LLM GUIDE Blogs
Surgery of a Rejection
By jagsmehn in Surviving the meanders on Jan 4, 2009
For an overconfident and overgrown kid, nothing could be more devastating than a curt refusal. And for a hitherto undefeated self-proclaimed lord of the ring, reality could not have struck in a worse manner. There have been instances in the previous years, where better candidates (ascertained by an obsolete system of opaque marks and vague rankings) have been overlooked by those ever-coveted torch bearers of the education system (some barbaric souls have been sinful enough to call it the “education industry”) in favour of lesser (no offense) but suggestively more rounded personalities. Where the balance between academic strength and professional achievement lies, is something more obscure than Mona Lisa’s smile. Not even the eldest academician can point out succinctly where (and how) the fine line is drawn. Howsoever it may be, the cruel decisions have been duly inscribed on the painful walls of history and the colourful threads of this Hon’ble forum stand testimony to the fact. But that the same reality could strike your humble blogger came as a rude shock. No one at this age expects New Year goodies. Still, 2009 could have been ushered in on a better note. The part that leaves one dumbfound is how the selectors chose a cold new year eve to sit over drinks and chat along on the applications. Another cheerful soul had triumphantly announced receiving a conditional offer on the Boxing Day. Then the surprised blogger had suggested to an equally amazed alter that the plausible reason behind a delayed update could be that web pages have been outsourced and the responsible company took that much amount of time to update the page. However, time-warranted inquests have revealed that web pages are managed by a department within the institution concerned and that the officials of the same are enjoying a well-earned holiday along with the rest of the institution. The latter is in sync with the notice stating that no updates shall be made to the pages during the two week hiatus. How the order of events was reversed and how a miraculous decision-making process induced during the holidays is something that can’t be fathomed by an ordinary brain like the one possessed by your blogger.
Yet, many self-ravaging debates have been initiated by the untimely set of events. Round table conferences have been organised through tele-conferencing and web chatting. Some quarters have suggested a flawed selection policy which leaves many well qualified candidates lurking in the dark. Others have been curt in pointing out the need (or lack) of better marketing skills depicted through the magical three letter word called the Statement of Purpose. There have been feelers stressing the oversubscription of certain subjects (like commercial law), which ordain harder competition, as opposed to obscure subjects where the ratios are less lop-sided, making them more accessible. Finally, a self-proclaimed expert in international education came out with a simple panacea for the burning soul- not all are meant to reach the top. Whether it was meant to soothe a badly hurt ego or to flair another self-destructive war is something left for less tragic times. Coming hours and days shall point out the real cause and the exact situation. But, one thing is for sure, the global economic downturn has thrown up more qualified candidates because of the job cuts, which has made entry of novices like us that much harder.
While the agonising wait continues- Part 1!!
By jagsmehn in Surviving the meanders on Jan 2, 2009
There are many crazy things that happen in life. And then, there are many lives that are totally crazy in themselves. Not being able to formulate a concrete career plan at a requisite time in life is looked upon as a sign of a failure in itself, though, again, there must be thousands of such thirsty souls wandering around the place that want all the world's hell but just won't know how to achieve the same. And, then, there are those who don't actually get inspired by most vocations because of a stubborn insight, hidden somewhere in an unknown corner within, which for some obscure reason would not allow one to look beyond small discrepencies within a system. The latter just take away the sheen out of an otherwise highly coveted, hugely dreamt, immensly craven and popularly fought out work sphere. Having dreamt, visualised, analysed, weighed, planned, prepared, and then left almost every possible work within a civilised society without actually wasting valuable time in it, the blogger can testify that he has earned the most notorious and highly regretable title of being a failure from all plausible corners. And giving up a line without actually trying one's hands at it lends more fodder for the critics to ruminate upon. To top it, if one is the unlucky one (sic!!) to have been blessed with endless faculties, which do not limit the flight of one's mind to a given set of time-tested vocations, one is more at loss, because the meandering path just keeps on getting longer, tougher and steeper. The last time the inevitable sequence of events struck your poor blogger, he had to stand the ardous task of leaving mouth watering prospects at Bar, in the judiciary and and in the commercial world. The 3-lettered magical word LLM/BCL offered a momentary relief in so far as the application process, the waiting time, a hopeful admission and another year of possible studies have saved his soul the ardous task of taking the tough plunge. However, as soon as the relief sinks in, there is a ray of despair, which splits quickly to submerge a whole citadel in its expansive arms. The decision has only been delayed and not negated. The inevitable has to occur sooner than later. The present must be utilised in reseaching, previewing, and planning all possible avenues, exclusive of those already negated. Mental conditioning has to be resorted to in order to divert the scanning attention from the negatives to the positives. The badge-de-failure must give way to reality-de-life. Positiveness must be ushered in, and, in umpteen amounts. The cloak of rationalism has allowed pescimism and lack of resource to perpetuate for too long.
