September 24, 2007 | Vol. XI, Issue 6

International Career Focus: Matt Wilson

by Jocelyn Ferguson

A full room of UF Law students enjoyed an entertaining and informative program on International Law Opportunities the afternoon of Sept. 13. Sponsored by the Center for Career Services and the International Law Society (ILS), the program's focus was on finding International Law opportunities and featured guest speaker Temple University Law Professor Matthew Wilson (pictured), an attorney with a 17-year international law career.

Although he knew he wanted to be a lawyer at age four, Wilson was inspired to focus his career path on International issues after spending two years in Japan prior to law school. Learning to love the language, culture, and people of Japan, Wilson began crafting a successful career path combining his love of overseas markets with a career as a lawyer.

With a resume including work in Orlando at Akerman Senterfitt, for Sony and Yokogawa Electric in Japan, and in Saipan in the U.S Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Western Pacific), Wilson has demonstrated that his career exploration methods are both effective and rewarding.

Wilson provided students with tangible advice about how to market themselves for the right foreign opportunities. Information about how to research oversea opportunities, how to make the most of study abroad programs, and how to utilize every opportunity as a building block towards an eventual career were discussed in detail. Students were also encouraged to develop a theme or motto to help distinguish themselves in unique and innovative ways.

The act of distinguishing oneself can begin in law school by taking advantage of the opportunities available for coursework, internships, and international travel. Students were further encouraged to learn that while finding oversea legal opportunities may be difficult, exciting possibilities do exist for persistent and creative law students who are willing to take chances and think outside of the more traditional job search strategies.

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