Hi,

I am a U.S. trained lawyer and I recently got accepted at both University College London and University of California at Berkeley.

I want to study Private International Law and Comparative Law in this subject but I don't know how the two compare. The fact that they are both in different jurisdictions does not matter to me since the subject is International Law and Comparative Law which is basically the same everywhere.

Thank you for your help.

Berkeley all the way...

No hesitation whatsoever.

If the only consideration were reputation, I might vote for Berkeley.

However, being a U.S.-trained lawyer, you might give UCL a second look simply because, generally, U.S. lawyers don't do domestic LL.M. programs unless it is a tax program or unless you are planning on becoming a law professor.

I fear that the value placed on LL.M.'s by U.S. firms is quite minimal to begin with (and, in that sense, perhaps it doesn't matter which program you do); but, even if Berkeley carries more prestige, it may not do much for you, whereas UCL - even if it is no better in terms of whether U.S. employers care - at least would give you an international experience which could prove valuable in the future.

If youre already an US lawyer, I think an LLM in England might be best for you and second P_Martini's post...