Masa Yamamoto, Class of 2007
Career interest: International Business Law, Corporate Law and Finance
Undergraduate: Keio University, Tokyo, JAPAN, LL.B. and B.A., Economics
Short-term goal:” Work in international business transactions in New York and Tokyo.”
Long-term goal: “Teach at my alma mater, Keio Law School.”
Summer 2006: Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, New York and Tokyo
Summer 2005: Associate, Debevoise & Plimpton, New York
Chose Vanderbilt because: “Before coming to Vanderbilt, I worked as an in-house counsel for a Japanese utility company that was involved in international power and water projects. In one project, American lawyers dominated the negotiation process; there were very few things I could do as a lawyer educated in Japan. So I decided to pursue a J.D. degree in the United States to know the ‘enemies’ (and how they could bill such ridiculously high fees). Instead, I’ve found myself considering them as my friends throughout the time I’ve spent in Nashville.”
Masa’s take on the VULS culture: “Serious but collegial. I expected law school in the United States was cut-throat because I read One-L and watched ‘Paper Chase.’ Vanderbilt is different.”
Why you should work on a journal: “Through my work as an editor of the Journal of Transnational Law, I have been exposed to articles written by eminent international legal scholars, so I could learn current topics and how to write effectively as a lawyer. Bluebooking helped me to horn a skill to pay attention to details. In Japan, mostly scholars and professional editors – not law students – work on journals.”
