Season 2: Episode 6: Mônica Murayama
International Arbitration Attorney, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Monica Murayama
International Arbitration Attorney, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
How to network and ace your BigLaw interview with a personal touch?
For most internationally trained lawyers, the job search in the U.S. begins on Day One of their LL.M. Program. For Monica, it started from Day Zero. She started searching for jobs in the summer before her LL.M. program began. She dedicated eight months to meticulous research, networking and interviewing with potential firms that could hire her. A Brazil-trained lawyer fluent in Portuguese, French and English, Monica had countless coffee meetings with BigLaw partners specializing in international arbitration. Some generously shared their own career journeys, while others were more blunt, “I have five minutes. What do you want?”
One day, while preparing for one of these informational interviews, Moica discovered that the senior partner who was to interview her had lived in Brazil for six months some thirty years ago. She seized this connection to add a personal touch to their conversation. Today she’s working with the partner at Steptoe & Johnson specialized in international arbitration.
How did she jumpstart on networking from Day Zero to land a prestigious externship? How did she turn the externship into a permanent position at another renowned firm? What’s her strategy to network with partners at BigLaw and effectively following up with them? How can you add a personal touch to the daunting process of networking?
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Why did you study law?
I don't recall when I decided to study law. I know since I was about five or six years old, I always said that I would go to law school and become a lawyer. I don't know why because there are no lawyers in my family, and no one really knows where it came from. Even my childhood friends say that the first time they heard about law school and being a lawyer was from me.
Tell us about your day job as an international arbitration lawyer at BigLaw?
Work as an international arbitration lawyer is truly fascinating. International arbitration essentially revolves disputes through parties’ consent. What I love about it that the work is incredibly diverse. For instance, in my current role, I represent a Canadian mining company engaged in a dispute with a Latin American government. The arbitration applies the law of the Latin American country, and the proceedings are conducted in Spanish. This requires me to delve deep into the legal intricacies of that specific Latin American jurisdiction, which is an amazing learning experience.
On another front, I also handle a case representing a Malaysian company in arbitration against a Brazilian counterpart. Interestingly, the applicable law in this case is from a European country. This constant exposure to diverse applicable laws, languages, and industries is both challenging and enjoyable. I never imagined that my work would lead me to explore such a wide range of legal systems and cultures, but it's precisely this variety that makes international arbitration so dynamic and engaging.
How did you get your prestigious externship at Dechert?
Before I came to Georgetown Law in Washington, DC, I had studied in Paris, where one of my professors was the Global Head of Arbitration at Dechert's Paris office. When I learned that there were open positions for the externship, I reached out via email and asked him to recommend me to the partner overseeing the application process in the DC office. This led to a series of interviews, and I ultimately got my externship in January 2022.
How did you decide to pursue a career in international arbitration?
During my first year in law school back in Brazil, I took arbitration classes and decided that becoming an arbitration lawyer was my goal. When I was a young lawyer in Brazil, I knew right from the start that I wanted to pursue a career in international arbitration, and I was fortunate enough to follow that path. I landed my first job in my second year of law school when I applied to work as an assistant to a Brazilian arbitrator. At that time, I knew little knowledge about what it took to be an arbitrator. It just so happened that one of the arbitrators I applied to work with was a renowned figure in Brazilian arbitration. He was incredibly gracious and hired me. Initially, I worked as his assistant, and eventually, after earning my law degree, I continued to work with him for a decade. This experience was invaluable to me.
Your externship was with one firm and you eventually found a permanent position at another firm? Did your externship help you secure your job?
I believe it did help, but not in a direct way. The externship was a fantastic opportunity for me as a foreign lawyer to gain my first exposure to an international law firm. I recall being in awe with the level of sophistication at the firm. However, in terms of timing, my externship began in the spring of 2022, but I had initiated my application process and job search long before that. So, it helped in the sense that it added diversity to my resume, it facilitated networking opportunities.
Any experience with international law at a prestigious law firm certainly carries weight. However, in my case, I knew from the outset that I intended to secure a job after completing my LLM program. I had begun my job search well in advance, and by the time my externship was in progress, I had already received a job offer.
Tell us more about your job search journey. When did you start?
I would say I began my job search in July or August, during the summer before I started my LLM and I received an offer in the spring in March. Because I was already set my mind on pursuing a career in international arbitration, and Brazil has become a significant player in the field, there's a substantial presence of Brazilian lawyers in the US, as well as Brazilian partners. Given my prior arbitration experience in Brazil, I decided to concentrate on connecting with Brazilian partners in the US and Latin American partners, particularly those with a focus on the Brazilian market. This strategy proved successful in landing me a job.
During my time at Georgetown, I took investment arbitration classes taught by a Brazilian professor who also happened to be a partner at a major law firm in New York and DC. I approached her to inquire about potential job opportunities, and although her firm didn't have open positions at that moment, she graciously offered to recommend me. She forwarded my CV to Steptoe & Johnson, and I subsequently had interviews with their partners and eventually got a job.
