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It is really difficult to get into the SJD program at Stanford, specially if you are not graduated from Stanford LLM or Spils. I have few friends from Stanford LLM and Spils who were not accepted... The number of seats is really small, less than 15 students per year for each LLM program, Spils and SJD classes. You should consider the Spils first and than the SJD. If you have a good academic background and a scholar resume you may be admitted to Stanford spils. In your situation, I would apply to all to schools that meet the requirements of the scholarship and than decide.

As far as I know, you need to get into the SPILS program in order to apply for the JSD at Stanford later. And with no doubt it's very competitive.

Also, I think it's wrong to seek a "top school" but "relatively weak" in your interest of fields. Because for SJD/JSD, the most important thing is your academic supervisor. It would make your chance even lower with your strategy because that certain law school might not be able to find a suitable supervisor for you, and thus could not accomodate you at all.

Good luck!

Richard, I just finished the LLM in Stanford. I remember they had discussions about requiring the SPILS for the JSD. If you say this is the requirement, probably you are right, they now included this requirement, which was not true when I joined Stanford in 2006. I totally agree with your argument about the importance of studying in a school that is strong in your field. However, in his position, I would be somewhat broader in applying for top schools to avoid losing the scholarship. As we both know, the application process is crazy sometimes... you can be a very good candidate and still not get a seat in one of the schools you really want... but, again, I totally agree with you. All best!

Hi
I am a french law student intending to apply for LLM in Stanford.
I read that Stanford requires at least two years of professional experience, can someone confirm if this is true or is the Univerisity prone to do some exceptions for people with one year professional experience?
thanks

Yes, 2 years of experience is a requirement. Virtually the University could make some exceptions, but this is very rare, considering that other students with more than 2 years of experience would be competing with you. When I was admitted I had 4 1/2 years of experience and I was one of the younger LLMs in my class. Just one LLM was younger than me, with 2 1/2 years of experience.

As a SPILS alumni, I can share that the SPILS/JSM program admits 12 students per year (exceptionally 13 in my year).
I have not heard of non-SPILS students admitted in the Stanford JSD. Last year, 6 SPILS students out 9 applicants (the others did return straight to their practice as attorneys or public servants) were admitted in the JSD.
Furthermore, I confirm, as indicated by Gloss, that all people admitted in the 2 LLMs and the JSM program have significant work experience (note that for the SPILS, time spent doing a clerkship in a national supreme court or completing a PhD/JSD in your home country has been taken into consideration in the past).

Yes, 2 years of experience is a requirement. Virtually the University could make some exceptions, but this is very rare, considering that other students with more than 2 years of experience would be competing with you. When I was admitted I had 4 1/2 years of experience and I was one of the younger LLMs in my class. Just one LLM was younger than me, with 2 1/2 years of experience.