When Anne-Sophie Gidoin (MIDS Class 2013) was encouraged by a fellow MIDS alumna to apply to the program, she discovered an experience that would profoundly influence her career and professional outlook. Combining rigorous legal analysis with practical training and a uniquely international community, the MIDS equipped her with the tools to navigate increasingly complex disputes across jurisdictions and industries. Today, as Head of Disputes at Africa Global Logistics, she draws on the analytical framework, professional relationships, and global perspective developed during her year in Geneva. In this interview, Anne-Sophie reflects on the lessons, friendships, and skills that continue to shape her work more than a decade after graduation.
I was encouraged to apply to the MIDS by a friend and MIDS alumna while I was interning in international arbitration in Geneva. She described the program as an exceptional opportunity, and one I should not miss. I am grateful that I followed her advice.
Professionally, the MIDS gave me a rigorous framework for approaching dispute resolution from multiple perspectives, including legal characterization, argument development, procedural strategy, substantive analysis, drafting, advocacy, and network-building.
I also found the teaching style particularly stimulating. It combined elements of the French cours magistral tradition with the more open, discussion-driven approach common in the United States.
On a personal level, the MIDS allowed me to build lasting friendships with people from around the world, including alumni from other classes, with whom I remain in touch more than ten years after graduation. I also deeply value the relationships I built with MIDS professors, some of whom remain important mentors today.
"The MIDS gave me a rigorous framework for approaching dispute resolution from multiple perspectives."
Anne-Sophie Gidoin
The MIDS clearly strengthened my profile in dispute resolution. The analytical tools and practical training I gained through the program have made me more confident in addressing new, complex, and cross-border disputes.
After the MIDS, I completed the Paris Bar School and was admitted to the Paris Bar. I then spent six years as an international arbitration associate in Paris. In 2021, I joined Bolloré Africa Logistics as Senior Legal Counsel. The company later became Africa Global Logistics following its acquisition by the MSC Group in 2023. That move allowed me to broaden my dispute resolution practice to include transactional work. This year, I was appointed Head of Disputes at Africa Global Logistics.
"I regularly rely on the analytical framework I developed at the MIDS to identify the right path for addressing new legal issues."
Anne-Sophie Gidoin
My year at the MIDS was demanding, particularly because I worked part-time to cover part of the costs. The networking component was also intense. Looking back, I sometimes wish I had had more time to explore, in greater depth, the many substantive issues raised throughout the program.
I often look back on the MIDS as an extremely valuable experience. First, when I meet-or, as is currently the case, work with-friends I met through the program, I feel fortunate to be part of such an international and diverse network. Second, in my daily practice, I regularly rely on the analytical framework I developed at the MIDS to identify the right path for addressing new legal issues.
I would give future students the same advice I received: the MIDS is an exceptional experience and one they should not miss. I do not think the program is designed to turn every student into a purely "international" practitioner, as disputes often remain deeply rooted in domestic contexts. Rather, the MIDS develops the ability to understand and navigate the diversity and complexity of disputes. That is a distinctive skill, and one of the program's greatest strengths.
"The MIDS develops the ability to understand and navigate the diversity and complexity of disputes."
Anne-Sophie Gidoin
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