PUBLISHED:January 25, 2008

Munachiso Madubuike '08

Interview With


Name: Munachiso Madubuike
LLM 2008
Home: Nigeria
Law School: University of Lagos




  1. Where is home? What is it famous for?Nigeria. It is famous for its natural resources especially crude oil and petroleum.
  2. You are the first Nigerian student that Duke has admitted in its LLM program. What made you decide to pursue an LLM degree in the US?I decided to pursue an LLM degree in the U.S because I wanted to study law in an environment with a legal system significantly different from mine thereby increasing my wealth of knowledge.
  3. Why did you choose Duke for your LLM?I chose Duke's LLM program because of its ideal learning environment and its rich cultural diversity reflected in its student body.
  4. What do you like most about Duke?On getting to Duke, what I liked most about it is the excellent quality of its professors, the easy access to the faculty and staff, and the integration between the JD students and the LLM students.
  5. Prior to coming to Duke, you worked as a Legal Officer at the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States. What do you like most of that job? How did such work experience help your LLM studies?What I liked most about working at ECOWAS was working with people from different countries and the exposure I had to the laws of various west African countries. This helped me enormously at Duke Law especially in my relations with my fellow classmates who were all from different countries and backgrounds.
  6. What is your plan after graduation? How do you think the LLM will help you with your career?I plan to return to Nigeria to continue the practice of law with a company preferably as an in-house counsel. I believe that an LLM from a prestigious school such as Duke will definitely give my career a boost in the right direction.
  7. What advice will you give to international students studying in American law schools?My advice to international students in the U.S. is to make the best out of their study time and remember to build relationships with their classmates and professors that will out live their programs.