ten in total. Could you describe your experience at your university?
- How many hours of lessons do you have each week?
16 credits in the first semester and 14 in the second, corresponding to 16h/week in the first semester and 14h/week in the second.
- How much work?
I worked a lot in the first semester, and in the second I decided to take fewer classes and enjoy myself a bit more at weekends, and sometimes go out during the week.
I often stayed late at the library to finish my reading and prepare for classes.
- Do you have exams once or several times a year?
I had exams at the end of each semester.
- Are you involved in any student associations?
I was a French tutor once a week for undergraduates. 
