What’s it like to study arbitration online?

Read our interview with two current students and an Honorary Lecturer on the Queen Mary Online International Dispute Resolution LLM.

Katlyn Aguilar is a court judge and professor based in the Philippines and Natalia Alenkina is a senior lawyer and professor based in Kyrgyzstan. Both are students on the Queen Mary Online International Dispute Resolution LLM, while Agnieszka Ason is an Honorary Lecturer for the programme.

Agnieszka Ason

We chatted with Katlyn, Natalia and Agnieszka to find out what it’s like to study an LLM online, how the programme can enhance your career and how it can help you adapt to the rapidly evolving field of international arbitration. 

Read on to find out more: 

What are the benefits of studying international dispute resolution online?  

Natalia: My choice of the LLM at Queen Mary was driven by the outstanding approach to learning here. Queen Mary is a very famous school of international arbitration. When I investigated the online programme, I realised that if I chose this option, I wouldn’t lose anything compared to the on-campus programme, but at the same time, I would get more flexibility.  

Katlyn: The programme at Queen Mary is perfect for all professionals who can’t afford to be away from work while furthering their studies. I love arbitration and I wanted to not just understand theories but learn from experts in the field. When researching the programme, I thought the lecturers at Queen Mary could really help me improve my skills and give me a broader understanding of what arbitration is all about.  

Agnieszka: It's an online programme, but with many options for interaction, including discussion forums and webinars. Students are very active, and we have very interesting exchanges. What I hear from students is that the practical skills that we teach are highly regarded. Everyone who teaches on the programme practices arbitration and we try to deliver practical insights to the students.  

How can the LLM help those working in the field of arbitration progress in their career?  

Natalia: The course has helped me become more confident in my knowledge. I’ve been able to get to know so many new people who are really fascinated with arbitration. You get so many useful professional networking opportunities during the course.

It can help you be invited as an expert, as an arbitrator, or to participate in conferences or research. These experiences at Queen Mary make me visible in the field of arbitration, and it helps my career to develop in diverse ways.  

Katlyn: At the moment I'm a first level court judge and I have limited jurisdiction. However, if I get the opportunity to be promoted to the higher court, then all the learnings that I’ve gained on the course will be very beneficial, especially for the proceedings on recognition enforcement of arbitral awards.  

Agnieszka: There is scope for work as legal counsel, expert, or arbitrator. There are career opportunities both in practice and academia, and arbitration has significantly expanded as a field. It’s very rewarding to see our students progressing in their careers.   

Students will be equipped with a comprehensive understanding of both international commercial and investment arbitration and a lot of practical experience will be incorporated into the study experience.  

We have many practitioners at various stages of their careers on the course. We've seen some of them being promoted, including to the partner level. The general feedback that we receive from students is that the qualification earned at Queen Mary has helped them to achieve their career objectives.  

The main advantage of the programme is that you can continue with your practice or desired career trajectory while completing the LLM. 

What has your experience of the online learning environment been like? 

Natalia: In the Canvas virtual learning environment you can find all the up-to-date materials, with the necessary links to literature and case studies. In my practical work now, I use Canvas as a starting point when I investigate questions devoted to arbitration. 

Every week the professors provide exercises to improve everyone’s analytical skills. They provide comments and feedback on the students’ answers. They also provide valuable feedback on how you could improve. Their feedback can really help you further understand the topics that you have discussed during the course. 

How did you collaborate with your peers? 

Katlyn: We have a group chat where some of our classmates will post career opportunities. If students have questions about arbitration practices in different jurisdictions, they can ask the group. The group chat is also very helpful because it's a platform for us to celebrate achievements. Someone will share their good news of being appointed as a judge or winning an arbitration case, for example. 

Can you share any advice for prospective students?  

Natalia: From my perspective, motivation is the most important thing during this online course. Everything depends only on you, how you motivate yourself, how you plan your schedule, and how you find the necessary time for studying.  

Katlyn: I always allocate my weekends to reading the necessary materials because usually the professors will provide three or four required readings and they are very important for a full, complete understanding of the topic for that week.  

As I’m not able to join the webinars live because of a conflict in my schedule, I always access the recordings afterwards. They provide a great opportunity to further understand and analyse grey areas.  

Every Sunday I download all the materials so that if I have extra time in the office or during break time, I can start reading. Every module I take it upon myself to read all the required materials. Then if there’s still time, I read the recommended materials.  

The professors don’t just want you to parrot back what you have read. They want you to think out of the box, to be able to apply all these principles in real arbitration cases in determining or in resolving certain issues about arbitration.  

Has the LLM helped you adapt to changes in the field? 

Katlyn: In the Philippines arbitration has been a growing and preferred mode of settling dispute. Probably it's a reflection of the frustration of the people onthe judicial system because we view arbitration as a procedure by which disputes could be more speedily resolved. It provides a more focused proceeding in determining the issues.  

The course made me understand why people would prefer arbitration. I was able to have a deeper view of the pros and cons of arbitration. I still feel that there are a lot of benefits of resolving disputes through arbitration. It’s my hope that judges will be trained on the intricacies of arbitration law because judges have a role to play with the enforcement of the recognition of arbitral awards.  

How do you see the future of international arbitration?  

Katlyn: I think a lot more disputes will be submitted to arbitration. A lot of the intricacies of arbitration are still yet to be discovered. We continue to discover a lot of issues on how to improve the arbitration process. I think as we go along, there will be more cases that could be resolved through arbitration and more lawyers will become arbitrators in the future.  

Agnieszka: Arbitration has been a spectacular success story over the past decades. It has evolved into an innovative method of resolving disputes, incorporating technological advancements and efficiency measures along the way. The pandemic has accelerated the acceptance of virtual interaction in arbitration, which also creates more opportunities for students who are based in other jurisdictions.   

Natalia: I see that arbitration nowadays takes responsibility not only for the dispute resolution, but also for more global issues such as the environment, climate change and preservation of cultural heritage. Arbitration has become more diverse and young practitioners from any part of the world can become arbitrators. Arbitration is also becoming more specialised with arbitration courts devoted, for instance, to space arbitration, art arbitration and maritime arbitration.  

Thank you to Katlyn, Natalia and Agnieszka for sharing their insights into the course! 

Rethink traditional approaches to conflict and its resolution with the Queen Mary Online International Dispute Resolution LLM: