I'm a 3rd year Canadian law student who has been on the Dean's List throughout law school. I am engaged to an American citizen and we're seriously considering moving to the USA, probably NYC, Chicago or Boston. Normally, getting a job would not be a problem so long as I could pass the bar.

However, I want to practice criminal law and, unlike, say, corporate law, there are significant differences between the legal systems of the two countries. Would an American LLM help? And where should it come from?

Hey GJK. With your law school performances thus far, I can tell you confidentially that there is no need to do an LL.M. in order to get an ideal job practicing criminal law were you to come to the U.S.A.

All that you need to know about criminal law in the U.S. would be learnt by you when you take a state bar exam. What is more important for you to consider is which state bar exam to take--and thus study--because the criminal law of that state would then be your foundation on which to practice criminal law in that state.

Everything else will be absorbed on the job. So there is no need to worry about the details of criminal law as you will be exposed to them when you study for the bar exam and on the job.

Honestly speaking, LL.M. programs in the U.S. is more for people who have not performed as well during law school, for people interested in teaching, or for people who attended law school outside the U.S. or Canada. And You do not seem to fit any of the categories above.

Good luck.