Hi everyone!
I'am a graduate student from tunisia and i think about applying for an LLM in UEA in Norwich; I'am particularly intrested in the courses offered( islamic finance, project finance, oil and gas law...this combination is only found in norwich law school!!!) and the accommodations offered by the School are excellent....
So can you please telle me; how good is an LLM from UEA? will the diploma be worth something in the employment market? Are there any alternatives or better choices for me ( I graduated first of my promotion in the masters' program in my law school, is this enough to be accepted in a more perstigious law school)?
Thank you for your help....

One word-useless. If you want to do Islamic Finance you should do a certificate from the Securities and Investment Institute (basically the FSA). Highly regarded and soon will be made compulsory similar to Level 3 certificates ir securities or corp finance. They are kind of the same as series 7/17 in the US. I am doing it right now myself as increasingly dealing with Middle Eastern investors...not difficult but tough to remember Arab terminology as I do not speak the language. You can take exam on any date and get an immediate result, will also allow you to become an associate member of a prestigious financial society

Gotta agree with Banking. I think that an LLM from UEA is close to useless. Even if what you want is to follow an academic path, I'd say that you should look for a more well-regarded law school. From your post, I think you may have the qualifications required...

If an LLM from UEA is "useless" or "close to useless", what about the same qualification from many other law schools in the UK, say, those below the Top 10, or even Top 20 -- all together amounting to about 70-80 of them? Can they all be similarly evaluated? If so, should their LLM programmes be all closed down -- because they are more or less "useless"? If not, one should be more specific about why a UEA LLM is of such a low quality.

Hi tnuchpiam.

Im afraid our (or at least mine) rating of UEAs LLM as useless has been misunderstood. I think that an LLM from UEA is useless from a law firm recruiters perspective and I think most people in this forum have a law-firm-focused career. Youve got to admit that UEA isnt known on a worldwide basis. Of course, the same happens with a lot Top10-20 law schools, such as Aberdeen, Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Durham, Leeds, Edinburgh, Bristol, Birmingham or Warwick (just to quote some).

Its not that these universities arent good (I think theyre really good. In fact, Im applying to Aberdeen, Nottingham and Edinburgh next year because of that), but they arent very famous overseas. I can assure to you that if I were to show up before a recruiter in my home country with an LLM from UEA (or from any of the other universities I mentioned), theyd think that I wasnt a very good student and that I ended up choosing a second-tier university just to have a plausible excuse to travel around Europe for an year. Its sad but true!!! Oxbridge and London apart, all other law schools are seen with a certain prejudice overseas.

However, the universities I mentioned (and many others that arent on that list) are seen within the UK as top-notch law schools. I believe UEA follows the same path. It isnt known overseas (in my home country, I dont know anybody whos heard of it before), but its considered a relatively good law school in the UK although it doesnt fall into the same tier as some others like Nottingham, Durham, Birmingham, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, which, in my modest opinion, are higher up!

So, its just a matter of points of view. If you look from a recruiters point of view, Id say that an LLM from UEA is close to useless (based on my experience at least). Nonetheless, if you have other plans, like following an academic path after the LLM, UEA may be a good choice (I still think there are much better options tough and that UEA, unless you get some excellent grades, won't help you that much).

Just to close this post, therere many LLMs out there (and Im not quoting names or pointing at any specific university), and it includes US, that are just after money from the many overseas students that are desperately seeking professional qualifications in view of the growing competition to secure a place at some big law firm!

I kindly apologise if Ive caused any anger felling to all of those in this forum that have been to UEA or who are planning to go there! Its just my opinion, based on what Ive seen in more than six years working at several law firms!!!

Regards,

beicon,

You make some interesting points here, but I find some of your claims difficult to fathom. First, you say that all law schools except 'Oxbridge and London' are 'seen with a certain predjudice oversees.' How do you know this? And what do you mean by 'predjudice' and 'London'? I would think that there are many universities in London that few people oversees would have heard of -- Thames Valley is a good example. Second, why on earth are you applying to universities that you know your country looks upon with 'predjudice' -- i.e. with dislike based on non-rational considerations, to use the Oxford dictionary definition? Surely you will be wasting your money.

Jim

Hi Jim. Thank you for responding!

First of all, when I said London, I meant University of London. I totally agree with you that therere many universities in London that nobody has never heard of and probably never will.

Second, my statement was based on my experience. Ive been working in Brazil as a solicitor for more than six years. Throughout this period Ive made some friends who are currently working (or who have worked) in the UK, US, Belgium, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Netherlands (I think this is it!) and theyve all told me that in terms of UK universities recruiters in such countries are only familiarised with Oxbridge and University of London (mainly LSE, UCL, KCL and QM not many mention SOAS or Birbeck. Even QM isnt that popular from what Ive heard).

They all tend to like US universities better. And thats something that will continue for generations, because when I say here (in my home country) that Im applying to UK universities only, they all ask in surprise: Why? Why dont you go to the US?. When they dont say that, they say: Oh, you want Cambridge or Oxford?. As if the UK was formed only by England!!! I know a guy who went to Oxford and had a really hard time getting a job at a US-based law firm afterwards!!! Oxford, for Christs sake! These firms (and this is something Ive heard from a NY recruiter) would much rather get a guy with an LLM from Duke or Georgetown. These are great law schools indeed, but Oxford is Oxford, period! You can say that at Oxford youll learn English law and that wont really be useful in the US. But these one-year internships are much more focused on networking than anything else (my opinion here, please dont shoot me!).

I wont even mention all the sh Ive heard about universities outside the UK (like France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany etc), because its really disappointing. I feel like people think the world has been reduced to US and England (not UK)!

But hey, that's Ive experienced during those six years. So if theres anybody out there who can prove me wrong, please do, because Id be much happier if I knew that people werent that narrow-thinking.

And I believe the definition of prejudice that you got from the Oxford Dictionary really fits what I was trying to say. In my opinion, the dislike of recruiters for some universities (whether in the UK or anywhere else in Europe) is kind of irrational! I wont even use the universities that Ill apply to as example, but who would dare saying that Durham, Warwick, Bristol or Manchester arent good universities? One may say that prefers Oxbridge or UoL, and that's ok, no problem at all, but saying that these universities arent even worth the investment (like Ive heard from a recruiter in Brazil) is a bit too much and non-rational, dont you think!?

Now, regarding your question on why on earth Im applying to Nottingham, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, I have the following comment: Im not planning to return! Ill probably apply to a PhD afterwards thereby it isnt that much of a problem for me the fact that the recruiters here dislike those universities.