The gloom sets as soon as it had lifted. The ardous wait and the agonising search for a rightful place in this world must continue for now. Positive signs keep on dropping in, on and off, like a quick admission at the KCL. Hopefully, its just the beginning and there is more to come...
First Semester is Over
By Jaan222 in UVA LL.M Experience on Dec 28, 2008
Dear all, I would like to share with you all my experience here at UVA. First semester is over. I still remember the day I arrived here in Charlottesville Virginia. The town is small but extremely beautiful, full of restaurants and cafes. The weather is pleasant, it is not hot in summer and in winter not that much cold, although it snows but until now i.e. Dec 27, no snow and weather is sunny.
Anyway regarding academics, this university is one of the largest universities in the US. Law School has received high rank and very good reputation. LL.M class is highly selective, 2008/2009 class consists only of 32 students. All students are accomplished persons in their life so it makes our experience a rich one. Law School administration is very helpful, they provide us with all facilities and we never had any complaint against them. Professors are highly distinguished and helpful. It is up to every individual student what he/she wants from this one year. We take classes with JD students where we can learn from them and add to their knowledge new things.
As for funding matters, Many students from our batch received partial tuition fee help from the law school, I am not sure what is gonna be the situation next year, but hopefully law school will be able to provide some assistance in form of partial tuition fee waiver. As for comparison with other law schools, I would like to clarify that there is not that much difference between top law school students when it come to job search, job hunting success depends on individual characteristics, however this year economy is so much bad and every one knows that, so it is almost impossible to find a job with a big law firm in the US but still there are chances and no body should get disappointed.
The most important thing about UVA is that intelligent students might get partial funding, Charlottesville city is cheap and one can live $800-$1000 very easily. University people are friendly and general environment is beautiful. I will encourage you guys to apply here if you have not done already as the deadline is Feb 1, 2009. If you have any questions please feel free to ask me. I would like to make it clear that I am a student and just want to help out other prospect LL.M students, so my perspective is of only a student. I wish you all good luck with application process.
LLM GUIDE in The Financial Times
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Nov 10, 2008
The Financial Times ran a story this morning by Ursula Milton about choosing an LL.M. program. It's a useful article, and we are very happy to be featured in it! Check it out here.
In fact, FT published a handful of other stories about LL.M. programs today in their Global Legal Education supplement, including this handy breakdown of LL.M. programs and a student narrative from IE Law School.
Talk to you again soon!
Maren
LLM GUIDE Board Nearing 50,000 Posts - THANKS
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Oct 14, 2008
Hi Folks! We hope everyone in the LL.M. Class of 2009 is settling nicely into their courses.As our LLM Discussion Board nears 50,000 posts (less than a hundred to go at last count), we wanted to do a little shout out to everyone who has posted on our board since we launched it back January 2005. With LL.M. students (past, present, and future) sharing their experiences and views, it has become a bigger and more lively community than we could have imagined. On average, there are 1,000 posts here a week!
Here's a little retrospective of some of the more notable threads. You might find nuggets of wisdom here...or maybe not.
The Popular Threads
"Tax Law Rankings" (85,000+ views)
"Best Law Schools in Continental Europe?" (55,000+ views)
The Legendary Threads
"Is a Harvard LLM worth it?" (going strong since April 2005)
"Foreign lawyer in the US? You don't need LLM"
The Funny Threads
"Best entertainment law programs in the US"
"Rejecting Harvard in Style"
And what would our board be without the truly heroic participation from LLMers like tmalmine, ivan2006, droit.est.philosophie, or the other experts and insiders like c.miller, lmwoods, richardvf, GregoryXu, who have been friendly and generous with their insight. There are many others worth mentioning. These are the kinds of folks that make online communities valuable. You rule!!
Till next time,
Maren
Scholarship Opportunities offered by Peking University Law School
By michaelcorleone in Peking University - Class of 2009 on Sep 25, 2008
Hi everyone,
If you're interested in the Peking University Law School LLM, some of the scholarship opportunities offered by the school, and some that I've pursued successfully, might be of interest to you.
First, there is the merit scholarship offered by the school. This merit scholarship is a cash gift of RMB8,000 that is given to five students that are selected by the Peking University Law School based on application credentials. Based on my experience, it seems that previous related work experience, publications, and academic credentials are considered by the school in selecting the recipients of this merit scholarship.
