Hi everybody!

I've been admitted to both Columbia University and U Penn. What factors should I take into account in order to choose between these two excellent law schools, considering that i would like to stay in the US for a year or two after completing my degree. I'm interested in commercial law, and commercial and international arbitration.

Many thanks for your help.
Best regards.

When did you get your acceptance from Columbia ?
When was your application complete ?

I would go to Columbia.

I received my e-mail of admission from Columbia on January 17th and the letter i got several days after was also dated Jauary 17th. My complete file e-mail from Columbia was dated December 8th, 2005.

Unlike Yale, Stanford or Harvard, Columbia reviews application files on a rolling basis, which is clearly the worst admission process possible.

First of all, my congratulations! If i were in your place , i would choose Columbia,,,,,,,1) More prestigious 2) NY 3) More well-known brand
Regards

Unlike Yale, Stanford or Harvard, Columbia reviews application files on a rolling basis, which is clearly the worst admission process possible.

Thank you Kem.

I agree with you on what you said about Columbia, but Penn has also some good points: 1) Ivy League School; 2) possibility of taking some courses at Wharton 3) a smaller program than Columbia 4) cheaper life than in NY...don't you think that these factors should also be taken into account?

I am wondering whether there is a real difference between these two schools when we consider the chances of finding a job in the US for a year after completing the LLL? Do you think it would be easier with a diploma from Columbia?

Regards.

I suggest checking the top law firm websites and seeing where the foreign Associates went to school. My sense is that you would be better off going to Columbia.

Penn also has quite a number of advantages like price.
And if you got into the Wharton/Penn program, it is much better than Columbia IMO.

Having done LLMs in both the United States and the United Kingdom. These are my rankings for the best LLM programs in terms of prestige and job prospects. The first five is in no particular order:

(1) Oxford
(2) Cambridge
(3) Columbia
(4) Harvard
(5) Stanford
(6) NYU
(7) Georgetown
(8) Penn
(9) California-Berkley
(10) LSE

no doubt cls esp. when you are thinking of job prospects...how many courses do yu expect from wharton in just one year llm course when yu are busy keeping up with law courses and maybe preparing for bar exam...

oops I forgot Yale. LSE and Cal tied for 10th

Hi eowyn,

from my point of view, with respect to your interests Penn is the better choice. First of all, Penn is more business prone than Columbia. I believe that Columbia has its strengths more in the international law area. Secondly, Penn's program is significantly smaller (80 vs. 200 at CLS). Thus, the "cash-cow" factor might be of lower importance which results in better contacts with the faculty and other students. Furthermore, you may take courses at Wharton Business School. In addition, you live in a nice city with affordable living conditions and you still have every chance to visit NY.
The only thing about Penn is its lower ranking - so what? If you do not want to stay in the US forever, this is not of high importance.
Personally, I am a little sick by the "ranking game". You should have a look at the faculty and judge by what you find in terms of course variety and professors doing research you are interested in.

Regards,

Yps.

slightly off the issue, sorry- but have many people heard back from Columbia? i got an email saying they had received my application on 19 january. i ask because i have two other offers so even if columbia come back in the negative, at least i could make a proper decision. thanks

Having done LLMs in both the United States and the United Kingdom. These are my rankings for the best LLM programs in terms of prestige and job prospects. The first five is in no particular order:

(1) Oxford
(2) Cambridge
(3) Columbia
(4) Harvard
(5) Stanford
(6) NYU
(7) Georgetown
(8) Penn
(9) California-Berkley
(10) LSE

Definately not. I was looking at worldwide job prospects. If you want to work in the United States, it is definately better to do an LLM in the US and do not even think about doing the LLM in the UK unless you are an American citizen.

People always ask me which system is better. What I always tell them is that a US LLM prepares you better to work in the US than the UK LLM prepares you to work in the UK, however the UK LLM prepares you much better to work around the world as the LLMs in the UK often examine how the law is in different countries (mostly other common law countries and the EU) while the LLMs in the US are taught with the JDs and deal with US Federal and State law.

If you do an LLM in Cambridge, I believe it is much easier to get a job in the UK if you come from a common law background than for example an LLM from Columbia would help you in the US. I had two friends who were the top law students in my system. One went to Columbia, the other went to Cambridge, the person who went to Cambridge got a job within two months of graduating while the person who went to Columbia took about a year and ended up having to do the JD. However the salary for the Columbia student was definately much higher than the Cambridge grad. In other words good things will come to those who wait.

Having done LLMs in both the United States and the United Kingdom. These are my rankings for the best LLM programs in terms of prestige and job prospects. The first five is in no particular order:

(1) Oxford
(2) Cambridge
(3) Columbia
(4) Harvard
(5) Stanford
(6) NYU
(7) Georgetown
(8) Penn
(9) California-Berkley
(10) LSE

Interesting post ba.

Would you recommend a LLM in USA or in UK for a law student trained in a civil law system ?

Definately not. I was looking at worldwide job prospects. If you want to work in the United States, it is definately better to do an LLM in the US and do not even think about doing the LLM in the UK unless you are an American citizen.

People always ask me which system is better. What I always tell them is that a US LLM prepares you better to work in the US than the UK LLM prepares you to work in the UK, however the UK LLM prepares you much better to work around the world as the LLMs in the UK often examine how the law is in different countries (mostly other common law countries and the EU) while the LLMs in the US are taught with the JDs and deal with US Federal and State law.

If you do an LLM in Cambridge, I believe it is much easier to get a job in the UK if you come from a common law background than for example an LLM from Columbia would help you in the US. I had two friends who were the top law students in my system. One went to Columbia, the other went to Cambridge, the person who went to Cambridge got a job within two months of graduating while the person who went to Columbia took about a year and ended up having to do the JD. However the salary for the Columbia student was definately much higher than the Cambridge grad. In other words good things will come to those who wait.

It depends on the civil law system you are from. If you are from Latin America, you should do the LLM in the US, if you are from Europe and intend to stay there, I would recommend the UK especially because comparative law teaching is so good in the UK.

The US is an excellent place to study, but the fact remains a job is not guaranteed when you finish plus the costs are very high (I was a Fulbright LLM student so I had to go back home, however alot of my classmates took a long while to get jobs) basically a person who does an LLM in the UK who is from Europe will get a job once they are finished (no work permit problems) once they go to a top 5 program in the UK this is not the same for the US where the large law firms often expressly or implicity insist on you eventually doing the JD after the LLM, I know it has happened to a number of people I know.

The University of Chicago is an excellent program but the fact is like in all LLM programs in the US you have to carefully choose your courses. Duke is also a good program as well as Yale but Yale is more for people who are committed to law teaching.