#Alumni Month 2019: Riccardo Tremolada

Settembre è l’#Alumni Month!
In vista dell’Alumni Event 2019 condividiamo alcune storie di successo di ex-borsisti Fulbright che hanno saputo far tesoro al massimo dell’esperienza negli Stati Uniti.

Riccardo Tremolada, infatti, è un promettente avvocato, che ha conseguito un LLM alla Harvard Law School approfondendo materie come US Antitrust Law & Economics, Advanced International Trade Law, Communications and Internet Law.

Riccardo si racconta così:

#1 At what point in your academic and professional career did you decide to apply to a Fulbright grant?

I had the chance to study and work in different countries, which gave me a solid interdisciplinary foundation and a global perspective that developed along with my unrelenting curiosity. After a few years working as a researcher and then as a lawyer, I felt I was ready to embark on a new adventure where I could capitalize on my previous experience as well as gain some more.

#2 Why the United States and why the Fulbright Program?

While my background provided me a firm foundation on trade and competition law and policy from a European and East Asian perspective, I thought it would be enormously valuable to approach these topics from a US angle. Furthermore, my research and legal practice expertise rely to a great extent on the American legal system.

Therefore, I applied to a number of US law schools and eventually joined Harvard Law School’s LL.M. program. Harvard’s extraordinarily rich curriculum granted me the flexibility to design my own course of study in order to fully match my academic and professional goals.

The Fulbright Program was the key factor that made my dream really come true. The financial help, the networking opportunities, the academic support that the Fulbright provided represented an crucial added value to my experience.

#3 What do you currently do?

After graduating from Harvard I continued my training in the United States, working as an antitrust lawyer in Washington DC. The Fulbright program was extremely supportive throughout my experience and helped me constantly in this transition.

In the Spring I successfully defended my PhD thesis in China and presented my research to a number of conferences in the US and in Asia.  Now I am back in Italy, where I practice competition law with an international law firm. I keep publishing papers and I just joined a lawyers’ association for civil rights. In my spare time I am planning a Fulbrighters’ reunion somewhere…
#4 What would you say to young students and scholars who are considering applying to a Fulbright award?

The Fulbright program is highly competitive and you really need to think hard about your application. Try to think how you and your skills can contribute to the program itself and to the institution you plan to attend. But remember, it is the people that make the Fulbright program. Fulbright  is much more than an academic program: it gives access to a terrific  network of amazing scholars, professionals, and friends.