Hi all, I've been a practicing criminal defense atty in the States for 5+ years. I have a fairly unique resume (teaching law in South Korea, studying in Europe during law school, interning at the European Parliament), and my heart is to live and work in Europe/UK. However, my practice area of criminal defense in US courts doesn't, in my mind anyway, obviously translate to European practice. If it does, please tell me: I would much rather move to Europe for a job and not spend the money on an LLM if it's not needed.

For the 2014-15 academic year I'll be a position where I can move to Europe to get an LLM. My end-game would be to turn that degree into a job overseas.

I have two concerns. One, making this financially viable over the long-term. Although I could come home after getting the LLM and basically plug back in to my current gig, I don't want to spend the money if the odds of me getting a job with a European focus are slim-to-none. Fortunately, I should be able to do a one year program without incurring any debt. Has anyone found a job after going to Europe to get their LLM?

And two, which is related, picking a program that puts me in the best position for a job in Europe. While I would probably be most interested in comparative law and human rights law, it would seem to make the most sense to go for ADR or some sort of business law. I live in the Seattle area, so something that might get me in with a Seattle based international corp. (Microsoft, Amazon, etc) would be ideal if I ever wanted to come home. Which program do you think I should be aiming for?

I'm open for any and all thoughts and feedback. Thanks!