New Beginnings, Old Connections
Today was the first day of my internship, and if it's anything to go by, I cannae wait to cut my teeth in the big bad world of commercial law. The guy who got me the internship is one of the two partners at the firm. He is an expert in dispute resolution and switched to this firm only in June. He's been working in Oman since 1999. I spent the whole day going through all the paperwork for a case he's working on. He's asked me to draft a letter to present to the law firm representing the other party for a meeting tomorrow. It seems an interesting contract law case concerning agreement and breach issues. If all goes well I might even attend the meeting! I hope I do!
But the best part of the day was realising just how small a world we really live in. The Omani paralegal sitting opposite me will be starting his law conversion course at the same place I studied it the past year - BPP Law School. Except he's taking the part-time distance-learning option which means he'll remain in Oman, continue working at the same firm and visit the London campus three times a year. He seems a pretty decent chap, studied Business Law in Monash University and supports Man United. Hey, nobody's perfect...
A few hours later I met the other partner at lunch. Turns out he's the dad of a guy who was on my course the past year. Out of the 1000+ students in my course, I just happened to bump into this fella after my penultimate exam. We realised we had a common Oman connection and he told me he had a dad who was a partner with an American-based international law firm in Muscat. I remember looking up the firm's website that night but left it at that. I told the guy we'd get in touch once I arrived in Oman as he was planning a month's internship at the same firm. I even remember telling him that I was trying to line something up for myself in Muscat, but in case it fell through, whether he could help sort something out at his dad's firm for me. Nothing came of it and we only met once afterwards.
But back to the Omani paralegal who studied at Monash. He overheard the fact my dad was a doctor and asked what he specialised in. I told him so he asked for his name and recognised it immediately. As a football player himself he had nearly become my dad's patient. In fact some of his friends have even been operated on by my dad. I know Muscat is not a very big city but still, what were the chances of meeting two people on my first day, who had connections to my exact law school campus? It's a small world after all. Good Night!
But the best part of the day was realising just how small a world we really live in. The Omani paralegal sitting opposite me will be starting his law conversion course at the same place I studied it the past year - BPP Law School. Except he's taking the part-time distance-learning option which means he'll remain in Oman, continue working at the same firm and visit the London campus three times a year. He seems a pretty decent chap, studied Business Law in Monash University and supports Man United. Hey, nobody's perfect...
A few hours later I met the other partner at lunch. Turns out he's the dad of a guy who was on my course the past year. Out of the 1000+ students in my course, I just happened to bump into this fella after my penultimate exam. We realised we had a common Oman connection and he told me he had a dad who was a partner with an American-based international law firm in Muscat. I remember looking up the firm's website that night but left it at that. I told the guy we'd get in touch once I arrived in Oman as he was planning a month's internship at the same firm. I even remember telling him that I was trying to line something up for myself in Muscat, but in case it fell through, whether he could help sort something out at his dad's firm for me. Nothing came of it and we only met once afterwards.
But back to the Omani paralegal who studied at Monash. He overheard the fact my dad was a doctor and asked what he specialised in. I told him so he asked for his name and recognised it immediately. As a football player himself he had nearly become my dad's patient. In fact some of his friends have even been operated on by my dad. I know Muscat is not a very big city but still, what were the chances of meeting two people on my first day, who had connections to my exact law school campus? It's a small world after all. Good Night!