Stephen Igor Warokka: Why did I choose to study law?
Stephen Igor Waroka
http://www.educationusa.or.id
Stephen Igor Warokka graduated from the Faculty of Law of Atma Jaya University in 2007 before joining SSEK under its internship program.
He has been involved in various types of projects ranging from general corporate law to mergers and acquisitions, foreign capital investment law, immigration law, to conducting research and negotiations with various government officials related to commercial transactions.
In July 2010, he pursued his studies at University of California Berkeley and obtained his Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from Boalt Hall. During his studies in UC Berkeley, he was a member of the Student Organization for Advanced Legal Studies, where he also channeled his enthusiasm in sports by holding sport events with other universities.
Stephen is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia and English and he is a member of the Indonesian Advocates Association (PERADI), allowing him bar admittance in all judicial courts throughout Indonesia.
After he spoke at EducationUSA Indonesia Pre-Departure Orientation about Academic Expectation in the US on July 18, the EducationUSA Media Coordinator met him personally and had a friendly talk, to ask him write something about his experience studying in the US specially for this blog. He's humbly welcome the request and wrote this right away within a day. Enjoy reading, and hopefully this will inspire you.
Courtesy of Mr. Warokka's private photo collection
During 2010 and 2011 I went to University of California Berkeley for my LL.M. Degree. I had read and researched that UC Berkeley has the highest number of distinguished graduate programs ranked in the top 10 in their fields. Its University faculty, alumni, and researchers have won, among others, 70 Nobel Prizes, and 11 Pulitzer Prizes. UC Berkeley was also home to the famous “Berkeley Mafia”, a team of Indonesian economists who studied at UC Berkeley and came back to Indonesia to help it survive dreadful economic conditions in the mid-1960s.
Berkeley’s Law School, Boalt Hall, remains a highly selective top ranked law school in the US, and it has produced a number of prominent leaders in law, government and society. Simply put, it’s widely considered as one of the most prestigious and selective universities in the world.
Why did I choose to study law? Law never ceases to fascinate me, especially in a democracy such as Indonesia, where new laws are negotiated, drafted, and issued every day, attempting to balance out competing interests in the government and ensure the welfare of the Indonesian people. It has always been interesting and intellectually challenging for me to witness the struggles of law in balancing different interests in society.
In 2009, a colleague of mine, fresh from graduating at UC Berkeley, shared her wonderful and inspiring stories about the LL.M. program at Boalt Hall. So I applied online to UC Berkeley’s School of Law; made my statement of purpose and personal background; obtained recommendation letters from my Founding Partner and Senior Advisor of my law firm, as well as my Dean at Atma Jaya University, and after a relatively long process I was thankfully accepted at Boalt Hall!
Courtesy of Mr. Warokka's private photo collection
Talking about the differences/similarities between Jakarta and San Francisco, I was truly surprised to see how friendly people were in the Bay Area! I never expected to experience the typical Asian warmth and hospitality that I felt here in Jakarta, but on the contrary I instantly felt like I was at home far away from home.
A HUGE difference can be described in one word: Order. Almost everything in SF is so well organized. Most of the time, public transportation arrives and departs as scheduled, drivers obey road signs and speed limits, and there is no smoking at public places. It was very impressive indeed.
I miss everything about California, especially SF and Berkeley! I truly miss my friends from the LL.M. program. We were a considerably large group, consisting of around 130 students, but we were very close to each other, like one big family. I miss the highly interactive classroom experience at Berkeley, the amazing Bay Area food, the diversity of people and culture in California and how people could express their ideas so freely without having to care about what other people think or say about them.
For me, if there was one thing that Indonesian (undergraduate) law schools really lacked, it had to be the practical lawyering skills. I always wanted to learn the theory of advocacy skills, and furthermore, how such skills are actually taught in US law schools. So during my first semester I took some practical skills classes such as Negotiations, Mediation, and Lawyers and Entrepreneurship. All three of them were very interactive and dynamic courses and they really helped reduce my “shyness”, since we actually had to speak up in class to get good grades.
To satisfy my interest in analyzing the ethical principles that apply for lawyers in the US and the issues that go with them, I took Legal Ethics: Regulation for Lawyers. I also took Introduction to US Law and US Law Fundamentals. In my second semester, I focused more on corporate/business law classes such as Corporations, International Business Transactions, and Contracts.
Studying at Berkeley was an eye-opening experience. In class, we were always expected to be critical in analyzing the cases we dealt with, and to think out of the box to produce the best legally permissible solution for our “client’s” interests. Lecturers would “cold call” students (randomly asking questions, out of the blue!), which meant that we always had to be prepared in advance before coming to class.
The whole learning experience really helped me realize three important things, which I will always remember in doing my work: preparation is key, be creative, and never be afraid to speak your mind. I feel more confident in dealing directly with clients and I have learned to think more critically in finding solutions for their problems.
Highlights of my experience include: The graduation ceremony at the Greek Theatre, watching my favorite band the Strokes live in concert, going to Universal Studios, dressing up for Halloween, New Year’s Eve in New York, Spring Break in San Diego, playing soccer with people from around the world, and last but not least the whole International House dorm experience.
Courtesy of Mr. Warokka's private photo collection
