All posts filed under: Alumni Commentary

Our Dreams Are Valid: Turning Aspiration into Achievement at Temple Law

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For a young man who grew up in a part of the world where daily struggles were considered normal, I realized very early in life that I had more dreams than my environment seemed willing to permit. Walking through the corridors of public schools in Abuakwa, a suburb of Kumasi in Ghana’s Ashanti Region, I dreamed of becoming a businessman, a leader in public service, and a lawyer. Even before I turned twelve, I knew I wanted more. But in an environment where people constantly reminded you of the reasons why you could not succeed, I learned to be careful about how loudly I spoke about my dreams. Before finishing high school, I understood the sacrifices my parents had already made on their modest salaries as teachers. Pursuing law in Ghana was a long and expensive journey, and I convinced myself that it would be wiser to pursue a path that could provide immediate financial stability while postponing my legal ambitions. Still, I never abandoned the belief that I was meant for more. I entered …

Building an International Legal Career Through Temple’s LL.M. Program

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Studying in the LL.M. program at Temple University Beasley School of Law has been one of the most transformative experiences of my academic and professional journey. Coming from Italy, where I graduated cum laude in Law from LUISS Guido Carli, I wanted to deepen my understanding of corporate law and gain exposure to the U.S. legal system in a practical and challenging environment.  Before coming to Temple, I had already cultivated a strong interest in international and commercial law through my studies and international experiences. In particular, I had the opportunity to spend five months in London as part of an exchange program at City, University of London, where I studied subjects including corporate law and EU product regulation. Living and studying in such an international setting further strengthened my desire to pursue a legal career with a cross-border perspective.  At Temple, I was able not only to expand my legal knowledge, but also to grow personally and professionally. Courses such as Corporations, International Commercial Transactions, and Mergers & Acquisitions provided me with a deeper understanding of cross-border business law …

Temple LL.M. Alumna Isabela Faria: Leading the Way in Energy and Finance Law

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Isabela Faria, LLM ’98, has charted a dynamic international legal career. As partner at Schmidt Valois Advogados (SVMFA) in her native Rio de Janeiro, she specializes in a broad practice that encompass finance, project finance, banking, business transactions, oil and gas, energy, and infrastructure. Her journey to pursue her LL.M. in Philadelphia to her current role as a partner in a well-recognized law firm in Brazil showcases the power of determination and a passion for embracing new challenges. Isabela, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, was exposed to diverse cultures and backgrounds from an early age. Her parents played pivotal roles in shaping her broad worldview as they often traveled as a family. After completing her initial law degree in Brazil, one of her parents’ friends, whose wife was a Temple alumna, recommended the university’s LL.M. program to Isabela. Before immersing herself in her LL.M. studies, Isabela participated in Temple’s Intensive English Language Program. This provided her with a head start in language proficiency as well as familiarity with the campus and its many …

Temple Alumni Host International Students for Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving celebration with Brooke Banville FOX ’09 This Thanksgiving, Temple alumni opened their homes—and hearts—to students in the Master of Laws (LLM) for Foreign-Trained Lawyers program. Joana Gaizelyte-Lacy JD ’09, Brooke Banville FOX ’09, and Temple friend Tricia Neff each hosted international LLM students at their homes to experience the quintessential American holiday. Thunvath Thorng LLM ’23, reflected on his visit with Joana Gaizeyte-Lacy: Frankly, it was a delightful experience to have a Thanksgiving Feast with a local Philadelphia family, especially a Temple Law alum. This American unifying holiday is where family members gather, indulge in a wide range of cuisines, interactively exchange stories, laugh, and more. This exquisite and well-decorated dinner celebration allows me to realistically see and dive deep into American culture and tradition. I sincerely appreciate the alum’s effort in hosting this event, and hopefully, there will be more for next year, and even years ahead. It surely is one of my most memorable nights in America, as an LL.M. student at Temple. Along with Thunvath, other international LLM students spent Thanksgiving …

Alumni Spotlight – Matteo Smacchi LLM ’11, Head of Legal & Compliance, SDA Express Courier, Poste Italiane

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Italian alumnus Matteo Smacchi LLM ’11 has long been committed to professional and personal service. After earning the Professor Samuel Gyandoh Award for rendering outstanding service to Temple Law upon his graduation, Matteo has gone on to a distinguished career in the public and private sector. Matteo currently serves as the Head of Legal and Compliance for the SDA Express Courier services within Poste Italiane—one of Italy’s largest companies with over 120,000 employees. He is directly responsible for all legal and compliance oversight of the express courier business unit and distribution activities. In his role, he particularly appreciates the unique opportunity to engage in strategic decision-making for the company and the ability to interact with other professionals who lack legal backgrounds. Prior to his current role at Poste Italiane, Matteo spent eight years working for large, international law firms in Philadelphia and Rome. He then made the decision to transition out of law firm practice. Playing the role of in-house counsel, Matteo first served as the Head of Corporate Affairs at both Banca Generali and …

