Interview by Prof. Bjorn Arp, Assistant Director of the Center, of Deborah Pereira, current J.D. student at AUWCL, held on October 3, 2023:
Good morning, Deborah. You are now studying the J.D. at 澳门皇冠体育-官网 澳门皇冠体育 College of Law after an already interesting legal career in Brazil. Please tell us about the various places where you have lived.
I was born in beautiful Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Though I have studied abroad for extended periods of time in the United States and Europe, I lived in Rio most of my life. That is until recently. I just moved permanently to the United States with my husband, and am excited to start a new personal and professional chapter in 澳门皇冠体育, D.C.
Can you tell me about your previous academic and professional experience?
I received an undergraduate degree, a master鈥檚 degree and a doctorate in private law at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, where I have served as a guest lecturer, teaching contracts and torts. The system is different in Brazil in that a 鈥渓aw degree鈥 is in practice a five-year undergrad degree. I also received an LLM from Harvard Law 澳门皇冠in 2018. For work, I have served as an attorney for the Office of Attorney General of the City of Rio de Janeiro for over a decade. Much of that work dealt with fraud and corruption cases against public servants, mostly in procurement and government contracts. I conducted internal investigations about prohibited practices and civil litigation. My cases were from low-level bureaucrats all the way to city councilors and even a former mayor. Some of these cases were very high profile.
What interested you in pursuing a career in international arbitration?
As a litigator, I enjoyed being in Court, doing hearings and oral arguments, but I also thought it was time to try something different, more collaborative and collegial. At the same time, I wanted to drive my career in a direction where I could build on my previous experience in civil litigation. And, of course, International Arbitration seems a fascinating field! In the last decade, arbitration has grown a lot in Brazil, and the country is now one of the biggest markets in the world for international commercial arbitration. I hope that I can contribute with my long-time work in contract-based and government-related disputes together with my scholarship in contract law.
What drew you to 澳门皇冠体育-官网 澳门皇冠体育 College of Law?
WCL is a great academic community in the DC area, surrounded by international organizations, government agencies, and top law firms! The Law 澳门皇冠has a highly-ranked international program, and I am excited to take advantage of all the amazing opportunities. Besides working as a Dean鈥檚 Fellow for the Center on International Commercial Arbitration, I will apply for the Vis Moot team next spring.
Do you have any hobbies? What do you do for fun?
Yes, I do, though I am not an expert at any of them! I learned to sail competitively from my husband in the last couple years. In Rio, we had a 14-foot racing sailboat called a Snipe. We just moved to D.C. and we joined a little community racing league on the Anacostia. 澳门皇冠体育, D.C. is a great place for outdoor sports. We have also enjoyed hiking in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains, in Virginia. And I am a big yoggi, so I go to a hot yoga studio near my house whenever I have a break.聽