| Summary |
Tulane Law School alumnus, Brandon Verrett, takes us on his journey of attending the Admiralty and Maritime Law LL.M. program. After graduating from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center without much knowledge in the maritime law field, Verrett decided to pursue a master's degree in the field. After doing some research and discussion of the options, he decided on Tulane Law School's program.
Through the program, Verrett was able to study Admiralty and Maritime Law in more depth, gain hands-on experience at a maritime law clinic, and deepen his knowledge of the legal profession. At the end of the program, he was awarded the James A.C. Chapple Award for his excellent work.
Verrett credits his success to the program's structure and its professors. He was able to benefit from the curriculum, which focused on how the different areas of Admiralty and Maritime Law intersected and how to comport oneself in the courtroom. Because of the small class size, the professors were able to provide their students with individual attention and mentorship. The professor's dedication to their students and their willingness to help them achieve their goals were invaluable to Verrett's success.
Now, after completing the Admiralty and Maritime Law LL.M. program at Tulane Law School, Verrett has been able to apply his knowledge of the field to his current practice. He is also dedicated to giving back to his alma mater by assisting current students, networking with other alumni, and mentoring future Tulane Admiralty and Maritime Law LL.M. students.
Brandon Verrett's story is an inspiring one that demonstrates the power of dedication and hard work. Despite coming into the program with minimal knowledge and taking a circuitous route to his goal, Verrett was able to take advantage of the resources and classes the LL.M. program at Tulane Law School had to offer. With the help of the incredible professors and staff, Verrett was able to achieve his goal and has been able to use the knowledge he gained from the program to excel in his career. Tulane Law School's Admiralty and Maritime Law LL.M. program successfully enabled Verrett to jumpstart his career and has enabled and will continue to enable countless others to do the same.
Navigating His Career Goals
Tulane Admiralty and Maritime Law LL.M. alumnus Calvin Matjoka navigated a circuitous route to his career goal: a leading position in the House of Representatives. Matjoka is a Congressman in the South African Parliament and serves as a member of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, where he brings together his legal knowledge and his passion for public service.Obtaining His LL.M. From Tulane
Matjoka's path to success involved obtaining his LL.M. from Tulane University Law School in 2006. Initially, he'd thought he wanted to become a medical doctor, but during the course of his studies, he realized that the law was more suited to his interests, so he pursued a law degree from the University of South Africa's College of Law, graduating in 1999. After practicing law for seven years, he enrolled at Tulane in 2004.Gaining Valuable Experience
While at Tulane, Matjoka was able to gain valuable experience by taking part in an international internship program sponsored by the International Law Institute. This program enabled him to work in the United States Embassy in Ghana, as well as in the Office of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in Zambia. Additionally, he worked in the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs in New York City.Appointment to the House of Representatives
Upon returning from his studies, he was appointed to the South African House of Representatives in 2007. In this role, his administrative and legal skills, honed by his intensive LL.M. studies, enabled him to provide strategic direction and leadership to the Standing Committee on Appropriations.''I grew up being regaled with tales of Greek ship captains,'' says Savidge, whose grandfather was in the ship-repair business in Hoboken, NJ. Years later in law school at the City University of New York, Savidge was in a first-year contracts class when an obscure admiralty term surfaced, and the professor told the class not to worry about it.
''That got me going,'' says Savage. He researched the obscure term and came to believe that ''the most interesting fact patterns in the law come from maritime cases.'' He was hooked.
Now Savidge is an associate in the Los Angeles office of Coudert Brothers, practicing an even split of maritime law and insurance law. His route to Tulane and practicing maritime law shows there's more than one path to reaching a desired shore.
Having discovered the specialty for him in his first year, there was only one catch: City University did not offer maritime classes. Savidge traveled up river to the State University of New York Maritime College in the Bronx to take classes there. In his second summer, he went on Tulane's summer program in Greece and had his first taste of Tulane Law's admiralty and maritime program.
Later that same summer, and into his third year, Savidge had an internship with the Department of Justice's Civil Branch, Tort Division, Admiralty Branch Office, in Manhattan. Savidge ''got to work with some very experienced maritime attorneys there,'' he says.
While interning at the DOJ, Savidge saw an attorney argue adroitly against the government on behalf of Cunard Lines, which brought a suit saying their boat had run aground due to improper sounding (depth determination) of a United States channel. Cunard was not successful in the case, but the attorney had made an impression on Savidge.
After receiving his J.D. from City University, Savidge moved to Albany, NY. His wife, who had also just received her J.D., had a two-year clerkship there. Savidge worked far away from the maritime field—as a staff attorney with Prisoners' Legal Services of New York. There he did not work on prisoner appeals but on defending their rights while incarcerated.
Then, his wife's clerkship over, she found a job at a firm in Washington, DC, and he went to Tulane. They became ''the jet-setting couple for the eight months of the school year,'' Savidge says, traveling to see each other on weekends.
In Tulane's premier Admiralty and Maritime program, Savidge found his niche. The program and its flagship Maritime Law Center ''prepared me very well for the practice'' of maritime law. ''It's the best,'' says Savidge.
While at Tulane, ''I tried to take every class possible,'' says Savidge. Tulane's maritime faculty members, including Professors Robert Force and Martin Davies, are excellent and often quoted by the courts. ''These are the people teaching you on a daily basis,'' says Savidge.
Tulane also brings in adjunct faculty with exceptional practical experience, he says. For example, the professor teaching his class in maritime personal injury and death has been practicing in that field for more than 30 years. It ''doesn't get much better than that,'' Savidge says.
Rounding out the program is a strong connection between the school and the maritime legal community in New Orleans, a major port and hub for worldwide admiralty and maritime legal practice. While in the LL.M. program, Savidge interned at a local maritime firm—an opportunity any Tulane maritime LL.M. student can take. Savidge was also a member of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal.
Overall, with all the theoretical and practical learning opportunities available in the program, ''for the proactive student, it's a gold mine,'' he says.
Skill at his field, plus some serendipity and a good memory, lead Savidge to Coudert Brothers. Savidge remembered the attorney who had argued the Cunard case back in New York and wrote him a letter expressing his interest in maritime law. That attorney had joined Coudert Brothers as a partner in the Los Angeles office. Savidge was invited to interview there and is now an associate.
Learn the benefits of an LL.M. degree here.
''I thoroughly enjoy'' practicing maritime law, he says, noting his education at Tulane gave him an accurate picture of what the real practice of this specialty would be like.