Second, there is the scholarship offered by the Beijing City Government. This is a cash gift of RMB30,000 that may be applied for by three students in the full-time LLM program who are nominated by the law school. The law school has nominated those who are able to obtain the top three grades based on the first semester of studies.
What if you got the RMB8,000 PKU merit scholarship AND obtain one of the top grades in class -- does this mean you will get the Beijing Govt scholarship of RMB30K in addition to the RMB8K? Unfortunately not! The school will no longer give you the RMB8K scholarship if you obtain one of the top three grades, and will nominate you instead for the RMB 30K scholarship.
The last scholarship that I was able to avail of are the fellowships offered by various institutions that require the submission of project proposals for studies on Chinese Law such as that of the Chinese Journal of International Law, and fellowships offered by law firms that require student applicants to compete on the basis of academic and professional credentials, as well as writing samples. Jones Day offers this for students in Beijing.
I'm sure there are other opportunities available, but these are the ones I've explored. Good luck with funding your Peking University LLM in China!
Internship Opportunities
By michaelcorleone in Peking University - Class of 2009 on Sep 21, 2008
The website of Peking University's LLM Program states that there is assistance that will be offered for those who are looking for internships. But for one to obtain an internship with the help of the school, one has to ask for help actively. The internship search in China does not go the same way as in elsewhere. I've done internships in law firms before, and this involved sending application letters and resumes to the HR departments of the firm. However, in China, this might not be the best way to get an internship. There are so many foreigners looking to do internships in Chinese law firms, so there is a lot of competition. So it has been suggested to me by various people that to get an internship, it would be easiest to get one thru connections.
Chinese law profs in Peking University have classmates in Beijing law firms and could have consulted for the firms, or might even be working in the firms as of counsel. Looking for a target firm then talking to a professor about how to get an internship there, and asking for their help as early as possible would be a good way to secure an internship.
It is actually possible to do an internship search on one's own and thru one's own connections too. Using my connections, I was able to secure an internship in a large Chinese law firm in Shanghai. However, because of difficulties in processing my residence permit, I decided to just do my internship in the Secretariat in UNHQ.
Good luck with the internship search in China! Some of my classmates have been able to combine internships with classes, and found them to be great experiences. I myself chose not to do so, because I pursued fellowship opportunities instead.
Just the Dissertation Left!
By pinkcauldrons in LLM at LSE- 2007-2008. on Jun 26, 2008
Hello!
The mad exam marathon is over, and I can hardly believe it. If I thought Michaelmas term was hectic, it was as if the Lent Term was just waiting to introduce me to what the London pace can turn out to be! Having been through three-fourths or more, of the entire LLM, with just the dissertation left, here's some advice for the coming batches of students:
Attend as many of the public lectures as you can. You probably wont have time to do justice to more than two societies, so dont join seven of them in freshers' week like I did, and then end up going to just one or two. Push yourself to the maximum. After all, its less than a year.
Theres a strategy to cracking the exams. Dont get pulled in by all the hype about how tough and scary it is. All it takes is a good strategy, and of course, the minimum amount of hard work.
Use your time in London to pursue whatever already interests you..music/dance/tennis...the facilities are available, if you bother to look. Pursuing a hobby you already love is a good way of de-stressing and making this sometimes dreary place feel more like home.
For those who are used to a lot of sun in their home countries, December can be a very depressing time. Use the December holidays to relax and really fit into the groove. It will help you to handle Lent term better.
Decide on your dissertation topic as soon as you can. Much sooner than the departmental timetable suggests. It will save you a lot of work later on. Throughout LSE, the faster you make decisions and get to working on them, the more the system rewards you.
The sheer amount of information available at LSE, can drown you out if you dont know what your destination is. Remember you cant use the awesome career services to its fullest if you dont already have a good idea of where you want to be after the LLM.
Finally, there will be people who say, you should have seen more of London, you should have studied more, or you should have done something differently. Dont listen to them. Decide what YOU want out of this degree, and stick to achieving that. Its the roller coaster ride of a life time! Have fun, and best of luck.
An LL.M. in China - Is it worth it?
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on May 26, 2008
Hi there! I just wanted tell you all about an interesting blog post by Donald C. Clarke, a professor at George Wasington University Law School. He has collected and published the feedback he got from lawyers - who had either taken an LL.M. program in China or who are involved with hiring lawyers in the field - about the value of doing an LL.M. at Chinese universities. The PDF document can be found here.Meanwhile, here is an article we published last year about English-language LL.M. programs in Asia, generally.
We'll check in again soon. Until then, enjoy your summer!
Pages 8
