I am a practicing attorney and my law firm has decided it's in their best interest to sponsor an LLM for me to expand my knowledge of European Law. I live in a smaller European country with not many law schools, offering only a few LLM programs.

However, my firm has offered me the opportunity now to go to another country (the Netherlands, Germany, or even the UK) in order to study at a more "serious" school.

My question is, if I did an LLM at a more well-known school (I've had my eye on the European Union Law LLM from City University London, for example) - would this be a better education than if I did it at a lesser known school. I am trying to get an understanding of the overall value, because while it would be great to have a top school on my CV, I don't know if it's worth leaving my friends/family/work for one whole year.

Hi,

I think it is definitely much better if you have a degree from a reputable school (obviously in the relevant subject: you need to attend a school which is good in European Law, no matter its overall reputation).

Moreover, you would still be in Europe, so if you have the means you could probably go back to see your family and friends during the holidays (thank you EasyJet and Ryanair)! I also believe it would be a unique opportunity to meet new people, discover new things, establish an international network (which could definitely be useful in European Law I think). I think it could for sure be rewarding to you and your career both in the short and long-term.

Also if you can, consider universities in Belgium and France to study European Law (where I believe they have very good programs, in particular Belgium my guess would be, for obvious reasons).

Do not hesitate to ask me any questions you may have!