Hi, I have been admitted to Berkeley Law school and I woud like to attend a summer program to prepare my transition to the LL.M year.
Unfortunately academic year will start on 9th August so I have to discart a lot of summer programs (like Duke).
What do you think about BU and USC summer programs?

Hi, I have been admitted to Berkeley Law school and I woud like to attend a summer program to prepare my transition to the LL.M year.
Unfortunately academic year will start on 9th August so I have to discart a lot of summer programs (like Duke).
What do you think about BU and USC summer programs?

I've been to the USC Summer Program; it was quite a lot of fun, but it doesn't really prepare you for an LLM i guess; you are only occupied with law by 50%; legal wrting is a 3 hour course; that's it. You will look at law firm offices, make excursions, meet people: But from a preparation perspective and considering the costs its not really worth it.

I've been to the USC Summer Program; it was quite a lot of fun, but it doesn't really prepare you for an LLM i guess; you are only occupied with law by 50%; legal wrting is a 3 hour course; that's it. You will look at law firm offices, make excursions, meet people: But from a preparation perspective and considering the costs its not really worth it.

I've also been to USC Summer Program, it was absolutely one of the greatest experiences i've ever had.

First, we had classes everyday from Mon.-Fri.; which included Business Law, Civil Law, Criminal Law, Procedures, Contracts, Negociation, etc.
Those topics almost included all the subjects we interested in, instructors (who were very reputable professors in USC LAW) went through details of each subject, distributed outlines we would be covered; we sometimes had legal english classes, which were instructed by experience professors of USC Educational School, made us getting familiar with legal terms and vocabularies, as well as adequate legal writing and reading practice.
you can "win at the first step" after having those summer courses, for the students who didnot take summer, always felt confused in choosing courses and difficult to catch up the classes in first semeser.

Second, we got tons of fun activities at USC law. we sometimes went to law firm or court room after class; or went to baseball/ basketball game in the evening; or visited museum in the weekend, ect.. moreover, we always got fantastic lunch for free.

Third, Law staff at USC are soooooo nice, we got on very well with each other like a family. Of course, we met lots of great people at USC Law, like judges, lawyers, law gra., etc.

well, it recalls me too much memories at USC, which was teriffic~ anyways, I love that summer at USC LAW.

I am currently a member of USC Law LLM 2010 class, and joined the USC Law SLE 2009. Let me briefly introduce our summer program!

SLE program consists of two components: 1) Introduction to US law and 2) Legal English.

US law class is held in the morning every week day. The course adopts an omnibus type, and so you will have four or five lecturer during the session in accordance with the topics. Since the class covers various topics in Americal legal system, it is useful and concise as an introduction.

Legal English course is held in the afternoon three times a week. By using carefully prepared material, you can learn "vivid English" with a lot of fun.

During the summer program, the program authority provides various interesting events such as court and law firm tours or Dodger game tour. Also, you could apply to a dorm on campus, where many summer classmates live. Those events and the living environment would enable you to make friends with international friends from all over the world.

If you still consider USC SLE, I would strongly recommend it for the reasons above.

I am currently a member of USC Law LLM 2010 class, and joined the USC Law SLE 2009. Let me briefly introduce our summer program!

SLE program consists of two components: 1) Introduction to US law and 2) Legal English.

US law class is held in the morning every week day. The course adopts an omnibus type, and so you will have four or five lecturer during the session in accordance with the topics. Since the class covers various topics in Americal legal system, it is useful and concise as an introduction.

Legal English course is held in the afternoon three times a week. By using carefully prepared material, you can learn "vivid English" with a lot of fun.

During the summer program, the program authority provides various interesting events such as court and law firm tours or Dodger game tour. Also, you could apply to a dorm on campus, where many summer classmates live. Those events and the living environment would enable you to make friends with international friends from all over the world.

If you still consider USC SLE, I would strongly recommend it for the reasons above.

why do you want do a summer program??? the best professor aren't teaching during summer time. and all the students are on vacation. i think, you can spend your money for better things.

why do you want do a summer program??? the best professor aren't teaching during summer time. and all the students are on vacation. i think, you can spend your money for better things.

In the USC SLE program, you will have a chance to practice Legal Writing ("IRAC" method) in addition to spoken English. Also, the chance to improve writing skill is not limited to the summer program. You could take Legal Writing course in your school.

I need to improve my writing

I need to improve my writing

This is a pretty important issue to consider and it should not be underestimated, in particular if you do not feel confident about your legal writing skills. If you come from Canada, India, the UK or have a good English level for whatever reason, this is not an issue; but it certainly is for most others.

In most LLM programs you attend the "normal" lecture type of class, where you take notes, read a lot, but you are never required to write up until the end. It's all input, no written output. In these situations you only face the writing challenge during the final exam at the end of the semester, when there is no time to improve. This was my case, and I have to admit that I struggled a bit with the situation. Since my flaw became painfully apparent during the first semester, I then enrolled in a "colloquium" where students were required to submit papers every week. The course took a lot of my time every week, but the pressure of having to deliver a decent quality paper -together with the unforgiving nature of the professor- really helped me to improve my legal writing. My written English is still not perfect, but it is considerably better than at that time. My best advice would be to try to enrol in a similar course during the first semester.

This being said, I doubt a summer course would help you to improve much your writing. They are too short, their environment is not demanding, their emphasis is normally on teaching you the basics of the American legal thinking, and writing is often only marginally addressed (it may be different in certain programs; I j don't know). This being said, they are a great place to meet people that will be going to other universities, networking and for getting a sense of what awaits you at the LLM in a "non threatening" environment. So, I would not qualify them as a waste of money.

A final question for you would be, why wait until the summer? It may be better, and cheaper, to enrol in some form of "advanced" English classes in your country. Be sure to get one where the emphasis is on the writing part.

Good luck!

Only happy to help. I now understand your situation. So, definitively, try go to a summer course and try to enrol in a course with a writing requirement during the first semester of your LLM.

By the way, Georgetown also has a summer course (Foundations of American Law or something like that), which may prove useful in networking iwth LLMs from the east coast. Sorry to keep coming with the networking aspect, but I think it is one of the most valuable things you can gain from the LLM experience.

Only happy to help. I now understand your situation. So, definitively, try go to a summer course and try to enrol in a course with a writing requirement during the first semester of your LLM.

By the way, Georgetown also has a summer course (Foundations of American Law or something like that), which may prove useful in networking iwth LLMs from the east coast. Sorry to keep coming with the networking aspect, but I think it is one of the most valuable things you can gain from the LLM experience.