I was wondering if anyone on this board can give me some valuable information about the Georgetown Foundations Program?

I need to decide fairly quickly whether or not I want to attend, but I have no idea on the quality and usefulness of the program.. any pros/cons?

Thanks

I am in the same boat for 2006.
is there anybody who has attended the program and who could comment on it, regarding:
-usefulness for successful llm completion
-does it exempt you from taking the legal writing course of you do an llm general studies?

Cheers

Hello,

I attended the Goergetown Summer Program, and so did many others who I am now regularly in contact with. As a general comment, I encourage everyone who has the opportunity to enroll in it to do so.

<blockquote>is there anybody who has attended the program and who could comment on it, regarding:
-usefulness for successful llm completion</blockquote>

I don't think that the impact of the summer program on your subsequent LLM is that big. If you plan to attend the Georgetown LLM, there is no discussion: attend it! If you attend any other LLM, here are some reasons (randomly enumerated) why you should attend the program:

1° It is lots of fun. For many of you, at this stage, this is not a major argument. However, once your real program starts, you will be happy that your first academic experience in the US was combined with fun. It makes the transition a lot easier.

2° You will meet many people going to different LLM programs after Georgetown. With some of them you will keep in touch, with others you won't. But you certainly will create new friendships, and this alone is an invaluable experience! During the course of your subsequent LLM, you will probably visit some of them at their Law School, and some of them will visit you. Talking about the memories from the previous summer guarantees good discussions!

3° Different subjects are taught by different Professors who are experts in their field. This is a very good thing. You will not be challenged very hard to prepare all the materials and to know it as you will have to when you start your LLM. This gives you the opportunity to learn about many different fields of US law that are important without you having to invest too much into it (because some of the subjects will be things that you are not interested in studying, but that are worthwhile listening to).

4° In general, the Professors are very nice and approachable. Some of them are also great fun, and you should not miss out the opportunity to sit in their classes!

5° There is some legal writing that you will "have to do". This takes the form of a legal memo in the US form. This is a good thing, because before starting your LLM program, you will have a fair idea of what your Professors will expect (which also very often differs from what you are expected to do in a law firm).

6° Sometimes at the end of the Program, there is also an exam simulation. This is not as scary as it sounds. The materials that you need to prepare are very limited, and the purpose is just to show you what to expect in a US law school exam, and to understand what Professors expect. You will receive feedback, and this can help you somewhat in your LLM exams.

7° Washington is a very nice city. In July, the weather is usually excellent (last summer it was awfully hot). There are many things to see, and the workload for classes allows you to do a lot of sightseeing. The summer program is indeed not only about studying, but also about the cultural experience of discovering DC. I guess you know about the many museums that you can visit in DC, about the great architecture of some districts etc.

8° Another advantage is that being in the US gives you the opportunity to settle some matters in advance of arriving to your LLM city. Once your LLM starts, you will be extremely busy, so arriving earlier will allow you to open a bank account, get a mobile etc.

<blockquote>-does it exempt you from taking the legal writing course if you do an llm general studies?</blockquote>

Well I guess that would depend on where you do your LLM. You should contact the Law School where you will do your LLM and ask them about this. My guess would be that it does not exempt you, as all the Law Schools tend to think that they are the best, and that a Summer Program in any other Law School will not give you the same preparation as theirs (and of course, if they exempt you, they won't make those additional couple thousand bucks).

Hope this helps,

DocJ