Hey Guys,

I would say that Melkapel - I also know you... :?) - is correct!

I am working for Price Waterhouse and Coopers and English is the language of my team. During my internship, I had already got an offer for an extension on my period here with some additional financial support. So, we are not talking about paralegal job, or anything else. And I have just started learning their language.

Even though we are in Germany, my team is mostly international. We have people from all continents working together here. Since we have to take care of Investment Funds from all over the world, it helps a lot.

Therefore, I must say that it is not guaranteed the opportunity to be hired after your LL.M. Yet, there are some chances. German skills could be required in someplace, but not in all of them. And I am quite sure of it!

My advice for you all is to think firstly in the gain on knowledge and experiences you will have after your degree and not only for the money (work) you will be able to get. In the worse scenario, you will be back to your country with a worth CV, being able to get the best jobs available.

You must admit, it is not bad, though.

Thats all!!

P.S: Sulpikius... I am preparing myself for Boston! Still uncertain, but the likelihood for that is quite high. Thanks for the compliments. As a final topic, you must admit that even in the law firm you work for (Really German) one of our colleagues was hired, and she did not speak fluent German.

P.S. 2: By the way, I would like to tell everybody that the application period for the ILF is still opened. Even though, the Institute was totally flooded by applications this year (and thats absolutely great), I got an inside information that the ILF Admission Team havent decided about the whole intake yet. So, if somebody is still thinking of applying for it and is strong enough to beat the ones already there, I would say to do it ASAP!

Sulpikius, just wanted to mention that there are people from previous years that already work in law firms or the law departments of big banks without being German qualified lawyers or having a US degree!!
This doesn't mean that ILF is the passport for the market, but if sb wants to stay in Frankfurt and tries, he can find a good job.
Don't forget that Bulgaria recently entered the EU and there is investment activity going on there!!

Alexia, u seem to me too excited for the program!!That is really good!! When we want sth that much, then we take the best advantage of the opportunities it offers.
Well, I would just like to tell u that the ILF programm is quite rigorous , having too much reading to do before class, but I think it offers u a great chance to broaden your law and finance horizons. The first semester has some business courses that give u fundamental knowledge in this field, so that u go to the second semester ready for some specialization -even for lawyers- in the business field . As far as the law courses are concerned, some of them I attended are quite tough, such as Corporate Finance and Comparative Company law, but to be honest I think they are useful. Just to mention that Comparative Company Law includes the German jurisdiction as well, so u can gain some knowledge, since u are interested in staying here.
In addition, many extra-curricular activities, some guest lectures for example on current issues take place almost every week, and I would highly recommend to attend them, The problem is that u have so many things to prepare for the next day, that u usually decide not to do so!

I would like to say that the ILF offers you a great range of opportunities, but it is totally up to u how much u benefit from them!!!

Alexia-and anybody else-, if u want additional information, just ask me precisely.
You can send me a personal e-mail in any case!!!


P.S. I am also a neighbor. Greek girl!!

Melkapel, thnx for the information. I find it really useful. Sorry that I am asking like an idiot about stupid things but could you (or anybody else here) explain me the structure of the education process in ILF - I mean how many subjects you have to cover during the semester and what is the exams organization. It seems to me (regarding to the things I read) that the system there is pretty different than that one used in the bulgarian's universities :)

p.s. Yes, Melkapel, I am quite excited about the fact that I am going to take part in that program and I really want to do my best there.
Happy to hear that you are neighbor too ;)

I've just received an email confirming my admittance to the program, ILF with 10,000 Euro awarad toward tuition fee. But it is conditional on : TOEFL iBT 100 and graduation from my current degree (MA Int'l commercial law) with GPA 17/20 (i.e. A)

I do have received offers both from UCL and KCL as well!
Very difficult to decide ... any one could kindly give advice

Congrats Alexia and Ehxxan. I, too, received my admission offer today (I had contacted them last week, and they said the admissions committee had met last week, so I would hear Monday -- so I imagine several people got news today).

I, too, am now faced with a big decision. Leaving my current job and investing in school is a very big decision (I am in the US, and the US$ is not worth very much now!). ILF has been my first choice in my mind, but I have also been admitted to the MLB program from Bucerius/WHU and to the European Business Law program at Leiden. They are all a little different, and all good, so it is a difficult decision.

If any of you have considered these programs in comparison to ILF, and could share your thoughts, I would appreciate it.

I'm leaning heavily toward going to ILF, though, so I'd also like to start getting to know my possible future classmates!

- Janet

Hi everybody,

I also got the admission offer today as Ehxxan and jrickie, congratulations friends..

I have similar concerns with jrickie, EURO has increased % 15 against our currency (Turkish Lira) for the last 2 months!

jrickie, the choice issue: when I started searching llm degrees here, one of the first programmes I saw was LLM Finance and I loved it. Then I went on searching for a month but none of the programmes, including those in the UK, changed my mind. LLM Finance is really unique because of the internship and the courses!

