"The reason why I wanted to be a part of Suffolk University [was] because it was one of the top universities in Massachusetts and it was located in the heart of Boston – a place filled with tall buildings, green parks, many universities, and a lot of hope for people with big dreams. That's what brought me to Suffolk Law," shares the LLM student.
Since then, Alex has been enjoying his time at Suffolk Law. A brief glimpse of what he gets up to in a day explains why.
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Wanting to improve the legal system in his home country, Alexander Durai Raj Masilla, a licensed advocate in India, researched practices from different jurisdictions. He was most fascinated by the American legal system and sought to know more about what it would take for him to become an international lawyer there.
That’s when he came across the Master of Laws programs at Suffolk Law — and its impressive rankings and location were enough to convince Alex to move to the intellectual capital of the US.
The Boston factor
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Alex gets ready to get to the train station by 8.00 a.m. or 9.00 a.m. He takes the Orange line to school, which is a 30-minute ride from Oak Grove Station to Downtown Station. From there, it's about a minute's walk to the university. Suffolk Law’s central location in downtown Boston allows students to come to campus easily via train, subway, bus, or bike.
7:00 AM
Alex has a different class schedule every day with about 12 hours of in-person classes per week. If he had a morning class, he would go to the library and prepare for his lesson. Otherwise, you would find the master's student putting in the hours at the gym.
As an LLM student, Alex opted for the flexibility to create his own academic track in the general LLM. "The program I chose was an LLM in American Legal Studies. I chose to study in this program because I want to learn more about American law, US legal practices, its administrative and judicial processes, and how different they are from India," he says.
9:30 AM
A healthy body makes for a strong mind. In this, Alex knows the right place to refuel. "I would recommend Suffolk dining, which is conveniently located on the 4th floor of the law school building. It has amazing chefs, who prepare a wide variety of tasty and nutritious food," he shares.
12:00 PM
After lunch, Alex heads to class – where he looks forward to spending an engaging class interacting and discussing with his professors and his peers. Many are top legal scholars and practitioners with years of legal experience ranging from leading international law firms, prominent boutique firms to large corporate legal departments, district attorney and public defender offices, as well as sitting judges and government officials. Nearly 30% of judges in Massachusetts and 40% of judges in Rhode Island graduated from Suffolk Law.
"Honestly, all the courses I have chosen are wonderful. It is not only the subject matter that I enjoy, but the professors, are excellent and experts in their field, " he explains. "Professor Maritza Karmely is the sweetest person and a phenomenal faculty member. She directs the Family Advocacy Clinic and brings her experience representing victims of domestic violence to the classroom. She is always filled with energy in class and loves to make the family law classes interactive. I would highly recommend her."
1:00 PM
Instead of heading home straight after class, Alex spends more time at the library to prepare for his classes the next day.
There's a good reason for this. "The law library is a gorgeous space filled with natural light and a variety of study areas. I was so impressed with the collection of books they had in the library. It was truly astounding. I spend a lot of my time in the library and it is one of the best places to study," says the master's student. "They also have individual study rooms where we could study alone with friends, which really helped us cement our understanding of the course materials."
4:00 PM
It takes about an hour for Alex to reach home. Given how hectic it can be to focus at the library for long hours, the master's student usually takes about an hour and a half to unwind before making dinner.
Once he's done with dinner, Alex continues to get ready for tomorrow’s classes. It’s lights out at 1.00 a.m.
5:00 PM
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