Hi!
I'm a German law graduate and will be doing my LLM at King's and will be in London from June on. I'm looking for contacts to other (former or recent) LLM students in London. Can anyone give me some information on my choice of subjects or do you maybe need to get rid of some your old course books?
Is there anyone around from good old Germany who also did the Erstes Juristisches Staatsexamen and would be interested in having contact? I'm trying to find out how intense the workload will be(compared to the Erstes Staatsexamen) as I will be working part-time in London.

Thanks for your replies

Hi! That's a nice surprise - I've also just finished the Erstes Staatsexamen. I haven't decided yet whether to accept the offer from King's or go to Westminster. They're both in London, however, so yes, I'm interested in having contact. Do you already know what to do about accomodation?
Why don't you send me an e-mail (m.bruss@gmx.net), so we can discuss our respective plans.

Hi,

I just graduated from King's LLM last January. I think that the reputation of King's is way better than Westminster's.

As regards the choice of subjects it depends on what you want to do later. I chose the IP / IT course and it was quite interesting.

The star teacher at King's is Pr Whish in European Competition Law. This subject has a reputation for being quite tough but I really think that to attend the lectures is a great experience (I did not register but went to see the lectures).

I think that the workload is a very personal issue and depends on you. It is a research degree and some students only study at the end of the year. Some work quite hard from the beginning to get a merit or a distinction. Some others just want to enjoy London and are mostly interested in getting a pass...

Overall it's a very interesting program and a good way to meet other international students/lawyers.

Best to you two.

Seb

Hi Seb,

thanks for your reply to Laura's enquiry. I'd like to become an entertainment lawyer (that's why I was interested in Westminster's Entertainment Law programme), so I'll probably go for some of the Media Law and Intellectual Property Courses. Thanks for the tip concerning Prof. Whish's class - I find European Law very interesting as well, and I wasn't aware that it was possible to go and see lectures you didn't register for.

Did you do courses only or did you also write an essay? Do you know if it's possible to find a supervisor and decide on the topic of the essay before the LLM programme actually starts? I want to start with my doctorate in a couple of weeks, and I'd like to do an LLM-essay on an aspect of roughly the same subject - synergy effects... ;-)

Kind regards,
Nicky

Dear Nicky,

It appears that you have difficulties deciding between King's and Westminster because you'd like to do Entertainment/Media Law.

Have you considered the LLM programme at LSE? LSE may provide a good compromise. The LLM is highly rated. More importantly, there is also a highly-rated Media MSc Programme at LSE. There are many Media and Law students who take cross-module courses in these fields. Ultimately, you can opt for a LLM specialization in Information Technology and the Law (the closest to Media Law I can think of right now).

Hope that this helps. I'm not a Masters student but some of my friends have made the comments above.

Hi

I'm also interested on entertainment law and it's being a tad tough to decide which LLMs I should apply to. Over here entertainment lawyers are expected to have deep knowledge of IP, IT, Media and Competition law so, to find a course providing the whole lot was my original aim. Nowadays it seems not easy at all.

Both LSE and Edinburgh seem to be more focused on Media/IT than on IP/Competition. On the other hand, KCL, UCL, QM and Manchester's programmes look like more traditional IP LLMs. Westminters' doesn't look worse than the others but, isn't it too down on rankings?

I'll probably apply to all them anyway and make up my mind after collecting the usual bunch of rejections. It might be easier then...

Take care,

Have you considered the LLM programme at LSE? LSE may provide a good compromise. The LLM is highly rated. More importantly, there is also a highly-rated Media MSc Programme at LSE. There are many Media and Law students who take cross-module courses in these fields. Ultimately, you can opt for a LLM specialization in Information Technology and the Law (the closest to Media Law I can think of right now).

"A partner at a large European entertainment law firm who is responsible for recruitment told me the content of the LLM programme is far less important than the reputation of the university. [...] So it might be better to go to one of the top universities. You can't really be wrong there, I guess."

Yep, it looks like that's exactly how things are, Nicky. After IELTS I will apply to LSE, Edin, KC, UCL, QM, Manc and do what I guess each one of us did already or is about to do: aim as high as possible and wait to see what happens.

Good luck!

Just to answer to Nicky (sorry for the delay). The subjects I chose at King's were Industrial and intellectual Property Law as well as Legal Regulation of the Music Industry. I also chose Information Technology Law and Telecommunications Law at Queen Mary. I was satisfied with all of these subjects.

I think that the essay is not an easy choice to make. If I can give you an advice, I think that it represents a very heavy load of work throughout the year. However I think that it is key to get a distinction. A LLM with Merit can be achieved with 4 papers to take but I do not think that it is possible to get a distinction without a well marked essay (anyway from what I've seen last year).

As a distinction is key to a PhD in general...

I think that you can begin to think about approaching your future teachers if you already have ideas of a subject. Everything is possible in life.

Do not hesitate to ask me if I can help you in any way.

Seb

Thanks, Seb!

I'll think about what you said concerning the essay. I don't really need an LLM with distinction for a PhD, I'm going to do my doctorate in Germany. Nevertheless, for my personal vanity I'd like an LLM with distinction, of course ;-)

Cheers,
Nicky

Hi ;) I am currently doing my LLM at Warwick and did my Staatsexamen too. Ich weiss gar nicht warum ich auf English schreibe.

Anyways, work-load is high but it is not comparable to the Staatsexamen at all. Especially since you have plenty of examinations spread around the year.

Depends of course how much you want to profit and how much you will work, but I think you could work part-time. There are a lot of people I know that are doing student and part time jobs.

Laura, I would advice you to accept Kings College. Its much better than Westminster. Westminster is a former polytechnic (Fachhochschule) and ranked very low in Law and other Social Sciences. Check the ranking of Times and Guardian, as well as the Government ones. I have learned here, that they give a lot about rankings !

Good luck

Anyways, work-load is high but it is not comparable to the Staatsexamen at all.

Laura, I would advice you to accept Kings College. Its much better than Westminster. Westminster is a former polytechnic (Fachhochschule) and ranked very low in Law and other Social Sciences. Check the ranking of Times and Guardian, as well as the Government ones. I have learned here, that they give a lot about rankings !

Waiting for King's, any idea on the turn around? Credentials and like to get in?