International couples pursuing LLM degrees together at Duke Law School
Couples who met in law school in Chile and Tokyo talk about continuing their love for learning and the law, and each other, in the U.S.
What could be better than traveling abroad to earn your Master of Laws (LLM) degree at Duke Law? Why, having your partner join you to earn their LLM degree, as well, of course! This year’s LLM class at Duke Law includes a handful of practicing partners who are taking classes and earning their degrees together.
Among our LLM couples are Vicente Grez and Teresa Polgatti, of Chile, and Mitsuki Usui and Kei Usui, of Japan. Grez and Polgatti met on holiday in Ecuador while they were both studying law at the Pontificia Universidad Catholica de Chile School of Law.
“I was with my friends and Tere was with hers,” Grez said. “We became friends, and three years later we started dating. Our first date was going to a Chinese restaurant in Santiago.”
Now married for three years, the pair are continuing their love affair with learning and the law at Duke Law. “It was destiny and a very good decision for us. I think we are very privileged to be here together. It is definitely unique,” said Polgatti. She works as a capital markets lawyer at Barros & Errazuriz, a large private firm specializing in capital markets and mergers and acquisitions in Chile.
Prior to Duke Law, Grez was general counsel and chief compliance officer at Automotores Gildemeister SpA, one of the market share leaders in the automotive industry in Latin America. He says the idea of traveling to the United States to attend Duke Law was exciting to both of them.
“We were classmates studying law back in Chile, and getting the chance to be classmates again in a foreign country is as exciting as it gets,” Grez said.
Here at Duke, the couple does have some classes together, but Grez says they don’t study together. His wife is a fast reader and he prefers to take his time. One thing they are enjoying doing together is getting to know their fellow classmates, their faculty, and the broader Duke and Durham community. For Grez, a big part of that is Duke basketball.
“I always loved sports, and it’s kind of a coincidence, because I rooted for Duke before I was a student here. It was meant to be,” he said.
For Mitsuki and Kei, pursuing their LLM degree at Duke is not the first time that they’ve taken classes together. The couple met in 2014, while attending law school at Keio University in Tokyo.
“We became close at a birthday party for a common friend,” Mitsuki said. “Our first date was at a food festival in a park in Tokyo on May 3, 2015.” Six years later–on May 3, 2021–they were married.
Since 2018, both have worked as associate lawyers at different law firms in Tokyo. Mitsuki’s work at Shiomizaka focuses on intellectual property matters, including patent and copyright litigation, and data privacy matters. Kei’s works at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu specializes in capital markets and tender offer matters.
Mitsuki and Kei say the chance to step away from a demanding work schedule and take classes at the same law school again presented a very special opportunity. “Since we started working in Japan, we were both so busy with our work that we didn't have enough time to spend together, so being able to spend time together in Durham is very valuable to our relationship,” Mitsuki said.
And while having varying areas of interest at Duke–intellectual property for Mitsuki and capital markets for Kei–means they aren’t taking the same classes, the couple does make sure to introduce their respective classmates to each other, so it makes for a great group of friends.
Mitsuki said, “In preparation for our respective classes, we study together and enjoy talking with other LLM students in Goodson Law Library.”
Asked what keeps their passions for the law and each other burning, Mitsuki says it’s their mutual respect for each other’s work and for their relationship. It’s a philosophy that worked for them in Japan and that they’ve continued during their time in the U.S.
He added: “We both understood that it would be beneficial to each other’s careers, and that helped us make our choice.”
It's truly wonderful to have both couples here at Duke Law. We wish them a very lovely Valentine's Day!