“The Vis East Moot sparked my passion for arbitration”

12 February 2018, by Internetredaktion

Photo: PLMJ

“In arbitration, you are much more flexible than in court,” lawyer Ana Coimbra Trigo says.

Ana Coimbra Trigo is a lawyer at PLMJ Advogados law firm in Lisbon. She graduated from the Master of European and International Law in 2015. In this interview she explains why the China-EU School of Law helped her choosing her career path.

Did the China-EU School of Law prepare you for your current tasks?

Yes, actually, a lot! I work as an Arbitration Associate in Lisbon at PLMJ Advogados, the only law firm in Portugal with its own legal team working full time on arbitration. I profit from having been a member of the Vis Moot Team while I was studying in the "European and International Law" master’s programme at the China-EU School of Law. I participated in the Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition in Hong Kong – this up-close experience of arbitration really sparked my passion on arbitration. All of this legal training, all of the personalized coaching by two professors, all of the team spirit was so inspiring. I am also fascinated by arbitration because it is much more flexible that the strict procedures in courts. Last but not least, of course, since I have several Chinese clients today, the daily practice in Mandarin at the China-EU School of Law turns out to be extremely helpful for my work today.

If you could give your younger self, who is just about to start at the China-EU School of Law, a piece of advice, what would that be?

Enjoy your time in Beijing and learn as much as you can from your fellow students and professors! Looking back, in addition to having discovered my interest in arbitration, I appreciate the most that I got acquainted with different approaches on law at this law school. Ultimately, this is also the question an international lawyer is often faced with: how do I deal with plurality? The personal, intensive discussions on the differences between European and Chinese law I had at the China-EU School of Law opened doors for me. I gained insights into previously unknown perspectives on law. Today, I can much more easily understand and handle different perspectives.