hi.. i have alot of questions hovering in my head since days and i'd love it if someone answers all of them so that i get out of this confusion. Here are my questions :

What sort of jobs will i get if i do an LLM in corporate and commercial law?
How will my career benefit from an LLM?

Is an LLM only useful if u want to teach law? coz i don't want to teach.
What is a better option? BVC or a specialised LLM? what are the scopes of these two?

I am doing my LLB from UCL at present.

If you want to work at your home country after graduate, I cannot give you the answer. It depends on each society.

But if u want to work in U.S., definitely, compare to J.D. degree, LL.M. is not quite beneficial, except some kind of specialized LL.M.

So, if i do a specialist LLM, that would be as good as a JD for usa ?

There is no exact answer. I cannot say that specialized degree is as good as JD. One year compared to three years....

Just imagine you were an employer, more than 10,000 J.D. students graduate each year, what is the benefit for hiring LL.M. students?

Can i do my BVC after LLB and practice in USA? that would be better than an LLM, right?

I think a U.S. firm would be very interested in LLMs if they have a solid knowledge of the law of their country and understand the way U.S. lawyers think IF they have a client who is impacted by that country. However, if there is a candidate with the same experience that has a JD, that candidate will almost always win.

Certainly if you want to qualify as a NY Attorney then it can be easier to do the BVC first. But bear in mind - you must according to the NY Bar Exam Rules - either have a 3 yr LLM or be a qualified lawyer in your home country. You would therefore have to do pupillage in England before going to do the NY Bar Exam if you have not done a 3yr LLB. You may also need to have some work experience as a Barrister too - the entry criteria for the NY Br are very loose.

Can i do my BVC after LLB and practice in USA? that would be better than an LLM, right?

If you have done 3 years of full time law . i.e an LLB then you automatically qualify for the NY bar -no questions asked. I have just done the BVC and it is pointless with regards to the NY bar-they will only look at your first law degree and most certainly are not interested in any law you have studied after your first degree.

Students from Oxford, Cambridge and the University of London who have three-year LLBs dont need an LLM to sit the NY Bar exams, and firms in London certainly dont give much more credit to LLMs than those with Bachelor's only.

You should consider whether you are genuinely interested in doing an LLM, otherwise dont spend the extra cash for the relatively small professional benefit.

i'm not sure how easy it is to pass the NY bar without having studied at least some US law via an LLM or JD. I'm a UK qualified lawyer who also has a full JD and graduated 4 yrs ago. I passed my own state bar at the first attempt, but barely, and recently failed the NY bar after having studied approx 20 hrs per week for 6 months solid. the MBE portion has to be the hardest test I have ever taken in my life. Lucky for me that I was just doing it with the contemplation of some day moving to NY, though by next february I think i can waive in without it.

as for job opportunities. unless you're a star, you have a better chance of working for a smaller firm or for yourself in the US than with a large one. it's very easy to set up your own legal corporation and then do the paperwork to hire yourself.