I'm an American interested in applying to the Panthéon-Sorbonne LLM for the coming academic year. Who else is applying? Deadline is end of April, we can share our experiences of the process. Any alumni out there who can give candidates some insight into the program?

Hi there,

Im an alumnus of the LL.M. at La Sorbonne.

First of all some general remarks:
1) Paris I and Paris II are the most reputed law faculties in France, with the people from Paris I saying Paris I is better than Paris II and vice versa.
2) The LL.M. is a programm specially designed for foreigners and therefore easier to get into than the DESS programms (where the number of non-French people is really limited at Paris I or Paris II).
3) the LL.M. is in French and they require a test certifying your level of French (its necessary to speak it well...)

I was personally quite satisfied with the programm. Its a small group (a maximum of tweny students each year). So you get to know the teachers and fellow students really well. In my year (2004-2005), the student body was really diverse and of a high level (the two US students were from NYU and Berkeley). I have the impression that they are becoming more and more selective (the number of applications rise every year). The People of my LL.M. are doing well I have the impression: some of us work at big law firms (Linklaters, Gide, Willkie...), others work as in-house lawyers (Maersk shipping,...) or are doing other things (conseil de la concurrence, PhD's, diplomate...)

The internship is a really interesting aspect of the LL.M., even though I had some trouble finding one (in the end the people from the programm helped me though and I found a stage in a French firm with a strong reputation in international arbitration). Places where people went on stage included: Clifford Chance, Willkie, Shearman&Sterling, ICC, UNESCO...

If you want to stay in Paris and you are already a member of a foreign bar, you can take some kind of special bar exam (a few people of my year took it and passed) which allows you to become a member of the Paris bar. The programm does prepare you in that way that it gives you an overview of
French law.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any more questions, just shoot...

I am a May, 2006 graduate of Georgetown law and am interested in applying to this LLM program. I completed a stage with France Telecom in the International Mergers and Acquisitions department this past summer. However, I only have a 2.9 GPA (.1 off of a B average). I will receive my results to the Virginia bar in late October and currently have a job with a small law firm in DC. Do you think I still have a chance of being accepted to the program? Do you recommend any other LLM programs, such as Assas? Are they equally as competitive? Also, do the letters of recommendation required for the Sorbonne application need to be translated into French? Thank you for your help in this matter.

I'm an Australian solicitor who's been accepted into the LLM course at Panthéon-Sorbonne. Does anybody know if I can still sit for the French bar exam under article 100 by just being admitted as a solicitor rather than to the australian bar as a barrister?

Response to Striker17 and to Herly:

GPA is not decisive, the quality of your school, your lettre de motivation, and your French being equally or more important. More Americans are rejected because of their French (or lack thereof) rather than their academic background. Recommendation letters can be in English. As for other programs to recommend, including Assas, and the so-called "DEA" and "DESS", please refer to the other postings on these boards, which are very informative.

English solicitors (non barristers) sit for the Paris Bar exam all the time, but they operate under article 99 for EU nationals. Would it be different under article 100 for non-EU solicitors? I would suggest calling the Paris Bar and the CNB to inquire. The Paris Bar, because there must be an Australian solicitor/barrister among its members. The CNB because you have to apply thru them anyway: http://www.cnb.avocat.fr/VieProfessionAvocat/VPA_deveniravocat_lesresortissants.php

Your chances of passing the bar exam are good coming from the LLM program, if you put in a couple of months of full time intense studying, considering its passage rate is 5/6 so far.

Good luck