Inspirational alumnus Chad Blackman’s journey…

We spoke to Chad Blackman (LLM International Trade Law, 2015), Former Essex Law School student who has been made Barbados’ Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva about life since Essex.

I graduated with an LLB in Law in 2014 and an LLM in International Trade Law in 2015. I started my career as a consulting attorney with an international law firm where I advised on international trade and tax matters. Shortly after, I became a partner of advisory firm Global Partners International, where I lead the firm’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Advisory team of experts and advised international clients on World Trade Organization (WTO) and Dispute Settlement matters.

More recently, I acted as the Campaign Manager for one of Barbados’ current MPs Charles Griffith during the historic 30-0 election victory of the Barbados Labour Party, which ushered in the country’s first female Prime Minister in May 2018.

My time at Essex was essential in preparing me for these endeavours – my studies equipped me with a firm command of the law from a truly global perspective. One of my proudest moments at university was as founding president of the University of Essex Bar Society, when I helped facilitate the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Bar Society and the Commonwealth Students’ Association at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. This enabled Essex law Students to offer legal advice to tertiary students across the Commonwealth. After this I was awarded International Student of the Year Award 2014.

The Essex School of Law and the wider Essex family has forever shaped my life and I am eternally grateful and honoured to have been trained by this global institution that prepares its students for leadership in every sphere.