Hi everyone !

I have 2 little questions please :

1) I've seen and heard that Georgetown is not advised if we plan to take the New York Bar exam
Why ?

2) Which one would you choose (no scholarship) :
-Cornell
-Georgetown (International Business and Economic Law)
==> Which one would get more easily a job (in USA/UK/Canada/Middle-East or even France) ?

Thank you ! ;)

1. No LLM prepares you as such for the NY Bar. Most people take a preparatory course following their LLM, such as the one by Bar/Bri. In addition, bear in mind that the New York Board of examiners (don't recall the name exactly) has requisites in terms of minimum number of credits that you must take during the LLM in order to be eligible to sit for the exam. Check their website to be 100% sure. I see no reason why Geogetown wouldn't qualify.

2. Any eventual job has more to do with things like your nationality and working experience than the LLM program that you go to. So, I would strongly advice you NOT to make your decision on that basis. Instead, focus on whether the school is a good fit in your area of interest and the "life experience" factor. If you are interested in international business and economic law, I would say Georgetown is a better fit than Cornell (just go and check the courses available in these areas to confirm).

Good luck!

I extracted the information below from Georgetown's admitted students' website


"Dear Admitted Students:

Many of you have questions regarding the New York Bar exam and meeting the requirements to take courses in American Law as part of your LL.M. at Georgetown Law. Here is some information that may be useful as you think about the bar.

If you hold an LL.B. from the UK, then you do not need the LL.M. degree to meet the current eligibility requirements for the New York Bar exam. If you do not already have a common law legal education of three years [equivalent to the duration of the U.S. first degree in law, the Juris Doctor JD], then you must meet the eligibility requirements of the New York Bar by obtaining an LL.M. degree from the U.S. As part of that degree, you must take a minimum of 20 law credits [which is also the minimum we require for the LLM], and two courses in your LL.M. must be in basic American law courses. Se our website discussion for further information: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/international/

There are several relevant links, including the one for the list of Georgetown Law courses the New York Court of Appeals has approved as meeting the basic American law courses requirement.

Finally, let me note that we have heard that New York may be imposing stricter requirements for foreign educated law graduates in the future. We do not know if or when changes will be made. We have seriously discussed this possibility, however, and can assure all our students that we will be offering all the necessary credits and courses that could be required for New Yorks bar eligibility.

Students in the various degree programs will be able to take courses in American law. For example, the International Legal Studies degree requires our students to take a minimum of 12 international law credits. So, you would have the option of enrolling in 8 or more credits of American law courses. Many of our students take such courses as Introduction to U.S. Legal Methods [likely to be renamed Introduction to U.S. Legal Systems], Introduction to U.S. Constitutional Law, Corporations, Securities Regulation which are all on the bar exam. The one credit you are required to take [even as a common law educated law graduate] is U.S. Legal Discourse I [our legal communication course]. After completion of USLD I, you can also enroll in its successor course, USLD II which focuses on writing for another one-credit.

Most of our students take 22 credits or less for their LL.M. although we permit up to 13 credits a semester. So, it is theoretically possible for you to take your 12 credits in ILS and have as many as 14 American law credits. We have a bar pass rate for our foreign lawyers that is higher than the average of 47% [ it was 50% in 2010 and 60% in 2009]. So, our alumni are taking and passing the NY Bar without taking too many American law credits. We advise our students that they should focus primarily on their longer term career goals [for you, international law courses] for the LL.M. and only secondarily on their short-term goals [often a job or the NY Bar, or both].

Almost everyone will take a bar review course of 6 weeks in the weeks between graduation in late May and the bar exam in late July.

We have admitted you to take an LL.M. at Georgetown Law and to enjoy the wealth of our faculty expertise and curriculum. I will be your advisor as your work your way through the year and the decisions that will help you decide what is best for your LL.M. education, whether or not this includes meeting the eligibility requirements for a bar exam.

Sincerely,
Dory Mayer
Director, International Student Services, Office of Graduate Programs