I am in the process of applying for NYU's general LLM program.  I am currently attending a Tier 2 school, in the top 5%, and on both Law Review and Moot Court.  I have externed for a federal judge and worked as a research assistant.  Right now, I'm trying to decide whether to take an offer from a mid-sized firm here in Los Angeles or take my chances of getting into a top LLM program.  I am hoping to open more doors for myself in regard to academia and/or clerkships by doing the extra year, but I'm not sure it would be worth it unless I get into a top 10 school.  I am curious whether anyone has any ideas on my chances of getting into the program at NYU...any information would help.  It seems that admissions statistics for these programs are essentially nonexistant.

Are you a domestic candidate? From your description it sounds like you are a JD candidate from the states. If thats the case I am really confused why you are contemplating doing a general LLM. It is pretty much the consensus that a general LLM is for international students looking to gain knowledge of american law. For domestic students specialized LLMs are good for gaining more in depth knowledge of a particular topic but generally will not help with career prospects outside of a tax LLM. If i were you I would seriously reconsider getting the LLM especially given that it probably wont really open any more doors for you and it will cost a ridiculous amount of money.

Yes, I am a domestic candidate. Like I said, I am currently attending a Tier 2 law school (Loyola), but I am wanting to clerk (fed circuit) and possibly teach in a few years. Otherwise, I would like to be in a top tier firm. None of those paths are currently open to me right now. My thoughts...if I could get an LLM from a top ten school, those opportunities might be open to me (especially the clerkship), which would obviously open doors to both firms and academia. However, I'm not certain that I feel ok turning down the job offer that I have without some knowledge of my chances at NYU (that is where I really want to go). Unfortunately, I will most likely have to accept/reject before I have a definite answer.

I'm no expert but I dont think getting a general llm is really going to improve your chances at any of those goals. If you are top 5% at your school I would definitely think that top tier firm is not completely out of reach. As for academia, I think a good way to get into that would be to get work experience in a certain area and then shift over to teaching, maybe by being an adjunct professor first. That is of course unless you want to teach in a specialized area of the law in which case an LLM may help. But a general LLM probably wouldn't really do all that much for you, I dont think.

Perhaps you should talk to the career services department at your school as to what a general LLM may be able to offer you. I can tell you one thing though, most any employer will not give nearly as much thought to where you got your LLM as to where you got your JD.