Eliza Meeker

Eliza Meeker '07 knew she wanted an international legal education and career, and she found a perfect fit in VLS's dual degree program in Paris. One of numerous study-abroad offerings, including several international dual degree programs, Eliza's choice included three years at VLS and one year studying in French at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, France's leading institution for business law. Eliza earned a JD and a French Master I; as part of the experiential element of the program, she worked in the Paris office of the Salans law firm during the summer of 2008. This year, after a rigorous three days of testing, she passed the Paris Bar-VLS's first student to do so, and one of the few foreign attorneys to make the cut without having practiced in another jurisdiction.

Or, as Eliza explains it, "VLS's dual degree program and the Paris Bar were my dream. So now I am living my dream." She planned for Paris as soon as she learned of it during her first year at VLS. Fluent in French since high school, she had to brush up quickly before heading abroad-"I only had time to read a few books and rent French movies from Netflix," she says. In Paris, she found a more formal style of teaching than she experienced in her VLS years. "Professors lectured for several hours and then left the lecture hall," Eliza recalls, "But in the small seminars I found such interesting teachers who brought French philosophy and the progression of European thought into their discussion of the law."

Law and international affairs run in the Meeker family-Eliza's father, also a lawyer, worked for the State Department and was U.S. ambassador to Romania. Eliza herself came to VLS with rich overseas experience, including 10 years teaching in Japan. "I realized that I could stay in Japan for the rest of my life, and very happily!" she says. "But I wanted to get an American legal education and to practice law." Fortunately, an American friend in her Japanese town helped Eliza choose prospective schools. "She was a VLS grad, and told me about the great professors there," she recalls. For Eliza, those memorable professors included Linda Smiddy, who encouraged her to apply for the French dual degree program: "Professor Smiddy has had a great impact on me. Going on this program changed my life." Now, trained in American and French law, admitted to the bars of New York and Washington, D.C., passed the Paris bar, and fluent in French and Japanese, Eliza is a professional support lawyer in the Paris office of Baker & McKenzie LLP. She divides her time between their intellectual property practice group and Japanese clients. And she is living her dream of practicing law in the City of Light.