Sara Blum

From a young age, Sara has had an interest in justice, and knew that her career path would certainly involve some element of legal studies. At the age of just 16, she completed her first internship at Inditex, and while she was there she learned how the management of one of the world’s leading companies operates in Spain. While this internship fostered Sara’s interest in business, perhaps the biggest lesson she took from it was that the combination of law and business interested her most. Based on this, she began her first law-related internship at Ramón Hermosilla, a boutique law firm based in Madrid. This experience proved to Sara that her passion lay in law.

The only thing holding Sara back from entering the world of law was the idea of committing to just one country and one jurisdiction for the rest of her life. This was until she came across IE University’s program with the University of Law in London, where she saw an amazing opportunity to combine a study of both civil and common law systems. It also enabled her to qualify fully in both countries and gain an understanding of the two very different legal systems. As her education has always been multicultural, Sara also felt that the international environment found at IE University was perfect for her. She really values learning in diverse settings, so IE University felt like the logical place for her to continue her educational journey.

She certainly doesn’t regret this decision. The university’s teachers are, she says, all experts and leaders in their respective fields. They gave her not only a great foundation upon which to build her career, but also an insight into the realities of the legal profession. Sara particularly enjoyed the methods that IE University uses to approach the traditionally antiquated legal industry from a more practical and comparative perspective.

During her time at IE University, Sara took part in several internships she describes as “fantastic.” In her first year she completed an internship at L’Oréal in Paris, where she rotated between the legal and marketing departments. The following year she interned at Pérez-Llorca in their corporate department, and in her fourth year, she also interned at Cuatrecasas for a few months in their M&A department.

Downtime is important to Sara. When she is not studying, she enjoys doing sports to clear her head, listening to music to motivate herself and reading to disconnect her thoughts and challenge her intellectual curiosity. She was also able to step away from studies for a while with the various clubs on offer at IE University. She made the most of all that was available to her throughout her time on the program, being a member of the Debate Club and the Women in Business club, as well as being both a mentee and mentor. This means she has been able to connect with fellow students both in and outside the classroom, meet incredible people, and foster long-standing relationships. She hopes these will continue throughout her future life, both personally and professionally.

Sara is currently interning at Uría Menéndez in their corporate M&A department. However, later in the year she will begin a Master for Access in the Legal Profession in order to qualify as an advocate in Spain. But that’s not the end of the road for Sara! In September 2022, she will start her training contract to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales, fulfilling her dream of practicing law in different countries.

Offering a few words of advice, Sara says:

“Be kind, hardworking and understanding and when in doubt always go with the choice that challenges and scares you most, because that’s the one that is going to help you become the best, bravest and strongest version of yourself.”