Ana Coimbra Trigo is a lawyer at PLMJ Advogados law firm in Lisbon. She graduated from the Master of European and International Law in 2015. In this interview she explains what she learned about arbitration at the China-EU School of Law.

Did the China-EU School of Law prepare you for your current tasks?

Yes, actually, a lot! I work as an Arbitration Associate in Lisbonat PLMJ Advogados law firm now, atthe only law firm in Portugal with its own legal team working full time on arbitration.I profit from having been a member of the Vis Moot Team while I was studying in the "European and International Law" master’s programme at the China-EU School of Law.We participated in the Willem C. Vis East International Commercial Arbitration Moot competition in Hong Kong – this up-close experience of arbitration was great.All of this legal training, all of the personalized coaching by the professors, all of the team spirit with the other students was so inspiring. This experience really sparked my passion on arbitration. I am also fascinated by arbitration because itis much more flexible that the strict procedures in courts.And last but not least, of course, since I have Chinese clients as well today, the daily practice in Mandarin at the China-EU School of Law was extremely helpful for my work today.

If you could give your younger self, who is just about to start at the China-EU School of Law, a piece of advice, what would that be?

Enjoy your time in Beijing and learn as much as you can from your fellow students and professors! Looking back, in addition to having discovered my interest in arbitration, I appreciate most that I got acquainted with different approaches on law there. Ultimately, that is also the question an international lawyer is often faced with: how do I deal with plurality? The personal, intensive discussion on the differences in European and Chinese law I had at the China-EU School of Law open doors for me. I gained insight into previously unknown perspectives on law that I learned to understand and handle.