Hi!

I have some questions and i would be grateful if someone in this forum could answer them. Maybe these questions have been discussed before, but I still can`t find any satisfying answers.

After taking your LL.M in an american law school (e.g. NYU) and hopefully passing the bar exam (e.g. NY State Bar Exam), are you eligible to work for US law firms?

The question above may be a stupid question, but I had to present it for the resulting questions:

How attractive are you in reality for the US law firms when they have plenty of JD:s with pure american law degrees that they can hire instead of you?

Does the school matter? I`ve heard that most partners in the better firms went to the top 20 law schools and therefore they only hire people taking degrees from those schools

If you get hired, do you get hired as a foreign associate or as an associate?

Summing up my question: Can you count on getting hired by a US law firms after completing LLM and Bar Exam and do you get hired on equal conditions as the american J.D:s ?

I`d be very grateful if someone could answer my questions.

There are already some posts about the US law firm issue, (http://www.llm-guide.com/board/628 and http://www.llm-guide.com/board/761), but there are more questions than answers. It would be good to have someone here, who has found a job in a US law firm after doing an LLM. I am afraid though that these people will not be that interested in LLM discussion boards..

From my experience, the chances for foreign LL.M.s in the US are slim.

Most US law firms hire their new associates in the second year of the JD program. Therefore, an LL.M. student is seen as a lateral hire. You will therefore be competing for jobs against JDs who already have work experience in the US!

Second, most foreign LL.M.s are... well⦠foreign (read: strange and unusual to both us and our clients)! Since law is so client focused, few law firms would see a foreign LL.M. as someone who will bring in business. However, you will increase your chances of getting hired if your English is immaculate, you have experience in a good firm in your home country AND the US does a lot of business with your home country.

Third, the US has about 180 ABA accredited law schools, but the *top* jobs usually go to students coming from the âTop 14â Law Schools. Therefore, the name of your school carries a lot of weight. Certainly, you will have much, much better chances of getting a job if you get your LL.M. from Stanford as opposed to Louisiana State. However, even then it wonât be easy! For example, the University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League school in the âTop 14â law schools. Their placement statistics for LLM students are telling: âin 2002, out of 92 students (â¦) 10 students received jobs in U.S. firms and four received jobs overseas.â

These numbers are disappointing; especially when you consider that the students at UPenn are extremely talented individuals with outstanding credentials in their home country. Keep in mind though that some of the 92 didnt look for US jobs...

Conclusion: If your objective is to improve your knowledge of the American legal system, an LL.M. degree from a US school is an excellent choice. It will certainly give you excellent opportunities in your home country, and internationally. More than an LL.M. from anywhere else! However, employment opportunities in the US will be limited at best. Not impossible if you go to a great school and work very hard in your job search, but certainly not something you should count on to pay off your 50K tuition!

I will qualify my above post with one more piece of information:

if you are an experienced tax lawyer or IP lawyer with a technical background, and you do an LL.M. in one of these fields, your chances of getting a job at a US firm increase substantially. Firms have an established culture of hiring these LL.M. ... especially tax! However, tax and IP LLM students are often American JDs, so I dont know if this still holds for foreigners.

A friend of mine got a job at Cleary Gottlieb in New York after finishing his tax LLM at NYU. After one year, he went back to Europe, that was part of the deal.

"bonobo" thank you for your very thorough answer, I appreciate it. You even gave me a better answer than the law faculty study adviser at my university did.

I believe the essence of this question is: Is taking a LLM at an american university worth the economic efforts? In general, US-Lawyer-Salaries are higher than European-Lawyer-Salaries and if you ever want to pay of your debt from your US LLM year you almost have to take a job at a US-law firm. And if that is impossible then why even bother taking a US LLM when you can take an equal european LLM for a much lower tuition fee?

I would be grateful to hear others opinions.

I think a U.S. LL.M. from an âeliteâ U.S. school is worth its weight in gold. The alumni networks are phenomenal, the international opportunities are wonderful, and you will instantly earn âstarâ status in your home country if you return with a Harvard or Columbia degree. Also, if you are good enough to be admitted at Michigan or Yale, you are probably good enough to get scholarships (probably in your home country) which will allow you to finance the LL.M.

Finally, a U.S. LL.M. has much more prestige than one from anywhere else. Again, if and only if itâs from a top school â most international employers will hire from NYU over Oxford or U. Tokyo any day, though it all depends where you are....

If your LL.M. is from a second tier U.S. school, save some $ and go Europe, but if it's a prestigious U.S. program, your investment will pay itself many times over.