Hello all, Great site and I appreciate all the info. Are there jobs in California for international law LLMs? I am a second-year litigation associate at a big law firm in California getting pigeon-holed into a field I am not interested in. To break out, I am contemplating an LLM in international law / business or even a specialty like European IP. If I get an LLM in the UK, how tough is it to get a job back in California practicing in an international law group? Moreover, what if I stayed in Europe for a while and worked for a firm? Any thoughts? Thanks for any insight

My guess is that if you choose to focus on European law, you'll have a better chance of landing a job on the East Coast (New York/DC). If you focus on Asian law, you'll probably have a better chance in Cal.

Hi travellingesq!

Unfortunately, I can't be of any help to you.I am a law student from India and wish to go to the United States next year for an LLM. Since you are into litigation I think you can help me. My desire is to be a litigator and practice in the US. Could you guide me as to what are the major practice areas for litigation in US? Also, how easy or difficult is it to for a foreigner who wants to be a litigator in US to find a job there? Finally, given my aspirations any particular LLM program that might help me? Please advice.Thanks. Cheers!

I'm not sure on the job prospects for foreign law students who get their LLM in the United States. I work in a litigation department of about 35 attorneys - none of which have their LLM. I can't say for certain whether foreign law grads who obtain LLM's are common, but you could probably check it out by looking at the biggest law firms web sites for those with LLM degrees. I highly recommend going to: http://www.vault.com/nr/lawrankings.jsp?law2005=1&ch_id=242 It has the top 100 firms by prestige, diversity, quality of life etc...

Regardless, if you are intelligent it would come through in your interviews and your networking while an LLM in the U.S.

As far as LLM programs for foreign students, there are 2 ways to go. First, go to the best name school you can - check out the U.S. News and World Report Rankings. Those schools have national clout. If you are not going to go to a top 10 -20 school, then you should pick a school in the city you want to work in. For example my law school was not a top tier one, but I still landed a great job in the same city. The school would not have pull nationally. I'm not sure which have the best LLM reputation though.

Hi travellingEsq!

Thanks a lot for the info. Could you also tell me which are the practice areas that involve the bulk of litigation work in US. This could help me in choosing my subjects for LLM. Also, what is the average starting salary like? I will be grateful for your advice. Thanks so much. Have a nice day.

Starting salary at the "most prestigious" are about $125,000/year for first years, then increasing in 10K to 15K intervals. There are probably about 50-100 firms like that. Then the next pay level is around 90K /year I think. You should go to www.vault.com for the inside info.

Most litigation departments are not further sub-divided into practice groups except in perhaps the biggest firms. The more general practice areas are business litigation, and then: Antitrust ppellate, Including Supreme Court Representation
Aviation Class Action Defense Construction Disputes
Entertainment & Media Environment
ERISA Litigation Government Contracts Health Care Insurance & Mass Torts Intellectual Property International Dispute Resolution and Arbitration International Trade Professional Liability Real Estate Securities Litigation, Tax Litigation, White-Collar Criminal Defense

Hi travellingEsq!

Thanks so much for your prompt reply. If I can ever be of any help to you please do not hesitate. My e-mail id is anurag_14@hotmail.com. Have a nice day.

The truth is that it is possible to enter small or middle-size law firms, but it is extremely difficult to enter the biggest law firms in the US with an LLM degree.

One chance might be that you're from a country with which they have several cases and they just need people to handle these files.

Otherwise, top law firms will only recruit the best law students of the best law schools. Several friends of mine tried it (either from Harvard or Columbia), and only one got in (he was a James Kent Scholar at Columbia, which is the highest recognition at Columbia, i.e. its lowest mark was A- ...). That's just the way it works, unless your father is the best friend of the senior partner of the firm...

Bitsou, and what do you think about international law firms? On websites of some firms, I've seen that they are coming to LL.M. job fairs in the US, in order to recruit for their offices, f.ex. in Europe

If your goal is to work in the US, you're probably luckier than me on that aspect, as you're from an eastern country. I can imagine that US Law firms can be interested in these expanding new markets; the same applies probably even more to Russian or Asian. I would say that you already have a good starting point thanks to your nationality. The fact that you go to Harvard or Columbia will probably not make that much difference (it's maybe easier, or less difficult let's say, to be a top student at Columbia rather than Harvard).

Of course, it's easier to enter international law firms within their european departments. I can imagine that you could be attracting for instance in Paris for law firms such as Clifford Chance or Freshfields as you speak ukrainian, french and english.

Your weak point, independent from your grades, might be that you're young and still don't have a lot of experience (I guess).

Well, if it's so damn difficult finding a job in the US, I don't quiet understand the mad rush to get an LLM from the States given the fact that a US LLM burns one's pocket. Isn't it a real big gamble? Before i read the threads on this website I was under the impression that all that is needed is to firstly, make it to a top notch law school and secondly, to do reasonably well there. Guess it takes a lot more than that.