The Value of an LL.M. Revisited

There have been a few articles published recently about the value of an LL.M.

An interesting National Law Journal piece by Karen Sloan has examined the LL.M. as a credential with hard-to-measure value.

Above The Law's Elie Mystal argues it is rather a case of nobody bothering to measure the impact of LL.M. on graduates' employment or salary. And this lack of clear measurement, Mystal suggests, is a situation that law schools seem satisfied with.

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog also picked up the issue here.

The original NLJ article focuses on how the LL.M. affects a lawyers' resume in the United States. This is a very important point to examine. But it's also important to consider why many foreign lawyers pursue an LL.M. in the US (or the UK, Canada, Australia, for that matter). Sure, some foreign lawyers will look for jobs in the United States when they finish the LL.M. Only few will find them.

But many foreign lawyers have no intention of staying beyond the LL.M. For a lot of these folks, the value of an LL.M. is more about sharpening/proving legal English skills, acquiring international experience, punctuating their resume with a prestigious law school, passing a US bar exam, and - in some cases - getting deeper into a specialization. These are all factors that can boost a lawyer's resume when he or she returns home to Germany, Spain, China, Brazil, or wherever.

We will be publishing some more on this shortly. Stay tuned.

What do you think?

Comments

Nirlep, Dec 16, 2010 00:24

So if a program at the university can not help and individual to secure a better place in society. If the Society doesn\\\'t benefit from the program that a university offers than
1. Why does the law school offers that program
2. Why to waste time and money
3. How can immigrants establish them selves in the U.S who are studying in the legal field ?

Maren[LLM ..., Oct 25, 2010 10:32

Hi - Following up...We've just published an article about this topic:
http://www.llm-guide.com/article/534/do-law-firms-value-the-llm

Enjoy,
Maren

jurisdocto..., Oct 10, 2010 03:33

I passed the Bar exam in Illinois, and I have a Juris Doctor. Is there any employment value for a J.D. like myself to get an L.L.M. from a European school? I want to live and work in Europe. I am learning a second language, and I have a certificate in comparative international legal systems. I will definitely stay tuned.

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