Hi everyone,
Is there anyone from Africa also applying for any of the LL.M. programs in the US? So far I am seeing none. African brothers and sisters, are you there?

Hi everyone,
Is there anyone from Africa also applying for any of the LL.M. programs in the US? So far I am seeing none. African brothers and sisters, are you there?

Yes My big brother !You have asked a good and sensible question. I always ask myself this question. It seems we are too complecent and comfortable with our local/home profession. As such, we feel it is irrelevant to do LLM or New York Bar. My fellow Africans; please use this forum to update your skills in the legal industry.Let's go out there to do the New York Bar and the UK bar / LLMs. I want you see you on this educative forum.

Yes My big brother !You have asked a good and sensible question. I always ask myself this question. It seems we are too complecent and comfortable with our local/home profession. As such, we feel it is irrelevant to do LLM or New York Bar. My fellow Africans; please use this forum to update your skills in the legal industry.Let's go out there to do the New York Bar and the UK bar / LLMs. I want you see you on this educative forum.

Yes I am a prospective candidate for the New York bar 2012. And I am inclined to say but not conclusively that our fellow African brothers and sisters are not interested in this forum. Take a few minutes and browse through the other continenets and see how students and professors are contributing. But you rarely see any African scholar or professor contributing on LLMGUIDE. How can we introduce some of them to this website?

Hey Africans,

The LLM is a good program, depending on whether your coming to the USA as an international student - ready to go back home after the program or whether your planning to stay in the USA.

Most LLM programs are ment for foriegn students or legal practitioners from outside the USA. However some american trained lawyers also return to school and take LLM programs to specialize..

Just know which LLM program u want to take and your status in the USA. LLM programs in Taxation/ security transactions/ family law/ IP/ other commercial transaction are usually taken by american students or practioners, while general LLM programs like Comparative law, International Law etc are taken by International students. Some schools limit courses available to International students (this is from a personal experience, i joined a University for an LLM in Comparative Law - tried to change to Family law after getting into the USA but was unsuccessful). My university couldnt let me.

However, No matter which LLM program you decide to take, if your planning to take the NY BAR Exam to enroll as an attorney in USA, you can opt to take courses that are examined by the Bar in addition to your core courses. I did the same thing and actually sat for the NY Bar exam and passed. The american Legal system is different from common law sytem in some ways, so as a foriegn trained lawyer, you need to be strategic in the courses you take to be able to understand the USA legal system. Although its common law, believe me, law interpretation (evidence law interpretation) legal coding, code reading, law application is different. Its always good to be aware of that and take courses in a strategic way.

I was able to take the NY bar and passed partly due to my planning while pursuing LLM in USA and also the zeal to really understand the USA legal system.

If you have questions about this, send me an email. Though i came to USA as an international student, i was able to change status. Right now I am setting up my career in the USA. It takes time for us.

Advise: Its not easy at all, but if you really want it, you can have it, though a lonely road in a foriegn country.

Would you please be kind enough to send me your email address for a very important discussion in relation to your post/article? My kind regards.

Hi guys,
What do you think of univ of Maryland?
Plz can you share your experience? School u went to, quality of education there.
What importance can we giveth the school ranking?
Thanks for sharing.

Hey camerooninfo, I too am from Cameroon. I think this ''African applicants'' group is a good idea. I have heard great things about the University of Maryland. Most of the ll.m graduates i know went to American University.I think it all depends on the area of law you you want to specialize in. I chose Cardozo law because they have a great IP program-top 5 in the US.

1. First of all, Im not an African applicant for an LL.M. Im a law professor in the U.S.

2. I write because I have ideas about how African prospective LL.M. students might get in touch with other African prospective LL.M. students (and with current African LL.M. students, and with African LL.M. graduates).


Information Through EducationUSA

3. In each African country (and indeed in virtually every country in the world), the U.S. State Department has representatives or affiliates responsible for assisting non-US students in that country who want to pursue degree programs in the U.S. This U.S. State Department-sponsored network is referred to as EducationUSA, and has over 400 Advising Centers that service international students in about 200 countries and territories around the world. You can find information about each Advising Center at www.educationusa.info/centers.php.

4. Prospective LL.M. students in different countries can contact EducationUSA Advisers for information and assistance in applying for LL.M. programs, funding information (including Fulbrights), student visas, and other areas.

