I'm currently a third year at a teir 3 law school in NY, top 10%, editor on a journal, publishing my note, moot court, cum laude B.A. from Notre Dame (top 20 nationally). If I end up clerking for a Fed. Bankruptcy Judge upon graduation for a 2 yr term, what would my chances be at the Bankruptcy LLM at St. Johns? Stanford? Or other LLM programs like NYU? Georgetown? Columbia? .etc?

In terms of recommendations Id not only have the Fed. Bank. Judge but also a law school professor thats big name in bankruptcy (i.e. treatise author, reporter to congressional committee on bankruptcy) [currently taking his debtor/creditor class].

I think you would have no problem getting into the St. John's program, even without the clerkship. The obvious question, however, is why an LLM?

short answer: marketability
long answer: i missed the nyc BIGLAW boat my 2L summer and now as a 3L interviewing (even with my current credentials) the door to city firms still remains closed... i'm originally from brooklyn with family here - that being my reason for aiming at nyc practice...

I believe the combination of a federal clerkship and LLM would open those doors! know anyone that went through a similar situation? Any thoughts?

It has been said numerous times before on this board that LLMs aside from one in tax will do hardly anything for your career prospects. Law firms rarely recruit anyone but tax llms and are most interested in where you got your JD. Given the cost of these programs they are definitely not worth the cost if your goal is to find a job.

That being said the clerkship is definitely a good idea and that will do tons more to help you find a job than an LLM ever will.

I'd be curious to see where "t has been said numerous times before on this board that LLMs aside from one in tax will do hardly anything for your career prospects." Interestingly enough I spoke to a recent alum from my current law school (tier 3) that got a non-tax LLM from NYU (specifically in labor & employment law), which she parleyed, along with a magistrate clerkship, into an associate position at Littler Mendelson.

As such, I would really appreciate if you would be so kind as to point me to the source that supports your proposition (above quoted).

I am not going to point to a specific link but I have been following this board long enough to know what I have read. In addition to that I will call your attention to the fact that 99% of the posts by domestic students on this board are in relation to Tax LLMs. As a person currently in an LLM program I will tell you that there is no oncampus recruiting for anyone other than international students and tax LLMs. In fact if you go to the NYU career services website you will notice that it states that employers arent really sure what to do with LLMs students as they arent 2L's and they arent laterals. If you are going after the LLM because you believe it will open doors careerwise then the fact that employers dont seek out bankruptcy LLM students should speak volumes.

I'd focus much more of your time on securing your clerkship and applying to jobs after that. An LLM program in bankruptcy wont teach you that much more than you can learn on the job. I dont mean to put down bankruptcy but the complications of that area of the law are not quite the same as in tax, that is why employers dont place as much of an emphasis on an LLM and consequently do not really come onto campus looking to hire.

While it may be true your friend was able to secure a position thanks to her LLM, the experience of one person is hardly indicative of what law firms do generally. If you really want the LLM go for it, it will definitely teach you alot. But you should definitely take the costs of the program and its added benefits (of which I believe there are few when it comes to finding a job) into consideration.

First of all, you should have no problem making it into the St. John's LL.M. in Bankruptcy program. The program is competitive, but with your credentials it won't be an issue.

I am a third year at St. John's and have taken several of the LL.M. classes. The program is excellent. The professors are a mix of Law School Faculty, Practitioners at top law firms, and Federal Bankruptcy Judges. From what I've heard the placement out of the program has been also been great with nerely 100% of students going to either Federal Clerkships or top 100 firms. So I disagree that the LL.M. will not help you, but I also agree that you probably don't need it (especially if you are clerking in the Southern District of New York). I know several law clerks that got jobs with large NYC firms after their clerkship who had the same hiring problems you did as a J.D.

If you do decide to do the LL.M. I would recommend doing it part-time while you do your clerkship, that way you're done in 2 years with both a clerkship and an LL.M. under your belt. For what its worth, I will have completed 15 credits towards my LL.M. by the time I graduate law school and I have recently received an offer at a large NYC firm. Despite already having a job, I'm seriously considering finishing my LL.M. part time. If you are interested in Bankruptcy Law, then St. John's is the place you should go. The program is well worth it, and if you were not doing a clerkship I would have no reservations about telling you to make the investment.

If you have any specific questions about the program feel free to ask me.