Temple Law Commencement 2022 – Keynote Speaker Leonard Barrack

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May 19, 2022 marked the commencement activities for the Class of 2022 and, returning after nearly two years, the Class of 2020. In his keynote remarks, Leonard Barrack LAW ‘68, chair of the law school’s Board of Visitors and member of the university’s Board of Trustees, congratulated the graduates and their families and shared some words of wisdom. I greet you all here today with a special kind of joy and pride. I greet you as a first generation American whose own father came to this country in 1923 from Ukraine with $25 in his pocket. He had so many dreams. Yes, as Emma Lazarus said, he was among those “huddled masses yearning to be free.” Had he not had those dreams – and yes, that courage – I would surely not be standing here before you today. But he did and here I am. Had he not, he would almost certainly have been shot and buried in a mass grave as his own mother and sisters were for the ‘crime’ of being Jewish. So …

Shannon McGuire LAW '21 stands in front of a large waterfall

Studying Abroad at Del Rosario University in Bogotá, Colombia

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In Fall of 2018, Shannon McGuire LAW ’19 completed a semester-long study abroad program at our Temple Law partner school, Del Rosario University in Bogotá, Colombia. I went to Rosario with an interest in seeing how Colombia was handling the Venezuelan refugee crisis, to learn more about human rights law, and to improve my Spanish language skills. I left Bogota having achieved each of those goals but also having made lifelong friends, having acquired an addiction to arepas de yuca and yellow dragon fruit, and having gained a deeper understanding and admiration for a peace process that transitioned a country from decades of internal conflict to a new horizon that aimed to uphold the rule of law while rehabilitating offenders and giving victims a voice. I cried seeing exhibits of paramilitary slaughters of Colombian villages. I debated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with my classmates in my Anthropology of Violence and Conflict class. I hid my face every time we learned about yet another Latin American country where the U.S. meddled in their domestic affairs during the Cold War era (and …

Photo of a woman, Angela Sanchez, sitting at a desk with a book smiling

Angela Sánchez LLM ’03 – How Temple Law Shaped Her Career

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After practicing in Colombia for nearly a decade, I attended Temple’s LL.M. program in 2003 and specialized in taxation. I passed the New York Bar exam in 2006 and am now a tax partner in PricewaterhouseCooper’s Tax & Legal Services Department in Colombia. In the past several years, legal professionals in Colombia are expected to have earned an LL.M. in the United States. I now understand why. Earning an LL.M. at Temple was a key professional and personal challenge for me, and it enabled me to prove to myself that I could adapt to a different educational style and then practice law in the global context. The professors’ teaching style is excellent and unlike any that I had experienced in Colombia. I now use my LL.M. degree to advise on a wide range of international tax matters. After graduation, I first worked at Deloitte in New York City, an opportunity I never would have had without the LL.M. International tax matters require an understanding of the different tax law systems, which I was able to …

A Love Letter to Philadelphia

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  From the Balkans to Latin America to Canada: Temple Law gave Safo Musta LLM ’02 her passport to the world. I will never forget the first time I set my eyes on Philly’s skyline. I was in a cab, exhausted and sleepless from a long flight, five thousand miles away from my hometown of Tirana, alone and nervous at the thought of the unknown ahead of me. Then the lights of a great city emerged in the distance. I felt as if I was thrown on the set of ″Philadelphia,‶ a legal drama from 1993, the only reference I had at the time to a city that would soon become very dear to me. The view before my eyes was stunning. An air of excitement filled my lungs. It was love at first sight. I arrived in Philly in August of 2001 to pursue an LL.M. in American and International Law at Temple Law School, a dream made possible thanks to the prestigious Ron Brown scholarship program of the US Department of Education for …

Building the Rule of Law in Albania

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When I entered law school in my native Albania, at the tender age of 18, I had strong idealistic beliefs. I began my legal studies as a mission, but, like almost all young idealists, I faced disappointment after confronting the systemic corruption in the Albanian justice system. To avoid that corruption as much as possible, I steered away from both public administration and litigation. I then directed my efforts into the private sector and commercial law. This later became my focus in the Master of Laws for Foreign-Trained Lawyers (LLM) program at Temple University Beasley School of Law. I very much enjoying living in Philadelphia, while attending classes as part of the Temple intensive English (IELP) and LLM programs. Living and studying abroad changes one on so many levels. I will never forget the extraordinary professors; their use of the Socratic method differs so greatly from higher education practices back home. The engagement with professors and students, both in and out of the classroom, shapes one’s thinking and presents challenges with far-reaching effects. My Temple …