hi, I want to know what kind of legal field and position peple are working after finishing LLM in US

I'm doing mostly criminal defense, domestic/divorce, personal bankruptcies, and some immigration.

a long way from international business (securities, capital markets) which is what I originally intended to do after the LLM

i am doing paralegal and doing commercial litigaion, real estate, some construction and securities.
also, i am studying for bar exam now

How hard was it to get a job with a foreign law degree and LL.M from a US law school?

it is very hard for entry level. we should concern experience first of all. if you have a few years experience, then it will be easier to change the job

actually, i heard it was so hard that i did the extra 2 years and got me the JD. and it was still hard even after doing pretty well (top 1/3) in the JD from a top-tier school! i earn less now (approx. 28K 3 years after graduation) than i did before i commenced the JD, though i've heard that ultimately, say after 10 years, one can be earning double what one would earn after 10 years in a non professional or skills-based job (bar running your own successful business)

How hard was it to get a job with a foreign law degree and LL.M from a US law school?

I heard the same thing, but I refuse to go back for the JD. Where would I get the money to pay back those loans? I know I'm both greedy & unrealistic, but when I take a look at how much these lawyers below are making, I begin to have big wild dreams:

Robert Morgenthau
$150,000
District attorney, Manhattan

Jeannine Pirro
$136,700
District attorney, Westchester

Eric Rosen
$50,000
First-year assistant district attorney, Manhattan

Shannon Stallings
$45,922
First-year public defender, Legal Aid Society

Laura Held
$126,072
Parking-violation judge

Judy Sheindlin
$30 million
Television judge

H. Rodgin Cohen
$4 million
Chairman, Sullivan & Cromwell

Josh Dubin
$512,500
Jury consultant and trial strategist

William Joshua Brant
$125,000
First-year associate, Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Link: http://newyorkmetro.com/guides/salary/14497/index1.html


Burst my bubble. Micromash is currently looking for mentors for the Feb 2006 bar exam. http://www.micromash.net/BarReviews/bar_home_frame.htm

i think depends on the law field. i think, if you specialized immigration, M&A or IP, it wii be easier. ( thoguh still hard)
also, where you are come from is important. if you have law degee from big economic countries, it will be easier. because there are many branch offices in US.
but, why it is hard to get job in US is, i think visa prob. it is our big neck to work in US.

I am from France and I wanted to take an llm to work in the US but given what you all say, it seems totally impossible to think about pursuing a career there as a corporate lawyer. My first choice cities were Chicago, san francisco, LA and New york. Can someone tell me that he did it. Or that with a JD I can still have a chance not to go back in France with all these loans.

it is not impossible. it just harder than JD student.
if you take effort , you will get a job.
actually, US immigration law is getting more restrict for foreign employees. but i am sure, there are still some firms that are interested in you after LLM.

thank you for the mental support. Do you personally know people who works already with llms. If so, what do they do and in which city.

Try visiting the LL.M bank at http://www.livejournal.com/users/llm_girl/
I just made an entry entitled "Job Seekers"
Best of Luck!!!

thank you for the mental support. Do you personally know people who works already with llms. If so, what do they do and in which city.

Hi, just a quick question.
I'm a young french lawyer and i want to know if it is possible to take the Bar exam in the US only with a LLM?
Or, do i have to do a JD?

No, in some states like New York you don' t need a JD to take the bar. For more information you should look through these discussions:

http://www.llm-guide.com/board/120
http://www.llm-guide.com/board/5074

I want to know if I could get a job in the US after an LLM? Would it help if I'm a Canadian? How about the fact that I could speak and write fluent Mandarin? Would that help? What are my chances? Anything anybody can tell me...

I don't have specifics on the areas of law(s) you mentioned. However I'm intrigued as to those sounds which you find discouraging! Wouldn't you be more comfortable having the statistics & hearing the general gist b4 you begin the program...?

....This way you'd be able to have a workable plan in advance and though the system will attempt to break you, you will remain unbroken because they can't take away your dreams. So many of us have walked the walk and we just don't talk the talk, and believe me. Its a very lonely, rough and unpleasant walk..... one I wouldn't wish upon anyone!

hmmmm....this sounds rather discouraging!!
wut abt fr ppl who wanna do courses like public intl law or public laws?!?!?anybody done them and working sum place there?pls post ur comments!is the whole deal worth it then?

Bardiva

i guess i agree absolutely with you. i d rather know the odds against me before i embark on the journey.i actually defer my admision last year principally beacuse solid advice on LLM programmes in us (ie job prospect, bar exam etc) are hard to come by. i guess u can help me out. starting from this question-in which of these areas of specialisation (at llm level) do you think there is a better job prospect- inetelectual property, international trade law or international legal studies (emphasis on international economic law). Thank you sis.

Adding more to yves' question about specialisations and job prospects - what about those "LLMs in American Legal Studies / LLMs in US Law"? Will they offer good job prospects? Or is it better to do an LLM with a specialisation in more traditional fields like that ones mentioned by yves?

Guys some advice from an LLM graduate:

1. If your goal is to work in the US after graduation and that you are seeking a permanent entry level position: forget about doing any interesting work or getting the big bucks (the $125,000 a lot of people dream about). You might get a job with some small firm but that's about as good as it gets.

2. If you have a few years of experience or if your record is outstanding you might get one of the 9-12 month internships offered by the international firms. Very few permanent positions unless you are british...

3. An LLM is only good for getting a great job in your home country.

4. If you decide to do it you'll find out that the major benefits is the life experience and making new friends (some of them very close...)