Haluk
Lawyer/Istanbul-Turkey

I've just received an email confirming my admittance to the program, ILF with 10,000 Euro awarad toward tuition fee. But it is conditional on : TOEFL iBT 100 and graduation from my current degree (MA Int'l commercial law) with GPA 17/20 (i.e. A)

I do have received offers both from UCL and KCL as well!
Very difficult to decide ... any one could kindly give advice

Thats absolutely not what I had heard so far!

But, as a matter of advice... I would rather prefer my sources that confirm that the ILF is waaaaaaaaaay better than any University of London Colleges (Boooooooooooring programs).

However, It is just an opinion! Compare everything...

Hello All,
I would like to give my own opinion regarding the several issues being addressed here regarding the ILF and other good LL.M programs in Europe.

First of all, I must admit that am a current student, therefore, could be accused of partiality or any other not very kind adjective. Also, my intention here is not to create any polemic, just to provide those interested persons with reliable information.

Before coming last year to the ILF, I had myself 5 different LL.M courses to attend, namely Queen Mary, Durham, UCL, Católica and the ILF, being unconditionally accepted by all of them. I faced, thus, the same doubts and lost a bit of my hair and weight, as you are probably doing now, trying to solve the dilemma in which I had put myself.

Well, my decision is now clear for everybody: I came to the ILF!

Several reasons supported my decision: (i) I had a generous scholarship; (ii) I had personally visited the institute before classes and were pleased with the infrastructure and organization. Also the level of English from the Librarian to the Director was absolutely fine (much better than mine! And I had an IELTS 7.5); (iii) the program could not be compared to any other: The mix of business and law, the possibility to attend more courses, a more comprehensive approach to finance itself and not a parallel topic charmed me considerably; (iv) The quality of the professors: A mix of leading practitioners and successful academics from the Goethe Business School and the Frankfurt Law School really give it a plus; (v) the guaranteed internship in the Frankfurt market, what no other school around does (what already gave me a job, in the middle of the program).

Apart from that, there are many other reasons for applying to it, and accepting your offer, now: (i) great exchange programs with Columbia, Amsterdam and Aarhus Business School in Denmark, giving to many students an opportunity to extend its studies; (ii) the new House of Finance (new ILF facilities) will be nothing but the leading place for Finance in Europe. It is just incredible to see the project, staff and the quality of the place; (iii) as currents students we are constantly providing the direction of the institute with advices, feedback and suggestion to improve it even more.

I can bet that you will be proud to be part of this team if you come! I will be around anyway and you will be able to talk to me and say if I was right or wrong. By the way, Frankfurt is a great city and will certainly compete with London and Paris really soon as the place for finance in Europe.

It is just an advice, though! Everybody must be mature enough to assume and support its decisions. Never forget that nobody will make your studies perfect for you. It is a matter of dedication, patience, hard working, whichever LL.M you decide to attend. The ILF is just special, being new, in Frankfurt, and whatever else...

Hope to see you guys around!

Rafael

wow, Rafael... that was wonderful post! I hope that we all after some time will be as enthusiastic about the programme and ILF itself as you are! It seems that it really worth!
Good luck to all in taking decisions - hope you will make the best one for yourselves!:)

Hey all,

I would like to say that, although I had really high chances of getting admitted to top UK universities, I didn't even apply for them, because
-first of all I believe that the LLM in finance at ILF has a unique structure offering real specialization in finance without setting aside law (it is a systematic approach of law and finance), which means that it is preferable to any other LLM (they only concentrate on legal aspects) and to an MBA for lawyers at least. I think that at least in Europe it is the only one.
-secondly, the programme includes a variety of courses -you should take the exam in 5 per semester-, but you can attend more or all courses (around 15 offered each semester) and benefit the most of their content and the Professors or Doctors giving the lectures. As far as I know this is not the case in other LLMs where the the program is predetermined
by the faculty and you usually attend four courses throughout the whole year.
-thirdly, the programme has quite strict admission requirements. The pool of students this year comes all around the world and most of them have ranked first- or among the top students) at their graduations, some have already another master, some used to work in well- known law firms and banks.
-and many other reasons, such as the internship, the new extra- modern facilities at the new campus of finance, the opportunity to learn a new language while staying in Frankfurt, - etc.

London is for sure the financial center of Europe, but Frankfurt is doing really well in following. London, Paris, Frankfurt are all some kind of financial centers-larger or smaller-.In addition, at ILF you acquire knowledge that can
give you the opportunity to get a really good job in any country. Even if Frankfurt is not the biggest financial center, ILF provides u with knowledge that gives u good access to any financial center.

