I have a JD from UCD. Does anyone know of a good LLM program for an aspiring academic? I'm looking at PhD and LLMs...LLM would be in Critical Legal Studies, having something to do with immigration, race and cultural studies. Anyone know which schools have good LLMs where I could do this stuff? TIA.

Dear Aspiring Academic,

Your questions really strike to the core of what it is that many of us thinking about 'going-into' the academia are pondering over, and as such the following answers are given with the fullest of sympathy.

(i) "Does anyone know of a good LLM program for an aspiring academic?"

Here you are most likely going to end up in the 'reputation' vs. 'specialisation' argument which can be traced over several entries on this site. Its a tough question and everybody has an opinion. Mine is that the reputation of the school where you go to does matter insofar as it might make your future job applications that little bit easier, however a name can't ever make up for poor performance, so it really boils down to personal academic success - and that depends on a huge range of factors not only to do with reputation, but also with other opportunities both within and outside the LLM curriculum.

(ii) I'm looking at PhDs and LLMs

Here you need to really differentiate between the two and do some research on which programs provide a 'stepping-board' into a doctorate - its not always certain that all LL.M.s do that! Also again - doing a PhD (or SJD, JSD, whatever the title is) is quite a substantial commitment to further study, so you might want to think about where you would feel comfortable living for the next three to five years (including the LLM).

(iii) "LLM would be in Critical Legal Studies, having something to do with immigration, race and cultural studies."

I doubt whether you will find a LLM marketed as an LLM in CLS (correct me please if I'm wrong). It would also seem a bit contrary to the movements 'roots' (LL.M.s usually totaling up to 50K-70K a year). Also, if you are interested in doing a PhD afterwards, and as you seem to have some specific areas of interest, then I would advice you to check out which authors in the CLS movement are working on those issues. Also you should bear in mind that some of the scholars working on 'critical' dimensions of similar social issues might be situated outside law faculties (thinking abou the PhD specifically). E.g. the Rhetoric department at UC Berkley is doing some very interesting work. That said, an easy answer might be something on the lines of - "go to Harvard"! Got everything - lock, stock and two smoking barrels!

Sorry if the reply doesn't give any substantial advice, but my honest opinion is that it would be impossible to simply list names of schools considering your aspirations.

Best of luck!

My advice would depend on one important question: what is the country in which you wish to work?

If it is in the US, then I would be happy to recommend any of the top tier law schools. Michigan in particular is an excellent program (and does have a number of interdisciplinary courses on offer).

If, on the other hand, you want to work in practically any other country in the world, then an LLM will not really be sufficient. My advice would be to enrol in a PhD. It is getting harder and harder to get an academic job with a coursework based LLM. Also, I would only recommend a PhD in law from a European or Canadian institution. PhDs (JSDs) in law in the US have, from those I've spoken to, a reputation of being poorly supervised.

I hope this helps.

i generally agree with the advice that has been given by the two people before me.

In brief:
If you want to complete a LLM, you should look at universities like Yale which is more focused towards training academias.

If you are looking at a SJD, then perhaps you would have more flexibility to wander into your area of intended specialisation (which is relatively rare).


Cheers
Greg

for SJD/PhD purposes, I would advise you to go for your LLM in the school where you want to do your SJD/PhD. Since you're interested in CLS, good bets would be Harvard or Berkeley. It also depends what you want to do with your SJD/PhD.

I recently finished my LLM from Harvard and will be doing my SJD there, though I had the option of going to the UK as well. Among the many reasons which decided it for me was the good track record of HLS SJD candidates in the ultra-competitive U.S. teaching market. This year alone, two of them are going to Chicago and two are going to Georgetown on tenure-track positions. Although generally SJDs in law I think are not as well-regarded as the traditional PhD, SJDs from the usual top tier schools, as a relatively recent trend I think are in good positions to place their own candidates. I can't speak for other schools, but at HLS, SJD candidates receive very good supervision and are offered lots of opportunities for intellectual engagement around the university.