I am a final year student in Europe, expecting to graduate in Summer 2020 with a low 2:1. I want to study for an LLM in the US in Fall 2020. However, I realized that many T14 schools strongly prefer candidates with postgraduate full-time work experience (e.g. a minimum of 1 year for Columbia, and 2 years for Stanford). I rang up a US law school and asked them about their work experience preference/requirement and was told that a fresh graduate will likely be put in a considerable disadvantage. I have been very active in getting work experience during term-time and term break, so my internship experience is likely better as compared to other fresh graduates. However, they specifically said that internships undertaken before graduation will not be counted. I also have good extra curricular activities. My biggest concern is the extent to which the lack of full-time work experience would be detrimental to my application holistically.

A further question on behalf of my brother, who is also an LLB in Europe. He was supposed to graduate in 2019, but as he deferred his exams by one term, he will be finishing in February 2020 (like Australian students). He is able to secure a 6-month legal temporary contract commencing in February. If he were to apply to T14 schools now for Fall 2020 start, he will have gained 6 month full-time work experience by the time he arrive the US. Even though this still falls short of the typical 1 or 2 year(s) experience preference, will he be put in a better position than me?

[Edited by Kathrine on Nov 12, 2019]

Hello Kathrine — Please find thereafter some key points which will give you more hindsight about the T14 law schools' selection strategies: *To my limited understanding/knowledge...*

1. Diversity. They try to have people from all over the world and if possible in an equal number. => That means that you are in competition against people with the same nationality. // So, if you are a Chinese doing your studies in UK you should be in the same application group that all other Chinese applicants (even if you did your studies in UK!) which is a very big group and so the admission will be harder than an English doing is studies anywhere because the English applicant group is usually not very big. => In order to determine if your application group is big or not you can have a look of the current LLM class' diversity profile on the Law School websites or on the LLM Guide's application tracker.

2. Holistic review. The admission committee will look your grades, work experience (and also internships but with usually less consideration/esteem), toefl score, etc. => In that context they will admit the best applicants of each groups. So, bigger is your group, harder will be the admission requirements because there will be more competition. // So, if you are in a small group the lack of working experience will not be in issue. If your are in a big group, but there is not a lot of people with work experience (like from my experience Chinese applicants), it will not be a problem but you will be mostly selected on your grades/ranking. However, if you are in a group with a lot of people with work experience (like from my experience Japanese applicants who have 3 to 10 years of work experience) it will be very hard to be selected without significant work experience; so to compensate the lack of work experience you must have very good grades/ranking or other assets. => If the law school is a Top5 this concept is even more selective because there more applicants, and so the probability is higher to have applicants with better grades/ranking and/or longer work experience than you.

3. Law Schools particularities.
- Yale usually only admits applicants doing a PhD in law and/or planing to become a law teacher.
- Stanford + Georgetown's Tax LLM are also open to US applicants, so it's even more competitive to be admitted.

The Law Schools will usually take their decision from December to April, so before the end of your brother's 6 months contracts. Therefore, they should consider this work experience but thy should also take into account that this work experience could still be shortened (e.g. layoff, resignation, etc.). => Therefore, I don't know if he will be put in a better position than you, but in the context of an holistic review, working experience in whatever forms it takes will still be a plus in an application.

Good luck!

NB: Some Law Schools like to admit people of the same family, like couple or sibling/child of a former LLM student.

[Edited by # on Dec 19, 2019]

3. Law Schools particularities.
- Yale usually only admits applicants doing a PhD in law and/or planing to become a law teacher.
- Stanford + Georgetown's Tax LLM are also open to US applicants, so it's even more competitive to be admitted.

Hello Kathrine — Please find thereafter some key points which will give you more hindsight about the T14 law schools' selection strategies: *To my limited understanding/knowledge...*

1. Diversity. They try to have people from all over the world and if possible in an equal number. => That means that you are in competition against people with the same nationality. // So, if you are a Chinese doing your studies in UK you will be in the same application group that all other Chinese applicants (even if you did your studies in UK!) which is a very big group and so the admission will be harder than an English doing is studies anywhere because the English applicant group is usually not very big. => In order to determine if your application group is big or not you can have a look of the current LLM class' diversity profile on the Law School websites or on the LLM Guide's application tracker.

2. Holistic review. The admission committee will look your grades, work experience (and also internships but with usually less consideration/esteem), toefl score, etc. => In that context they will admit the best applicants of each groups. So, bigger is your group, harder will be the admission requirements because there will be more competition. // So, if you are in a small group the lack of working experience will not be in issue. If your are in a big group, but there is not a lot of people with work experience (like from my experience Chinese applicants), it will not be a problem but you will be mostly selected on your grades/ranking. However, if you are in a group with a lot of people with work experience (like from my experience Japanese applicants who have 3 to 10 years of work experience) it will be very hard to be selected without significant work experience; so to compensate the lack of work experience you must have very good grades/ranking or other assets. => If the law school is a Top5 this concept is even more selective because there more applicants, and so the probability is higher to have applicants with better grades/ranking and/or longer work experience than you.

3. Law Schools particularities.
- Yale usually only admits applicants doing a PhD in law and/or planing to become a law teacher.
- Stanford + Georgetown's Tax LLM are also open to US applicants, so it's even more competitive to be admitted.

The Law Schools will usually take their decision from December to April, so before the end of your brother's 6 months contracts. Therefore, they should consider this work experience but thy should also take into account that this work experience could still be shortened (e.g. layoff, resignation, etc.). => Therefore, I don't know if he will be put in a better position than you, but in the context of an holistic review, working experience in whatever forms it takes will still be a plus in an application.

Good luck!

NB: Some Law Schools like to admit people of the same family, like couple or sibling/child of a former LLM student.

1. Diversity. They try to have people from all over the world and if possible in an equal number. => That means that you are in competition against people with the same nationality. // So, if you are a Chinese doing your studies in UK you will be in the same application group that all other Chinese applicants (even if you did your studies in UK!) which is a very big group and so the admission will be harder than an English doing is studies anywhere because the English applicant group is usually not very big. => In order to determine if your application group is big or not you can have a look of the current LLM class' diversity profile on the Law School websites or on the LLM Guide's application tracker.

I am interested in business and corporate law. I am not sure what schools are particularly famous in these areas.

When considering ranking, should I simply refer to the one for JD, or is there a ranking specifically for LLM? I am thinking of applying to a few T14 schools based on my preferred geographical location.

Regarding point #1, do you think it would be any different if someone where a dual American citizen applying for a U.S. LLM? The other nationality, by virtue of population size, has a much smaller applicant pool applying. For example, if I am a Lebanese-American who has always lived outside the U.S./is applying from outside the U.S., will I be competing with other American applicants, or Lebanese applicants, or both?

Just wondering how they categorize applicants, like whether they categorize British as a group, or whether they will separate Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish individually. Chinese is a large group indeed, just curious if that include people from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

[Edited by # on Nov 15, 2019]