Alexia, first off, congratulations on getting accepted. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share some info you may have about the program. Do you know by any chance if people are able to get jobs in Germany after graduation? Also, are they still accepting applications at this point?

They provided you with Internships in the leading firms, Banks and Financial Institutions.

I could personally talk with a former brazilian student that works for Baker and Mckenzie, an American student that was hired by Allen and Overy, two Germans that got places in the RBS and one that went to ECB. Also, an Indian is working for PWC.

But, you must be aware that Jobs after your LL.M will rely on mainly three factors (all of them not related with the ILF, or any other University):

1) Market situation in Finance (nowadays it is not very positive, there is much more activity in corporate, than finance itself);

2) How you perform in your Internship. If you suit on the team, your level of English and German, enthusiasm and capacity to help;

3) Imigration Status/Bar or other board admission.

That´s my opinion.

P.S.: Regarding the application period, the ILF and QMUL are the only top Institutions that do not impose any restriction on dates. However, you must be aware that as soon as you apply, bigger are your chances.

PP65468, I will be glad if I could help you with some kind of information regarding the Programme but unfortunately I can share only my own experience acording the acceptance. As I know they don't have deadline for applications but when I was at the beggining of my applying the admission menager of the programme told me that they usually were full till March. But of course this is not 100% sure:) So... good luck:)!

Hi,

Alexia, congrats first! And I want to learn when you sent your application documents? How long did it take to get the admission offer?

Thanx in advance...

thnx!
well, I sent the documents in the middle of January and I recieved an offer after 2 or 3 weeks.

Hey,

I was reading the posts here and want to congratulate the ones that already got an offer.

That´s great! I hope you like and enjoy it as much as I am enjoying.

As an advice, If i were you I would start looking for accomodation in Frankfurt. There are many WGs around, some related to churches that are really cheap and really good. Much better that the Universitiy ones. Also, in the private market you may find nice places to live, but the chances improve dramatically if you start looking soon.

Thats all...

All the best,

Rafael

Guys, I would not want to disappoint you, but do not have your hopes really high on getting a job that easily.
The timing is not at all good with the current credit crunch and everything. Law firms in London are letting people go and investment banking activities have reached a 5-year low.
One useful piece of advice to those considering to start looking for a job in frankfurt after graduation : start practicing your german language skills. Non-german speaking hires are the exception and not the rule in frankfurt.
Nonetheless, the LLM courses are very interesting and the program reputation is building up very fast.
To those of you who were admitted, congratulations, to those of you who are still considering to apply, I think that the intake is full for the next year...so , bad luck....
PS Alexia, where are you from???

Sulpikius, I am from Bulgaria.

Sulpikius, thank for the warning. It's more helpful to get realistic advice I think. You seem to know a bit about the German market. I am a native German speaker but don't have a German law degree (I'm getting an American degree and would hopefully be qualified in NY by the time I would start the program). What would you think are the chances for German speakers without a German law degree? Thanks in advance.

While getting the NY Bar admission in the field of finance, would seem that you simply rule the world and can work everywhere in the world, in Germany, if you don't have passed the second State Exams to become fully qualified, you will simply end up being paid half of what the qualified German lawyers are getting.
On the other hand, in your case, I don't know what's the deal with the US Law firms that are based in Germany, maybe their primary criterion is the US and not the german qualification.
If I were you, I would not worry about getting a job in Frankfurt (German native+NY Bar), that's definite, I would only be concerned with the terms of employment.
Anyway, I hope I was of a little help to you.
PS The purpose of this discussion blog is to help one another make informed decisions. If you read only the pros but no the cons, then you simply end up misinformed......

Hello Everybody,

You must be aware that Sulpikius (I know you mate...hehe) is pointing out something really important: there is a differentiation in terms of salaries for German, American and Rest of the World in the Frankfurt Market.

However, it is still very attractive comparing with the reality of some other countries. A reasonable expectation here would be something around 50 - 60 thousand Euros a year (be aware that half of this will go to the German Government in form of Income Tax).

If you are good the sky is the limit, though.

That's all from my side.