How did you go about identifying the seasoned practitioners who are likely to offer you a job? Please walk us through the process, if you don’t mind?
I can't even begin to count the number of coffees, lunches, and networking events I attended during this process. I created an Excel term sheet to keep track of my efforts. I meticulously checked resources like Legal 500 and Chambers, which rank firms in international arbitration practice. I combed through the websites of every law firm, accepting every opportunity to see if they had a focus on Latin America, particularly Brazil.
I compiled all this information into a table, listing the law firm names and their experience with Brazil. If by any chance I knew someone who could connect me with that partner, I made a note of it. It was undeniably hard work, but also quite challenging and enjoyable because it allowed me to meet so many people along the way.
What surprised me the most was how willing people were to assist international lawyers. It's all about perseverance; it took me around seven to eight months to secure a job. There were moments when I felt more optimistic, and other times when I doubted if I'd ever find a job. I think people, even partners and professors, are really willing to help.
To new lawyers, it could be very intimidating to hear all the success stories. I was wondering whether you could share some stories of challenge and obstacles you have countered in your job search journey.
I have many stories of rejection, but what continually surprises me, and something I want to emphasize, is how genuinely helpful people are, especially partners and senior partners in law firms. There were times when I sent emails to people, and I never heard back. It's natural to feel anxiety and self-doubts, but sometimes you simply need to persist. If you send an email to one partner and believe that the law firm aligns with your career and experience, don't hesitate to reach out to another partner or a senior associate.
As I mentioned earlier, it took me seven to eight months to secure a job, and I faced numerous rejections along the way. It's all about perseverance. Sometimes a bit of self-reflection can help. Try to identify what makes sense in terms of your background, experiences, and the languages skills. Think about how you can contribute to the law firm's success.
What’s your send-response ratio? Say out of 100 emails you had sent, how many responses did you get?
I would say between 30 to 40%. When I send an email, of course, it helps if someone recommends you or if you have a professor or a partner who send your resume to that partner. But say I cold email a partner who didn't know me and I would say the response ratio is 30 to 40%.
What are some of your important takeaways from your legal research or writing in law school and throughout your career?
Legal writing in the U.S. is quite different from what I was accustomed to in Brazil. In Brazil, legal memos often begin with lengthy introductions, you can read a memo with a 10-page introduction, at the end you still don’t know what the legal conclusion is. It's not a criticism of the Brazilian legal memo, as it's simply a matter of different writing styles. I now find the US legal writing style to be effective because it ensures that every line serves a specific purpose and contributes to the overall message.
What I've learned from law school is that drafting a legal memorandum involves extensive reading and research. Before even starting to write a single page, you must have delved into a vast amount of material. This aspect became especially evident to me as I transitioned to US legal writing, which differs significantly from what I was accustomed to in Brazil, with its civil law jurisdiction and distinct stylistic conventions.
Another key takeaway I've gained is the importance of tailoring your writing to your audience. Whether you're crafting a legal memorandum, it's essential to consider who will be reading it—whether it's a partner, a senior associate, or a client. Even when writing for colleagues, you must adapt your approach. Partners typically possess a high-level perspective, focusing on the broader picture rather than delving into every single detail. In such cases, it's crucial to provide context and clarity. Understanding your audience is perhaps the most important takeaway from legal research and writing in the U.S.
Could you tell us more about your networking experience when searching for a job? If we follow you to one of your networking meetings with a partner, what would we see?
Some partners are very talkative and enjoy sharing about themselves, which makes it easier to build a rapport with them. However, others may be more to-the-point, saying something like, "I have five minutes, what do you want?" It's not always simple to navigate these situations, especially when you're essentially there to sell yourself and express your interest in a job.
After all these hundreds of coffees and lunches, what I did is prior to every coffee, every meeting and every talk, I would create a Word document with my skills and my experiences, and how it could fit that partner, how I would show that we have something in common.
When I had my interview at Steptoe, there is a senior partner. She interviewed me and she’s American. And I got to know on her LinkedIn that she has lived in Brazil for six months, like 30 years ago. I found that information and I just said, oh and by the way…I think what we can do to be prepared is to do a deep dive about the person you are meeting.
Adapting to different personalities and preferences is key, as every person is unique. Knowing that is not only to show your genuine interest in them but also demonstrates that you can bring something valuable to the table. People appreciate it when others take the time to understand them and their practice.
After establishing an initial connection with the partner, how did you follow up, if they didn’t have an opening to hire you immediately?
In addition to sending follow-up emails, it's essential to make those follow-ups more personal. Instead of sending a generic message, consider including something specific that resonates with the person you've met. For instance, you could say, "I wanted to share an article I came across related to our discussion during our meeting." This approach helps the partner remember who you are and reinforces your connection. I attended events and international arbitration conferences in DC and New York, where partners often speak at such gatherings. It's all about finding opportunities to establish connections and ensure they recognize you as more than just another applicant submitting a CV.
