Professional Development & Careers - White & Case International Arbitration LL.M.

Miami Law’s Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD) offers comprehensive services and resources to assists students throughout the year with their professional goals. An experienced career advisor exclusively dedicated to students enrolled in the International Arbitration LL.M. Program assists with their job search and professional development needs, including one-on-one training on networking, resume writing and interviewing skills.

Students have access to extensive job search databases and resources on summer and academic-year positions, including international law jobs and fellowships, judicial clerkships and internships, as well as public interest and pro bono positions.

Students may have the opportunity to participate in the International Arbitration LL.M. Practicum Program with prominent international arbitration firms in Miami.

This study feature allows students to earn two academic credits during their studies and provides a unique opportunity for additional training in the workplace as well as networking.

“My experience at Shutts & Bowen had an invaluable impact in my career path. I was able to work with and learn from leading practitioners in the International Arbitration and Litigation field in Miami and was able to apply all of the invaluable knowledge I had acquired in my LLM classes."

Natalia Jaramillo (U.S.A./Colombia)
J.D./LL.M. International Arbitration '20
White & Case, Washington, D.C.
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Students may have the opportunity to work as graduate research assistants or volunteers on arbitration-related projects and initiatives with organizations such as:

• Miami Law’s International Arbitration Institute or individual Miami Law faculty specializing in international and foreign law
• The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
• The International Law Section of the Florida Bar
• The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
• The Young Practitioners’ and Students' Group of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (Young ICCA)
• The Miami International Arbitration Society (MIAS)

International arbitration moot court competitions allow students to gain practical experience in a mock arbitration setting. This authentic exercise requires students to act as advocates, analyzing and arguing both sides of a hypothetical legal dispute, using procedures modeled after those employed before real-life international arbitration tribunals. Students may participate in English- or Spanish-language competitions focusing on international commercial or investment arbitration during their LL.M. studies through Miami Law's International Moot Court Program. International arbitration moot competitions offered may include:​​​​​​

• The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition in Vienna, Austria;
• The Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court Competition (East) in Hong Kong, SAR China;
• The Spanish-language Competición Internacional de Arbitraje y Derecho Mercantil in Madrid, Spain;
• The Spanish-language Competencia Internacional de Arbitraje  (venue changes annually); 
• The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Moot (venue changes annually);
• The International Investment Arbitration Moot Court Competition in Frankfurt, Germany; and
• The International Maritime Arbitration Moot.

Read more here: "First U.S. International Moot Court Program Celebrates 10 Years of Trailblazing Success"

Under the guidance of top-notch faculty, students enrolled in the International Arbitration LL.M. Program work on papers on cutting-edge issues in the field. For instance, the Advanced Arbitration Seminar, taught by Professor Jan Paulsson, and several other international arbitration seminars and workshops on the curriculum challenge students to write papers of genuinely publishable quality.

Students and graduates have published in various U.S. and international law journals and reviews as well as professional blogs with a focus on international dispute resolution, including the Asian Dispute Review, the European Dispute Review, Transnational Dispute Management (TDM) Journal, The Florida Bar’s International Law Section International Law Quarterly, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, Young ICCA Blog, as well as Miami Law’s internationally-oriented law reviews.

In 2016 a Miami Law graduate published an article in the prestigious Journal of International Arbitration. In addition, our 2013 International Arbitration LL.M. graduates published individual articles on various international arbitration topics in Young Scholars in International Arbitration, a collection of essays published by Miami Law’s International Arbitration Institute, which was prepared in conjunction with the 2014 International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Congress held in Miami.

Arda Barlas, J.D./LL.M. '20 shares his experience helping the Miami International Arbitration Society draft an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court:

“It felt great to be part of such a significant development for the New York Convention and international arbitration…it’s not every day that you find such an opportunity to be part of a Supreme Court case in your field of study”
Arda Barlas (Turkey)
J.D./LL.M. International Arbitration '20
Associate, Reed Smith, Miami, FL
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Students have the opportunity to attend international arbitration conferences, lectures and other networking events with international arbitration practitioners, organized in Miami and beyond by Miami Law’s International Arbitration Institute and other international arbitration organizations.

The Institute brings renowned international arbitrators and experts to the University of Miami School of Law to lecture throughout the academic year. Most recently, Miami Law’s 2021 White & Case International Arbitration Lecture featured international arbitration specialist  David W. Rivkin (Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton) on “Post-Pandemic Arbitration: Will It Be Contact-Free?” You can read more about the lecture or re-watch it.

International arbitration conferences taking place in Miami include events organized by:

• The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Miami Conference with more than 700 practitioners from all over the world attending
• The International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA)
• The International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
• The American Arbitration Association (AAA)
• The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR)
• Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS)
• Global Arbitration Review (GAR)
• Latin Lawyer
• The Spanish Arbitration Club (CEA)
• Arbitral Women
• The Miami International Arbitration Society (MIAS)
• The Global Pound Conference Series
• International Treaty Arbitration (ITA)
• The ICC’s Young Arbitrators’ Forum (YAF)
• ICDR’s Young & International
• The Florida Bar Association
• The American Bar Association (ABA)
• The Intra-American Bar Association (IABA)
• The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA).

In addition, the International Arbitration LL.M. Program organizes regular on-campus international arbitration luncheons with practitioners and site visits to leading international arbitration firms and institutions in Miami, which provide additional opportunities for networking.

Students have the opportunity to get involved with professional arbitration organizations on a local and global level:

Miami International Arbitration Society (MIAS): The University of Miami School of Law is an institutional member of MIAS. Other members include leading international arbitration firms and institutions. Bi-monthly MIAS membership meetings are open to International Arbitration LL.M. students and feature leading arbitration practitioners as speakers. MIAS promotes the use of international arbitration and mediation and the selection of Miami as the situs for international arbitration proceedings related to the resolution of trans-border commercial and investment disputes. MIAS works to encourage international arbitration in Miami by supporting appropriate legislation, relevant academic programs at area universities, local international arbitration conferences, featuring distinguished practitioners as guest speakers, and providing training and legal updates to its members on the latest developments in international arbitration. 

Young ICCA: Young ICCA is a world-wide arbitration knowledge and skills network for young practitioners, established in 2010. It functions under the auspices of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA). Participation in Young ICCA is open to law students, faculty members and young practitioners. It aims to provide students and young professionals interested in dispute resolution with a forum to exchange ideas about international arbitration and with access to each other and to the international arbitration community.

Other international arbitration organizations International Arbitration LL.M. students should get involved with include:

• International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes' Resolution's Young & International (ICDR Y&I)
• International Chamber of Commerce's Young Arbitrators' Forum (ICC YAF)
• London Court of Arbitration's Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG)
• International Centre for Dispute Young ICSID
• Spanish Arbitration Club's Below 40 Group (CEA-40)
• Dispute Resolution Committee of the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division (YLD)