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Molly Thomas at The Hague

Meet Molly from the UK, a UQ Law and Arts postgraduate

UQ people
Published 24 Nov, 2021  ·  4-minute read

From a young age, Molly knew she wanted to create real positive change in the world. From high school, she dreamed of working at the United Nations so she could protect and promote the rights of the world’s most vulnerable people.

Her passion for human rights and talent for language led her to study at UQ. Now she works in a multinational team at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, defending those affected by crimes against humanity.

What program did you study? Why did you choose this program? 

I studied a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in French and Spanish) and Bachelor of Laws (Honours I). When I was in high school, I dreamed of working at the United Nations or another major international organisation in a legal or diplomatic role seeking to help protect and promote human rights worldwide. When it came time to choose my university courses, I knew that a law degree and language skills would be central to achieving these goals. The TC Beirne School of Law had a strong history of significant and successful international legal scholarships and extracurricular activities, including the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the Law and the Future of War Research Group.

What did you like most about living in Brisbane?

Brisbane is a very liveable city with kind and welcoming people. Being half-Australian, I'm proud of how diverse and multicultural the UQ and Brisbane communities are.

What were the best things about the program you studied at UQ?

Both my language and law programs were highly rigorous and set me up with lifelong skills. Both my French and Spanish majors featured components relating to culture, history and politics of France, Spain, Latin America and the French overseas territories, which gave me a stronger sense of connection and context to the languages spoken. In my Bachelor of Laws, subjects ranged from the commercial to the criminal, from laws applicable in Queensland to Australia and worldwide, and from the highly practical (work through the Pro Bono Centre to assist disadvantaged members of the community) to the theoretical (jurisprudence, which delves into the philosophy of law).

A strong emphasis was put on engagement beyond the classroom – I served on all four student societies in the Law School (the University of Queensland Law Society, the Justice & The Law Society, the Australian Legal Philosophy Students' Association and the University of Queensland International Law Society) and competed and judged in the negotiation, client interviewing and mooting competitions.

Did you undertake an internship, volunteering, exchange or UQ Employability program that helped you in your career? What was your experience like?

In my third and fourth years of university, I competed on behalf of UQ in the 2016 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. Known affectionately as the Jessup by its alumni, this is the oldest and largest international moot competition in the world, with participants from over 700 law schools in more than 100 countries in recent years. With four other students, and assisted by our faculty and coaching support including Professor Anthony Cassimatis and Jessup alumni Catherine Drummond and Hugo Clark-Ryan, we spent 8 months researching diverse international law topics relating to diplomatic immunity, espionage, privacy rights, arbitrary detention, derogation from human rights obligations, and the attribution and lawfulness of cyber-attacks, and then rehearsing our advocacy skills in arguing this hypothetical case.

Students Practicing for Moot Court

Law students practising for mooting competitions

First, we practised in front of volunteer judges and UQ Jessup alumni, and eventually in front of competition panels in Canberra and Washington DC. We were the highest-ranking Australian team and I was the highest-ranking Australian speaker in the 2016 International Rounds. This valuable research and advocacy experience, coupled with the opportunity to meet aspiring international lawyers from all over the world, was central to my decision to pursue my career in international law.

What advice would you give people from other countries about studying at UQ?

I have a few tips for international students at UQ:

  • Don't just focus on the study aspect, make the most of your experience and immerse yourself in the local community and culture. You can cuddle a koala, catch a footie game, and make sure you make it to the beach in the summer.

  • Try to build your professional network – you may only plan to be in Brisbane for a few years, but you never know where a connection you make at UQ might end up in the future.

  • Having lived in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, I can say that Australians' friendliness and generosity of spirit is famous worldwide, so take the opportunity to make some Aussie mates.

  • Get involved with multicultural societies and other groups that support international students to help keep the homesickness at bay.

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