Panelists Enrique Jaramillo, a legal counsel at Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt and Mosle LLP; Tania Albuja, senior associate at Nelson Mullins; Audrey Guaqueta, general counsel and corporate secretary at Ecopetrol U.S.A. Inc. and Darya Shirokova, assistant director of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, share insights and answer questions at the event.
April 11, 2025 — International lawyers trying to establish their careers in the U.S. often face hurdles in networking, career advancement and demonstrating their value in the legal field. To help address these issues and more, the University of Houston Law Center and global law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt and Mosle LLP hosted an event recently providing guidance and connections for foreign-trained attorneys pursuing or considering a J.D. or LL.M. degree.
“Curtis is an international firm. And for them, supporting international talent is very important. Most of our work requires international talent,” said Enrique Jaramillo, a legal counsel at Curtis, and a panelist at the event.
The highlight of the event, held in Houston, was a roundtable featuring experienced legal professionals from across the world who shared their insights about navigating the U.S. legal market. The panel, moderated by Eric Cassidy– a partner at Curtis, included Audrey Guaqueta, general counsel and corporate secretary at Ecopetrol U.S.A., Inc.; Tania Albuja, senior associate at Nelson Mullins; Darya Shirokova, assistant director of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration; and Jaramillo.
Enrique Jaramillo, a UH Law Center alum, got his start by networking at similar events and now gives back by sharing his experience and encouraging others.
“I came here as a newcomer,” said Jaramillo, who is also a UHLC alumnus. “You are confused and scared and don’t know what to expect. But this city has been so amazing to me, and I just love it so much. I feel like [this] is a way to give back to the community what the city has given me.”
Panelists shared personal stories and experiences that shaped their journeys. Albuja, who received her first law degree in Ecuador, came to the States in 2010 to get her J.D. from UHLC.
“I never thought I would become a tax attorney,” Albuja said. “I had no idea what tax law was until I took a tax law class, and I fell in love with it. And that happened at UH Law. It can happen to you guys, too.”
Panelists encouraged students to network. Cassidy mentioned that Jaramillo secured his current position at Curtis through the connections he made during networking events such as this one. “That’s how he got his shot,” said Cassidy. “Through persistence and networking. We feel very fortunate to have him”.
Guaqueta highlighted the importance of being a non-traditional candidate.
“You’re not following the traditional path,” said Guaqueta. “When you’re different, for whatever reason, you have to be compelling when you present yourself.”
Karen Jones, executive director of Global and Graduate Programs at UHLC, mingles during the networking portion of the event.
The event included a presentation from Karen Jones, executive director of Global and Graduate Programs at UHLC.
Jones shared details about the Master of Laws, or L.L.M., program that helps students expand their knowledge in a specialized area of law. UHLC has several high-ranking programs, including energy law, global law, and health law, which are all ranked in the top 10 by the LLM GUIDE for its Top 10 Lists by Specialty for 2025. The GUIDE also included the Law Center on its Top 10 list for affordability.
“About 90-95% of our students in the L.L.M. program are foreign lawyers,” says Jones. “Our students represent 21 countries and speak 15 different languages. We are very proud of the internationalization of our students”.
An important part of the event was a networking session where international lawyers connected with law firms seeking international talent. Students had the chance to introduce themselves, discuss their backgrounds, and explore opportunities for foreign-trained lawyers in Houston.
The essential message of the evening was that while the path for foreign-trained lawyers can be challenging, patience, perseverance, networking, and adaptability are the keys to success.
“As a foreign lawyer, we tend to be more flexible, we tend to be more adaptable, we tend to see things in a different light,” said Guaqueta, leaving students with final words of encouragement. “In that sense, we do have a little bit of an advantage. That difference in how you think about things is very useful for these companies.”
For more information about the UH Law’s Center’s Global and Graduate Programs, visit: https://www.law.uh.edu/llm/
