Ekaterina Kitanina

MSc in Law and Finance 2010-11
Associate, Hannes Snellman, Russia – Full Time Student and Bursary Winner

"I started my professional career in one of the major international law firms, Baker & McKenzie that I joined as an Intern. After completing my Master degree in Civil Law at the Faculty of Law of Moscow State University summa cum laude I was promoted for a position of a Trainee and then a Junior Associate. Then I upgraded my knowledge, completing a PhD degree in Business Law at the Faculty of Law of State University – Higher School of Economics, which led me to develop my professional career. So I joined Hannes Snellman, a Nordic firm with a strong foothold in Russia, as an Associate.

I have been practicing in the sphere of corporate and commercial legal issues but as my background was purely legal, I felt that in order to understand the core concepts underlying any M&A transaction I need to have basic knowledge of economic aspects. So I decided to apply for a degree relating to financial and banking services – either LLM in Banking and Finance or MSc Law and Finance course. Although I had been offered places by almost all top law schools, I made the best choice by selecting Queen Mary. First of all, after careful selection of the proposed programmes I decided to develop fully my economic knowledge to supplement the legal one, so made a choice in favour of MSc Law and Finance programme. Secondly, Queen Mary University of London is well-known for providing not only excellent research opportunities but also for delivering business concepts and approaches which is so valuable nowadays.

The MSc Law and Finance programme allow the students to choose the modules to be attended depending on the practical needs for the future profession. There are 3 specialisations – 1) Banking and Financial Services, 2) Law and Financial Regulation, 3) Law and Corporate Finance, so there is an opportunity to select between them according to the career path chosen. I really enjoyed my time here, as I had the opportunity to meet outstanding people and get a truly international experience."