Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

After postponing an LLM degree for 15 years, Mudassar Umar (LLM’18) finally found what he was looking for at BU Law.

Justice Mudassar Umar (LLM in American Law’18) knew when he graduated with distinction from Pakistan College of Law at the University of Punjab that he wanted to return to school to earn an LLM.

But then, as he explains it, “good things” kept happening. For instance, within two years of completing his bachelor of law degree and beginning work as an attorney, he sat for his country’s judicial examination and was selected to serve as a trial court judge in Lahore. Eventually, he was promoted to the position of senior civil judge. Then, a short time later, “another good thing happened,” he says, describing his elevation to the position of additional district and sessions judge, which includes handling appeals.

By the time he had the opportunity to apply to LLM programs, more than 15 years had passed. Still, Umar hadn’t given up on his dream.

“I have a very strong belief that I have something to do for my society and my country, the way things have always worked out for me,” he says. “The LLM can give me more exposure.”

Umar traces his interest in public service to his childhood, during which his father served as mayor of their home town, Depalpur.

“I had seen him working for social welfare,” he says, adding that he wanted to do the same.

Umar chose Boston University School of Law in part for its location in a city and state that have played such a major role “in developing American history.” But he was also attracted to the flexibility of the law school’s LLM in American Law program, which draws a diverse and distinguished group of students (members of the Class of 2018 came from 42 countries). After taking just two required classes—Introduction to American Law and Legal Research and Writing—LLM students can design their own academic path, including by choosing from the nearly 200 courses that make up the JD curriculum.

For Umar, the breadth of subjects available was a major plus.

“As a judge, you have to deal with all kinds of cases,” he says. “I selected the courses that can give me insight into every branch of law,” including International Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, and Corporations.

He says he was particularly impressed with Professor Daniela Caruso’s Contracts class.

“I’ve been working as a judge for 15 years, but when I was sitting in her class, I thought, ‘I don’t know anything about contracts,’” he laughs. “She had a very good command of her subject. She was probably the best professor I’ve had in my life.”

Caruso, the Jean Monnet European Union Professor, says Umar was “an excellent student” who raised “important questions” during discussions.

Lecturer Arthur Pressman, who had Umar in Alternative Dispute Resolution for LLMs, says Umar never “allowed his position” as a judge “to interfere or influence his role as a student.”

“He’s used to deference—that’s mostly what judges get pretty much the world over,” Pressman says. “And there was no request or even interest in deference. He was very much just another student in all regards.”

Both Caruso and Pressman say they didn’t just teach Umar—they learned from him as well.

“It is a privilege and an honor to have Umar in our classes,” Caruso says.

Umar, who will return to the bench in Pakistan after graduation, says he was also inspired by the discussion of freedom of speech in Lecturer Stephen M. Donweber’s Introduction to American Law course.

“If you suppress the expression of an idea, you are compelling that person to resolve things by different means—probably violent,” Umar says.

In his second semester, Umar has seen classroom concepts applied in real time. The LLM program staff helped arrange for him to regularly observe proceedings in the courtroom of US District Judge William G. Young, who is also an adjunct professor.

“I sit next to him at the bench,” Umar says, “and when the session is complete, we go back to chambers and discuss all the proceedings.”

When he was choosing an LLM program, Umar says a conversation with Maureen Tracy Leo, associate director of BU Law’s Graduate & International Programs Office, made the law school stand out.

“She told me she wanted me to do something more” than earn an LLM degree, he recalls.

When asked if something more has been achieved, Umar doesn’t hesitate.

“Yes!” he says. “I will be a kind of ambassador for BU Law for the rest of my life.”

Reported by Rebecca Beyer

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