Hi all,

I'm a corporate lawyer in Toronto with a JD from Osgoode Hall (2019). After four years in practice, I’m looking to pivot into international arbitration and am considering pursuing an LLM. I’m exploring programs like NYU, Queen Mary, and Geneva’s Graduate Institute.

For those who’ve done an LLM, especially in arbitration, how did it impact your career? Was it worth it to make a switch? Also, any tips on the application process, particularly personal statements or writing samples?

Appreciate any advice!

Hi EmS,

Very nice to see a fellow Canadian on here. I am currently at NYU completing an LLM (Traditional LLM), so while I cannot speak to career impacts, I can give some general advice and comments. I articled in Toronto at an insurance defence firm, and then came directly to NYU to complete the LLM after getting licensed. I received offers of admission from both NYU and Columbia.

I should highlight that you might see a lot of conflicting advice online about the value of the LLM degree, but in my experience, this depends a lot on where you started. For those with American JDs, an LLM is often seen as a way of getting a better institution on your resume, and is frowned upon. However, for international lawyers (Canada included), it seems to be viewed as more of a boon, particularly back home, and for us, back in Canada. I have seen some advice that mention that LLMs are good for pivoting practice areas, but I cannot speak to the truth of this myself.

If you are considering the LLM, it is a very expensive endeavour. NYU and Columbia are around 80k USD this year, which runs up to about 114k CAD when you include incidental fees and textbooks. New York is also very expensive to live in, and our Canadian dollar does not go as far as I would have liked. In light of the high costs, I encourage you to consider only the best universities possible.

The main ranking used in the US is the US World News Rankings, but note that this is very volatile due to methodologly changes, and despite the rankings, there is a pervasive "tier system" that is already engrained in legal culture. This is to say that regardless of the swings year to year in the T14 ranking (Top fourteen, said to be the cutoff for the truly "good" schools), the tiers themselves remain generally consistent:
Tier 1: HYS (Harvard, Yale, Stanford)
Tier 2: CCN (Columbia, Chicago, NYU)
Tier 3: I've heard UVA, Duke, University of Pennsylvania
Tier 4: Northwestern, Berkeley, Michigan
Then other schools within the T14.

While I am not as certain about Tiers 3 and 4, Tiers 1 and 2 are solid, so if you can, try to stay within those. Other schools outside of this may not even be worth considering. Unlike in Canada, law school rankings matter a lot in the US.

NYU offers many different streams of LLM programs, and they specifically offer an LLM in International Business Regulation, Litigation, and Arbitration. You may want to consider this one.

I cannot comment on Geneva's Grad Institute, but I know absolutely nothing about Queen Mary. If you want England, you should likely only consider top tier schools such as Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics, and perhaps King's College London.

My long term goal is to be a legal academic, likely in Canada, so the LLM, and later a JSD, is absolutely necessary for me, but give serious thought as to whether the LLM is worth it for your own goals. A good way to determine whether it would be necessary would be to talk to people in your target market about their thoughts on it. When choosing schools, be sure to browse the faculty pages to make sure the people there have the kind of expertise you are looking for. The LLM may help you be a bit more mobile in terms of where you work, as most of the universities I mentioned are world recognized, so perhaps could open more global opportunities, but as with everything, there are no guarantees.

It is good that you have four years of practice experience. The admissions committees will love that. (Columbia LLM students have an average of 5+ years of practice experience). With more practice experience, your chance of getting a scholarship to help you with the tuition goes up. On the bright side, most of these programs are only 1 year, and can be very enjoyable. See if you can get reference letters from people who have gone to these schools as well. Such letters help immensely.

A lot of advice, I know, but hopefully helpful!

Oh, thank you so much for such a detailed and thoughtful response! It's very helpful to get insight from someone currently going through the process. :)

Your breakdown of the rankings and the "tier system" in the US is especially useful. I've seen some conflicting advice on that, so it’s good to know how much weight they carry.

The financial aspect is a big concern, and I appreciate your transparency about the considerable costs at NYU. It’s definitely something I’ll need to factor in, and I’ll also explore potential scholarships hoping my years of practice give me an edge there!

Your point about talking to people in the target market resonates with me. I’m planning to reach out to professionals in international arbitration to see what their career trajectories look like, and whether the LLM was essential in their transitions.

Overall, I appreciate your sobering advice on this potential path. It's good to be clear about not just the pros but possible cons and caveats..

Thanks again for all the great advice—it’s given me a lot to think about!