Vladimir Egiyan (LLM’23) Forged Life-Changing International Friendships
The member of BU Law’s 150th graduating class reflects on his experience in the LLM in Intellectual Property Law Program.
The Commencement of the Class of 2023—BU Law’s 150th graduating class—makes a fitting culmination to a year of events celebrating the school’s sesquicentennial. Like tens of thousands who have gone before them, these graduates are poised to go out in the world and accomplish amazing things.
Studying and socializing together across various cultural backgrounds and experiences, they formed close bonds and learned about themselves and the law.
This group of JD students arrived from 21 countries and 35 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. They had the added challenge of beginning their studies during a pandemic. But they went the distance. They worked hard to apply themselves and find career paths that matched their interests and abilities.
Likewise, the LLM, masters, and certificate students hailed from 40 countries and represented professionals at every career level, from age 21 to 70. Many received intensive instruction in legal English to build a strong foundation for their studies. They will use their newfound knowledge to advance their careers and improve legal systems here and abroad.
We checked in a group of students—including Vladimir Egiyan (LLM in Intellectual Property Law’23)—during their final year to learn more about what made their time at BU Law unique and how they plan to make the most of their degrees.
The Record: What drew you to Boston?
Vladimir Egiyan: I applied for many programs, and I got admitted to other schools. Boston University was the first one that I discovered and researched. Subconsciously, four years later, I was still keeping Boston University in mind. I remember watching a lot of videos about Boston University, and I was completely impressed. For me, that’s the most important reason. The objective reason was that Boston University gave me very good financial support, and I am very thankful for that.
The Record: How did you choose the LLM program?
Vladimir Egiyan: I did the LLM in American Law Program at BU Law, graduating in 2019. After that I was admitted to the New York bar and lived in Japan for a year and a half. And I just had to come back to the US, and in order to update my knowledge about the US legal system, I decided to take an additional LLM program, this time in IP law.
I had never learned IP law before. In my home country, I was focusing primarily on corporate law.
The Record: You practiced law in Russia before you came to the US. Tell me about that transition.
Vladimir Egiyan: I started my career as a litigation lawyer in the Moscow office of a UK law firm. I realized that English was very important for my future career development. Then I joined an investment bank and worked there for around five years. English was not really important there, but I still wanted to improve my proficiency in it for my future career development. I decided to quit my job and accept that challenge. That’s what brought me to the United States to learn English in the first place. I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
The Record: What will you remember the most about BU Law?
Vladimir Egiyan: I will remember arriving for my first degree, the American Law Program; the environment was so friendly. During orientation, we were able to develop very good relationships with other students and are still in touch.
It was kind of shocking to me that I wasn’t feeling any homesickness at all because of what law school officials did to accommodate us and make us feel comfortable. Maybe it was the group they selected in the first place. Maybe it was the technique they used to make people get to know each other. It was amazing.
During the first couple of days, we were encouraged to meet as many students as possible. Because of that technique, we were able to break all kinds of barriers.
The Record: How were you able to support each other?
Vladimir Egiyan: We were interacting with each other, spending time together. When we knew that our classmates were not able to understand something, we would try to explain. I interacted with students from other countries, primarily from Europe, Latin America, Japan, and China. It was way more enjoyable for me than interacting with people from my own country. I also enjoyed speaking a lot of English. We were all quite different, and learning from each other was very cool.
The Record: What’s next for you?
Vladimir Egiyan: Boston is a special place for me. It would be the ideal place for me here in the US. I could also go to New York or DC because I also have a PhD degree in international law from my home country, but I selected Boston.
Here in Boston, there are a lot of pharmaceutical companies that deal with IP issues; and other companies require a certain knowledge of IP. So I will try to use my proficiency in IP law and stay here.
The Record: What advice would you have for others?
Vladimir Egiyan: I would mention the life-changing aspect of BU Law for many students. The people who come to the US and take this program are pro-American. They share American values. Talking to people from Japan, Egypt, and other countries, they were at the same level as me in terms of their appreciation of American values and American culture.
I was amazed at how much you can learn from a person from a different country, even someone half as young. When I was learning English, I was around 30, and the people learning English with me were around 17 or 18. I was shocked that those guys were opening my eyes to so many issues.
I would highly encourage anyone to do something similar. It’s very challenging, but I think we just need to keep going and trying to improve ourselves. And the result will follow.