5. EducationUSA can also put you in touch with other LL.M. applicants from your own country, who may also have gone to EducationUSA for advice. Furthermore, EducationUSA can put you in touch with people from your home country who have returned home after completing their LL.M. degree in the U.S. These people may be lawyers in your home country, government officials, law teachers, or engaged in other work. But, those LL.M. graduates will certainly be able to offer you guidance.

6. EducationUSA administers Fulbright and other scholarships. So, EducationUSA can put you in touch with Africans who have received Fulbright awards for their LL.M. degrees in the U.S., whether these Africans are from your home country or from another country.

7. In the last couple of years, I have visited or given presentations about U.S. Legal Education at EducationUSA offices (at, for example, U.S. Embassies), in Liberia, Ghana, Uganda, Botswana, Cameroon, and Kenya. I have met or attended conferences with U.S. officials / staff who work EducationUSA offices in many other countries in all parts of Africa. Furthermore, LL.M. students from many African countries have been in the LL.M. prong ram I formerly directed. I know for certain that there are many resources within many or perhaps all African countries where you as LL.M. applicants may be able to get solid, helpful information that will serve you well as you apply for your LL.M., get admitted, choose which school to attend, acquire scholarship or other funding, perform well in your program, graduate, and reach your career objectives. (Keep in mind that people you meet now, even before you apply, may become valuable assets even after you graduate and embark on your career.)


Information from Law Schools

8. If you contact a specific law school LL.M. program in the U.S., the LL.M. program should be willing to put you (and other applicants) in touch with current LL.M. students and LL.M. graduates. If requested, the LL.M. program can easily send the applicants name and e-mail address to current LL.M. students and graduates, who will in turn contact the applicant. The applicant can then ask those people whatever they want. Those people might also put you in touch with others whose feedback you might appreciate.

9. Communicating with LL.M. students and graduates referred by the LL.M. program is not the same as communicating with LL.M. students and graduates you may meet through a non-school route. But, contacts through the school may be a good start. You will certainly want as many viewpoints as possible. And, you will want to hear both positive and negative comments about the school and its program, and not just the positive!


Information Through LL.M. Roadmap

10. LL.M. Roadmap: An International Students Guide to U.S. Law School Programs (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2011) (624 pages) (www.LLMRoadMap.com) (my new book) has several sections relevant to locating people from an applicants home country who can provide helpful information (and maybe even become a networking asset).

11. LL.M. Roadmap discusses different ways that applicants can locate, for example, African lawyers with U.S. law degrees (from any U.S. school), African students at U.S. schools, and even African LL.M. applicants (who may not read LLM Guide blogs). Obviously, you can learn a great deal from such contacts of your own nationality, who can assist in the admission process, but also who can help as you proceed through your LL.M. program and after you graduate with your LL.M. degree.

12. Strategies include, as mentioned above, asking the LL.M. office at U.S. schools to put you in contact with currently enrolled Africans LL.M. students and with African LL.M. graduates of that school. LL.M. programs would ordinarily be happy to make such connections. You can also access www.Westlaw.com, www.Lexis.com, www.Martindale-Hubbell.com, and other online databases (some free, some by subscription) and search for, for example, African lawyers holding LL.M. degrees from U.S. law schools. You might be surprised at the number of lawyers in your city or country holding LL.M. degrees from U.S. schools that interest you, or who graduated from other schools you may not even have considered before!


Note About Scholarship or Other Funding

13. Some EducationUSA offices offer prospective students grants to help the students pay for expenses associated with their LL.M. These EducationUSA Opportunity Grants pay for test and test preparation fees (including English language proficiency tests such as TOEFL), transportation for in-country testing, LL.M. application fees (includes courier fees), U.S. visa and visa application fees (including transport to U.S. Embassy) and SEVIS fees, postage, transcript translations and certifications, international phone-fax-internet to communicate with schools, transportation to/from U.S., advanced English lessons, books, a one-time settling-in allowance and a possible top-up toward tuition. Opportunity Grants may not exceed $10,000 USD. For more information, contact the EducationUSA Advising Center nearest to you. www.educationusa.info/centers.php.


Final Note

14. Through the contacts above, you can begin to build a network of African LL.M. voices, through the mechanism of your choice a blog on LLM Guide, listserve, personal meetings if possible, or through some other means. Certainly you will be able to communicate with each other via e-mail, to help bridge the transnational gap that spans the African Continent, and then to help bridge the transnational gap between Africa and the U.S.


Good luck as you proceed!

LLMRoadMap
(www.LLMRoadMap.com) (Twitter @LLMRoadMap)