Hi everyone,

Here is my situation.

I am originally Dutch and possess a Dutch nationality.

However for the past 6 years I have been living in the US (permanent resident) and recently obtained a bachelor degree in Political Science (BS).

Now however, I am very interested in going back home to the Netherlands to attend the University of Leiden's LLM Program in Public international law. According to their requirements they might accept applicants with a bachelor degree.

Although I love being in the United States and my ultimate goal is to work and live here, the idea of going back to the Netherlands for a year is pretty exciting. (I speak the language, University of Leiden is highly valued, love to spend a year with family and old friends, etc.)

My biggest question is whether an LLM at the University of Leiden means anything in the United States. I know for a fact that it is not sufficient in order to allow me to take the bar. But what would I have to do in order to eventually be able to take the bar here in the US? Will I have to simply
do a 3 year JD program? In that case my LLM would be a "waste" of time.

Also, It is quite confusing to know that and LLM from Leiden is completely different from and LLM in the US. From my understanding one cannot get an LLM
unless they have a JD in the US. How will I stand in comparison to others if I have an LLM but no JD in the US?

I would appreciate any help, tips, advice from anyone who has any answers to my questions.

Thank you!

Meron

Honestly, you are wasting your time if you plan to go back to the US.

If you plan to practice law in the US, than it would be highly suitable to take the LSAT (score between 160-180) and apply for an American law school. The US has 2 year JD schemes.

A LLM from another country is useless unless it is taxation. The regular PIL will only complement your background for diplomatic reasons if you do not plan to practice law.

I would advise researching the legal market before applying.

Kind regards.

Thank you for you response smurf.

Of course the LSAT and law school in the US are my original plan. As a matter of fact I am taking the LSAT 3 days from now!

This idea just started to play in my head recently when someone mentioned if I ever thought about going back to the Netherlands.

The one thing that attracted me to this idea is the low cost of studying in the Netherlands for citizens. Online sources (and I'm not sure how reliable these are) suggested that the New York bar requires you to have at least 24 credits from USA on top of your foreign LLM in order to sit for the bar.

I figured, one "cheap" year in the Netherlands and only 24 credits in USA should save me some money and even some time.

Is this idea too far fetched and ridiculous?

Your plan is not too far fetched. Just you have to take into consideration the right direction during the process to complete your targeted goal.

Focus on getting a high score on the LSAT. If you plan to practice, it would be suitable to undergo the grind of law school. No way around it. The US functions differently regarding a legal education. Only having a non-US LLM to come back to the US just to take 24 credit hours will not suffice.

The US will only recognise a common law degree (JD/LLB) from a common law jurisdiction (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and UK).

Just to reiterate, there is no way around it. Although if you had taken a civil law degree from a civil law jurisdiction than did 24 credit hours would suffice for taking the US bar exam.

What I am trying to spell out here is the LLM will not be enough to practice in the US. You will definitely need a foundational legal education (JD/LLB) in order to practice.

Hope this helps.

I have not fully decided whether I want to practice law or use my education in law for other purposes.

I have thought of using my eventual knowledge of the law for business purposes or for working for international companies. (I am multilingual which should be a boost for me in the international job market)

I guess what you are saying is that it all depends on what direction I eventually want to go.

And if that direction happens to be to practice law right here in the states, I have to get that LSAT score back and start applying to law school in the US and go for a JD.

Thanks for all the tips and help. Much appreciated.