@ josepidal and other students

I am considering to applicate for the HLS International Finance Program. I don't have any questions concerning the application process, or required grades.

What I really would like to know is the difficulty of the program. I don't know from which country you are ( I am from Belgium), but I think that we both can agree that law isn't the most difficult field of study.

Do you feel that the program is very high - level? Is it just difficult or impossible?

Can you, briefly, describe the real way things work during the LLM? Final question: the thesis that you have to write: I have read a couple essays of the previous years. These are all outstanding. Is that something that you learn at Harvard ( not everything, but I mean the intellectual finesse), or are all the students that good?

Thank you in advance for your time and enjoy the rest of your LLM,

I'm a bit confused by the question and I'll try to answer it as best as I can. I don't think the concentration is more difficult than any other set of HLS courses, but it might be difficult for different reasons.

FOCUS?
If "difficult" means a very detailed and focused course, then BU's Banking and Finance LLM would be more difficult.

The HLS International Finance concentration requires only three broad subjects (Securities Regulation, International Finance, Capital Market Regulation) and one exclusive seminar/paper group.

These are broad subjects, however, and International Finance covers many banking topics. They can be very difficult in that one has a lot of catching up to do unless one has had significant exposure to certain financial and economic topics and has worked in corporate law. The professors don't go through the underlying explanations of, for example, how one event starts a chain that ends in a currency depreciation.

I think this is fine unless since few people really want an even more focused LLM. First, you'd want to take other corporation-level subjects such as M&A and Corporate Governance, or related subjects like Secured Transactions. Second, you'd want to take other unrelated subjects and get the complete HLS flavor.

A number of students did not apply to the concentration and felt it was too constricting, but took most of the concentration subjects anyway. Remember, you can realistically take only two or three subjects per term, and most people will want at least one non-corporate subject per term, especially given HLS's strengths in other interesting areas.

PROFESSORS?
If "difficult" means tough professors, then it's extremely difficult. Hal Scott, the main professor, co-chairs the Committee on Capital Markets which advocates reforms endorsed by the Treasury Department, and authored the leading International Finance text. Robert Glauber, who co-teaches the Capital Markets class, used to head NASD. Howell Jackson, who is on sabbatical, and other professors have similar stature.

The professors of allied subjects are equally impressive. M&A, for example, is perhaps the most important allied course and it's taught by Robert Clark (former HLS dean), Leo Strine (Delaware judge and academic who deals with M&A decisions), and John Coates (former Wachtell Lipton partner, the most prestigious M&A firm in the country). The first speaker we had in M&A class was the CEO of Time Warner, and he was followed by many top deal lawyers.

Corporate Governance is taught by Lucian Bebchuk (always in the Wall Street Journal for various studies and initiatives), and many others such as Mark Roe authored key, oft-cited works.

Regarding the paper, there's so much to do in HLS that you come with what legal writing skills you already developed. What you'll try to learn is probably legal research skills, using the palatial Langdell Library and its off-site high density storage system, and how to work closely with certain professors.

STUDENTS?
If "difficult" means selectivity, then it's very difficult.

Note that you are not accepted into HLS as part of a concentration; one applies after getting a slot. After hurdling the selective HLS admissions process, you have to compete for an International Finance slot, and it's the most sought after concentration. This year, over forty applied for about fifteen slots, and many people with impressive work experience did not get in.

The selectivity also results in a student mix that might be intimidating. Not all LLMs apply to the concentration, and some of your classmates will have more extensive work experience than you. You'll also be with JDs, and some of them worked in McKinsey or Goldman Sachs before HLS.


I'm not sure if I answered your question, but it's a very good program, and alumni have gone on to work in the Capital Markets groups of very prestigious firms (although I don't think the concentration itself is a plus, above taking corporate-related subjects). As a last piece of advice, I might caution against being too focused on the concentrations and missing the breadth of the HLS experience, both inside and outside the classroom.

::

With the "early" HLS acceptances trickling in, I just wanted to bump this thread and ask which of the corporate types are interested in the International Finance concentration.

I'm not asking because it's an elite concentration or because it's especially different in any way or because it offers any special employment advantages. Rather, it gets the most interest and roughly a fourth of the present LLMs applied to it, making it the concentration where you actually face difficulty getting in. However, I feel there are some misconceptions about the concentration and applying to it.

I feel most misconceptions stem from not knowing enough about it at the start of the year, and therefore not knowing if it fits your interests. At least two girls dropped out halfway through, for example, to take a broader selection of courses, and people may not realize that NOT having a concentration in HLS is often a great thing.

That said, it's an excellent program that brings together the LLMs (and a few JDs) most interested in Capital Markets, and should be even more interesting with Howell Jackson coming back from sabbatical. I haven't asked if any visiting professors will be with the program next academic year, but former NASD CEO Robert Glauber is doing an incredible job this term in the core Capital Market Regulation class.

Josepidal - I understand you are a current HLS student and would be grateful for your view on the "wait or accept" responses to the NYU admitted students.

Do you think this is a polite rejection?

I think this would be much appreciated by a number of people here - apologies for posting this message in this thread.

Thank you

(bumping in response to PM)

Hi. I am a third year law student thinking of getting an advanced law degree.
I am not in the top 20 law school and merely in the Top 50.
And, my class rank is not that great either, i.e. just btw. 33%-50% ( law school does not rank specifically..)
I do have 2 years of work experience in the Banking sector (but in Investor Relations) and Interned at the SEC.
I would like to concentrate in Banking, Securities, Project Financing...or generally International Finance.

Does it sound like it would be impossible for me to go to IVY schools for LLM? I'd love to go to Harvard...but I guess my specs are too weak..