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Zhenzhu Li, an LL.M. student from Changsha, China, which is the capital of the Hunan Province, is nearing the end of her studies at IU McKinney Law. She’s completing the American Law for Foreign Lawyers track.

If you’ve been to the two International Students’ Speaker Series events this semester, you’ve seen her. She spoke about family law in China at the first event on September 20, 2012, and about criminal law, which she practices at her law firm at home, on October 23, 2012. She is president of the Master of Laws Association, which organizes the Speakers Series with the Graduate Studies Program and the Associate Dean for International Affairs, Professor Karen Bravo.

"As an international student here, I have learned a lot about the American legal system, which is completely different from China," Li said. "I have learned to how to be an international lawyer, which is the most important reason why I am here. In addition, I learned to swim in deep end, play golf, and learned to how to be strong and independent. I will take the bar exam in California in July and I will try my best to past it!"

Li plans to resume her criminal law practice when she returns home to China in December 2012, but she also plans to focus on international business transactions. She’s been a practicing lawyer for 10 years, and was looking for a new challenge in her career path. She describes the market for lawyers in China as promising for those who know American law and have good English skills. She plans to pursue a position as a partner in a law firm when she returns home to Changsha.

She misses her daughter, 3-year-old Wenxuan Su, and has been home to see her twice since arriving here in January 2012. Li also has faced other challenges in her family, including her father’s illness.

“This year has been tough for me,” she said. “but this was my dream, to go abroad and study for one year.” But, it will be good to be home, she said.