About me:

BA, UCLA, English
MA, UCLA, English
JD, Boston University, Law

I've researched the heck out of this and I want to get an LLM in Criminal Law via distance learning (DL). I've been practicing immigration law in the USA for a few years but my passion has always been criminal defenseI just fell into a decent job with a great boss and stayed on. I want to know, if you will, about the degree of difficulty in doing this course. I would go part-time and complete the degree in two years while working. My full-time job is very easy. I graduated from law school in the top 20% of my class and I received a 3.9 GPA in my Masters. How do-able is this LLM? Is it very hard? Is it comparable to my JD (which was hell)? It is easier than my JD? What do you think? What advice could you offer? All suggestions / information / criticism would be helpful as I am an American and somewhat (but not totally) unfamiliar with the British educational system. Thank you.

I'm only graduating this semester from my BA, but I've been on exchange for a semester to WASHU Law School, so I know what you mean about the JD being hell. I am also not sure what an LLM in the UK will entail precisely but as I am planning to go there next year I have tried to do some research on it and it seems that it is pretty comparable to the US way of teaching. For you it will matter whether you take English Criminal Law or International, obviously.

- I'm not sure what guidance you get with distance learning, but if you get some classes through internet for example it would be quite doable.
- Getting a 3.9 at any top-tier JD is not easy, so you shouldn't have to worry about the level of education in London. Depending on which London University you are talking about, they are either comparable or a little above Boston in terms of ranking (or at least, in the same league but higher anyway).
- Since you'll be doing 2 years in distance learning, meaning you will take half credits each year, I think it should be quite doable.
- What also matters is what you want to do with it... Do you want to practice Criminal Law or just learn it? Do you want to go for a 3.8+ GPA? Etc.

Thanks for your well thought reply. You gave me a lot to think about. I am interested in Comparative Criminal Law - something I can use in practice - for example comparing prison systems in the USA vs. UK, etc...so American and English common law would be a start. I'm not interested in International Criminal Law, The Hague, UN, ICJ, etc. I want to work for the Office of the Public Defender and my current supervisor will let me work half-time while I complete an internship with them (public defender) this Summer or this Fall. So, I want to practice criminal law, learn it in more depth, and possibly teach it. I definitely don't care about class rankings anymore. I think my undergrad, masters, and JD grades speak for themselves and I would just be happy to get B's or their UK equivalent now. I don't want to kill myself over this.

I guess I put the cart before the horse and should start that internship before I make the LLM commitment...and the University of London International Programmes for law allow one to apply twice a year...which is good. One more thing...I want that little feather in my cap and I wonder if I should work for a while and try for Berkeley or Georgetown (so do this in person and not via distance learning) or even just a lower ranked school in the state where I live for the alumni connections. I live on the other side of the USA from where I got my JD...so I'm torn between these options. First thing is to work (intern) at the Public Defender and go from there.

I'm curious...what do you plan to do once you finish your LLM? And will you be at UCL, King's, Queen Mary, LSE, Oriental & African studies, or some other college within University of London?

Well, as far as I am aware the British system is similar to the American one. In other words, if you go for an LLM, you will end up doing one or two courses in Criminal Law and that's it (much like if you want to become a lawyer in torts in the US your only relevant academic course will be Torts and maybe Civil Procedures). The continental European system may be more what you are looking for, as they are specialized in one field only, but then again, that is civil law.

If you are a disciplined person I don't think distance learning should be a problem. If you think about it, most of the work you do is at home anyway (either reading books, a lot of papers or writing something). It really depends on your personality and on how the program is set up, but again, I am not aware of how a distance learning program is set up so am not the most authoritative person in that field. But my opinion would be that it should not be that difficult for you.

As for your future career, I think the best priorities would be firstly to secure a relevant internship and then to obtain any relevant degree wherever where you did well (even a top-50 or so US university). If I were in your position I would go for the distance option, especially if you can do it during your internship, because you can get done with it while already working or gaining more experience.

As for me, I haven't received all answers yet so am not sure. I'm not interested in SOAS so applied for the other four, and got accepted into Queen and rejected from LSE (grades aren't spectacular and I blame first year ignorance and laziness). Also have an Edinburgh offer. But will see in the coming weeks.

http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/prospective_students/postgraduate/laws/course_outline/comp_crim_just.shtml

Thank You, again!! I linked you to the exact program I'm considering. Now, people will debate this (possibly) until they are blue in the face but the fact is that only one, yes ONE, school in the USA offers an LLM in Criminal Law and that is the State University at Buffalo (not exactly top tier). Nine others claim to have "specializations" and such in it, such as University of Pennsylvania (Ivy), but there are still core courses that have nothing to do with criminal law one must take (correct me if I'm wrong good people).

Atakus - thanks again. If I decide to go down this road I must weigh getting a more general LLM in the USA (possibly more prestigious) against this one which is absolutely perfect as far as what I want to study. And it's not like UOL is chopped liver. One person said it best when they said something like "if you have the good/great UK Uni checked off for the Bachelors go for the good/great American LLM and vice versa." I think that is great advice. Yes, there is only one Berkeley, but it's not like UCLA (my undergrad) and Boston University (my JD) suck.

Also, and I realize I'm getting a bit random, Americans are absolutely fascinated with England...so UOL...distance or not would serve me well, I think. The price difference between the two is huge - so that in part that and my Siberian Husky is why I want to do it via distance.

I know you will do well - after all you got into the two Uni's (London and Edinburgh) that are right after Oxford and Cambridge on the pecking orderand the Cambridge LLM offerings are pathetic (I can see the trolls attacking me now).