Rafael

Thanks for the info guys. Do you know by any chance if there is any way for foreign lawyers to re-qualify in Germany? Just wondering...

Hey everybody! It looks like I am the only woman in this men's world here :) So please, guys, I need help... :)
I would like to ask for opinion about the importance of the german language skills in Frankfurt. Before a couple of days Sulpikius wrote that to get a job in Frankfurt without good german language skills is an exeption. And I am a bit concerned because for me especially german is disaster... So, Rafael Lima (it seems to me that you are one of the best imformed persons here) or somebody else who has any opinion or experiance concerning that issue ... I will be graceful if you could share it. Thnx in advance!

Alexia,
I don't know whether your background is legal or financial, but if you want to work in the banking sector, I would say it is of critical importance to be able to speak german.
Some law firms do hire foreign non-german speaking foreign associates, but that is not definitely the rule...
Both me and Rafael (are you going to Boston next year mate??? Congrats!!!) are not renowned for our german language skills, so you can count on our comments!!!
Anyway, if you are seriously planning on staying in Germany afterwards, you have sufficient time to improve your language skills, both prior to, and after coming to Frankfurt.
PS Which part of Bulgaria do you come from?? We are your southern neighbors....

Sulpikius,
first, thnx for your reply. I have Master degree in Law so there is a piece of hope for me :):) But I completely understand that I have to learn german language if I want to stay or work in Germany... I can only hope that I will be able to do this.
As I understand you are from Greece, right? I am from Dupnitsa - this is a town near Blagoevgrad (maybe you know it, it is near to Bulgaria - Greece boundary and there are a lot of Greek people) but I live and work in the capital - Sofia.

Congratulations to all of u admitted to ILF
-for those not admitted: don't be that depressed..u can always find an alternative-!

Alexia, since u were the only woman in this company, I decided to join u for some support.

Well, I just wanted to tell u that u shouldn't worry that much about your German skills..There are many American law firms in Frankfurt that are not interested at all for German.
I am writing based on my personal experience.
I will do my internship in an American law firm and although I speak German, they told me that there will be no need of using it!
Since somebody is not a qualified German lawyer, he will usually work in the international department of the law firm, where only English is used!!
If u want to work in a law firm, you'd better look for the american-based ones and just try to have some basic knowledge of German!
But since u are going to stay in Frankfurt, try to take advantage of it and learn some German!Don't forget that it is an additional skill in your CV!

I hope I was also useful for the friend that is a NY lawyer and speaks German! I think things will be quite easy for u in an American law firm.


That is all from my side!!

Thanks Melkapel, that was very helpful and quite encouraging. Congratulations on getting a great internship!

An internship and a job placement are two completely different things. Everybody gets a 2-month internship, as it is a core component of the LLM program, but that does not translate into a job placement (we are not talking about paralegal jobs).

I don't know what the deal is with the US firms, but given their relatively small size here in Frankfurt, I would guess that it is difficult to get a placement as a foreign associate, unless you have at least a US- university degree.

Anyway, with regard to that, Alexia you are very lucky, because there is a Bulgarian LLM student that is currently doing an internship with a US law firm here in Frankfurt.
I can give you his email, and you can contact him to get a pretty good insight in what is happening there, eg, if the have employed foreign associates, what is their status, what is their educational background etc.
PS. ALexia, I've been to both cities, and also to Bansko a couple of times for skiing...

Thank you very much, Melkapel, for your support :). It is a great relief to hear that it is possible to be hired by a Law firm in Frankfurt without good german language skills! By the way I think that this is quite normal - still Frankfurt is something like European financial capital!
I have one more request - could you tell something more about the ILF, the programme, something based on your experiance there... Maybe I am a bit curious but I still can not believe that I am going to study there and I want to know more and more about it:) Thnx in advance!

sulpikius , I have just seen that you have replied too;) I will be sooooooo graceful if you could give me the e-mail of that bulgarian student - of course if he don't mind! And I am happy to hear that you have been in Bulgaria - hope you enjoyed your time here :) By the way I am planning to visit Greece soon :)