After graduating with a Bachelor of Laws from Beijing Jiaotong University in 2012, Emma Gao decided to pursue an LL.M. in the United States for several reasons. The 2012 LL.B. graduate from Beijing Jiaotong University preferred a one-year program over comparable two- or three-year options in China. She was also interested in spending time abroad and passing a state bar exam. “I thought that, back in China, a master’s degree from the U.S., along with a bar qualification, would add value to my resume,” she explained.

Vanderbilt stood out to Gao for its strong ranking, scholarship, and Nashville location, and after considering several schools, she decided to enroll in the Vanderbilt LL.M. Class of 2013. She fondly recalls courses such as Wills & Trusts with Professor Jeffrey Schoenblum and International Criminal Law with Professor Michael Newton, as well as the smaller class sizes. “The style is different from the experience in China,” she said. “We ended up having more interaction between professors and students, and cold-calling ensured everyone stayed alert.”

Outside of the classroom, Emma enjoyed life in Nashville, appreciating its laid-back rhythm and friendly neighborhoods that offered a perfect study-life balance. After graduation, she passed the New York Bar, moved to Silicon Valley, and worked for a law firm before returning to China a year later. She joined Tian Yuan Law Firm as a junior associate, eventually working her way up to Partner. She is also consistently ranked by Chambers, Legal 500 and other international legal guides for her practice. Gao’s early work at the firm was mainly corporate in nature, but she quickly turned her attention to the emerging field of Competition & Antitrust, seizing an opportunity to switch her practice.

“My boss was representing the first civil litigation tried by the Supreme People’s Court of China in the antitrust area,” she recalled. “I saw the news and wrote an email to my boss to see if I could join his team, and he said yes.”

Competition & Antitrust became Emma’s main area of practice and remained so for the last 12 years. The nascency of the field and large consequences for noncompliance present significant opportunities for antitrust lawyers in China. “When a law is developing, there is space for practitioners to grow,” she explains. “And when parties are afraid of potentially paying very high damages to counterparties, there is a huge need for lawyers to perform work.”

Today, Emma represents Chinese and foreign companies in a variety of different sectors or industries on a wide range of Competition & Antitrust law matters. When she reflects on that fateful email she sent to her boss early in her career, she believes her U.S. law firm experience and New York Bar certification helped her join the team. The Vanderbilt LL.M. afforded her those post-graduation opportunities to stand out before she returned to China to launch her career.

Emma advises future and current Chinese LL.M. students to take the New York Bar after graduation, because graduates have time to prepare, and because its valuable for job hunting at Chinese domestic firms or foreign firms with offices in China. Early career lawyers should determine their work preferences and identify potential areas of opportunity, with the understanding that they can always switch gears and redefine their path.