A first-year law student from Ireland, Ben Whyte, ’29, chose SC Rice Law and USC to get an IMBA/J.D. combination degree to focus his career on finance and law.

Whyte already has a master's in European Economic Law from the Netherlands and an undergrad of law from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.

“The law is something I’m deeply passionate about and have been since I was a kid,” he says. “There is no other profession which combines the social sciences of economics, psychology, politics and sociology in such a beautiful blend.”

When asked why he was interested in attending law school in the U.S. specifically, he says he was inspired by the American lawyers on TV and the movies. He wants to have an impact, just like Civil Rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall and U.S. Supreme Court Judge Louis Brandeis.

Growing up in the shadow of the Great Recession that began in 2008, Whyte also became enthralled with financial regulations.

As a result of his experiences during the recession, he was led into banking where he was able to see regulation from both a law and business standpoint. He later considered moving to the U.S. for his now-current wife.

“By the time I began seriously considering moving to America to pursue my dreams, I wanted to have an education that gave me a view of both finance and law,” he says. “The SC Rice School of Law and Darla Moore School of Business offered the perfect combination to let me pursue both.”

“Getting a J.D. is another step toward understanding the global legal framework and a steppingstone toward a career as a lawyer here in South Carolina,” he says. “I plan to use both degrees to advance my career in either securities law or antitrust law. The great thing about doing an IMBA as well as a J.D. is that the math skills and organizational know-how from the IMBA can be used in almost every legal field.”

Jumping right in to law school, Whyte has already joined the Student Bar Association and is volunteering with the Pro Bono Program. In Ireland, he worked on legal aid and pro bono cases. Along with SBA and the Pro Bono Program, Whyte also plans to get involved with the Lincoln-Douglas Society.   

“These experiences deeply impacted me and left a lasting impression on how the law should impact the lives of everyday people. I am extremely excited to be able to have the same impact here. As for the Lincoln-Douglas Society, well, I love debating any chance I get,” he says.

Before moving to the U.S. to pursue his combination degree, Whyte lived in six different countries since age 19.

In France, he studied at Université de Paris Saclay and became a teacher of English Language Skills and Common Law Legal Theory for French lawyers. In the Netherlands, he studied for his master's at Groningen University.

In Poland and Mexico, he worked for HSBC financial services, dealing mostly with operations relating to short term liquidity issuances, he says.

“Each time, I had to adapt to different customs. For example, for the French, it was kissing on the cheeks when you meet someone; in Poland, it was having bottles of vodka on tables at weddings and gathering mushrooms as a pastime; in the Netherlands, it was eating olieboilen, and in Mexico, it was having a beer at lunch,” he says. 

After living in so many other places, Whyte says “South Carolina, compared to these places, has been the most like Ireland. People say 'hi' to each other on the streets as they do back home, church-going is a regular thing here like at home, and people here have a welcoming, friendly disposition just like home. Really, the biggest adjustment has been getting used to the sun being out more than three times a year!”

For Columbia specifically, Whyte’s favorite places include the walking and hiking trails followed by the Nickelodeon Theatre on Main Street. He says he loves that they show movies you can’t see anywhere else.

“It reminds me of my ‘favourite’ theatre in Dublin, the Lighthouse,” he says. “Getting to have a place that reminds me of home here is a special thing indeed.”

Whyte’s wife, Kate Hoffman, is currently an anesthesiology resident at Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, after attending USC School of Medicine Greenville for medical school and USC and the SC Honors College as an undergraduate. Hoffman hopes to move back to Columbia after finishing her residency, and the couple plan to settle in the Midlands area to be near her family as they begin their careers, Whyte says.

“We're both really excited to see how the state of South Carolina grows and develops over the long term, and hopefully we'll make our mark on the state in some positive way,” Whyte says.