Hi I'm new to this forum and was wondering if anybody can give me some advice. I'm a lawyer from the Philippines, with a J.D. I plan to permanently reside and work in the U.S. My questions is whether I should get an LLM or a JD? Would my having a J.D. (Phil) matter in getting into a J.D. (U.S.)? Is there a way of finishing a J.D. in less than 3 years, aside from the 2 year J.D. programs offered by schools like Northwestern? My plan is to ultimetly work for a U.S. law firm. Thanks

Hi aquilalegis,
In my opinion, if you want to work for a law firm in the US you should do the JD. I've known some international LLM students that got permanent jobs in the US either in law firms or in the public sector. However, employers usually give more attention to JD students, especially law firms. So, if you are looking forward to permanently working for an American law firm you should highly consider the JD. As to the length of the program, there are other law schools - besides Northwestern - that give one year credit to your foreign law degree, so you can do it in 2 years. I dont know other ways to do the JD in less than 3 years.
I hope it was helpful.
Good luck.