So, that is my opinion ..my choice was made after advice from my professors and some well-known practitioners in my country.
And don't forget that ILF exists since five years and it is for sure the top LLM in Germany and gaining reputation all around the world. I think it makes the difference in the LLM market and its future can be foreseen.

PS. Alexia, as far as the structure is concerned, each semester you have to take the exam in 5 courses and the exams form depends on the professor-it can be essay questions, some multiple choice-! Don't be that anxious..you will find everything concerning specifically the courses in class...even if your system is different, you will manage..the key word is hard-working.

hallo.my name is stavros and i work in greece for a consultng firm....i have made an application for ILF and i have received a pre-acceptance letter from DAAD for a scholarship..that is the reason why i decided to try for the LLM,,,my only question is how easy is for someone with business background to acieve an LLM and to find a job in Frankfurt (surely not as a lawyer but as a financial consultant or an auditor)...Also do you know after how much time they send you the results for the application (i wait from the last week of March).....
thank you

Just got in off of the waitlist !! ... applied back in October : )
I guess there might still be hope for others on the waitlist, unless I was the last admittee : )

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Mr. Lawyer!
I'm actually torn between the ILF LLM and the MLB at Bucerius ... are you familiar with the program, and if so, any insight on why you would choose ILF LLM or the MLB. One concern for me is that while Bucerius is the #1 ranked law school in Germany by sources such as Karriere and Der Spiegel, no one in the world knows what an MLB is. Comments from ALL are welcome!

Don't give to much importance for the title of your degree, but the quality of it.

I would pick up the ILF instead of Bucerius for basic 3 reasons:

1) Frankfurt is the German Centre for Finance (not comparable to Hamburg);
2) You have a really international group, stronger lectures and more exclusive facilities;
3) The Internship program guarantees you a placement in the Frankfurt Market.

Also, the Goethe Business School (same university) is the best in Germany for Finance. The Law School is so well ranked too. The ILF would be a bit of both with extra (top) professional lectures.

Finally, I never listen complains about the quality of the ILF, but regarding the MLB, I had listened some.

Think about...

Hi All,
Its gud hear the positive response from ppl who have been and expereinced ILF. I knw the there can be no job guarantee even after finishing your course from the bestest of the Univ, but what are the chances of the ILF degree being recognised or treated at the same footing as like a degree from UK or US??

Further places like UK and US do offer part time jobs to students to at least fund thier living expenses. I am not too sure abt the situation in Germany.

Would be great to have the thoughts of all of you all on these issues.

Cheers,
Indlaw

Hello Everybody

It is really a nice idea to join Institute for law and finance. Specially since I am a student and know a lot about the program, I strongly recommend to everybody who is interested having LLM.

I would prefer not to talk much about it since the program by itself is self explanatory. May be you can get similar program elsewhere in the world. But I can 100% guarantee you there is no program that exactly resembles ILF.Some of the reasons behind this fact is
-almost 95% of lecturers are practitioners
-generous scholarship award
-internships in different big law firms, banks, accounting firms which helps to establish good career contact
-accepts both Law and Economics/Business students irrespective of their working experience and any other background
-small student body...

These are not the only benefits that you might get here. Still there are unmentioned hidden benefits of ILF.


Regards,

Fasil Mekonnen Alemu (Nationality Ethiopian)

As an student in Germany, you may work part-time. In the US it won´t be possible at all.

If you take the full-time LL.M program, I think you won´t find time for that, though.

Regarding the importance and fame of the Institute, I may say that they are really strong in Germany already. The likelihood for getting more and more recognized abroad is really high. Specially now with the House of Finance.

However, the admission is getting really really (really!!!) selective and tough. I would apply if you have a strong background in comparison with your peers.

While I was surfing on the website of ILF, I realized that in the previous years other than 2007-2008, the size of the classes is about 30 students each year... What is the reason for this? Is this because of the tough selection procedure or the institute has just started to gain popularity?

Also for law graduates, please current student mates, tell us which finance lectures do not need fundamental finance or mathematics knowledge? I am afraid not to be able to deepen in financial law while struggling with financial mathematics or so. What do you recommend?

Thanx in advance...

The reason for that is simple:

The annual intake is no more than 40! The structure of the Institute up to this year could/would not sustain more than 40 students without prejudices for the quality of the program.

The idea is to have great lectures for a small pool of students, enhancing contacts and the learning process.

On ILF´s new house, the House of Finance, the intake may be bigger, but I don´t know it precisely.

Regarding your intention to avoid maths, I would say: It is more or less impossible. Still, Monetary Policy and Financial Regulation and Principles of Economics won´t be that hard on this regard. Avoid Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting, for sure!!

On the second semester the thing become a bit more complicated, but on Financial Markets and Institutions and in Risk Management you may find yourself in a safe position.