Russian degree with honors, working in the ministry of foreign affairs.. all this DOES NOT MATTER in the USA. all my attempts to find a job in legal sphere with the degree I have, all the thousands of emails and applications resulted in an unpaid internship. it was very nice, actually, since it was in Honolulu.

Anyways, there is only one conclusion - get LL.M. and pass the bar exam. after that - maybe something will happen

after two years being nobody in the legal America I have saved some money to apply for an LL.M. program.

Last year I applied to the top 5 law schools. needless to say, useless. this year's choice is mainly dictated  by my budget. within my limit I've found:

1) UConn - LL.M. in Insurance Law

2) University of Vermont - LL.M. in American Legal Studies

3) University of Hawaii -  LL.M. in American Legal Studies

4) National University of Singapore - LL.M. in International Business Law

I am inclined for the UConn, since the program is not a general overview of the American legal system, but more specialized and still, as a foreign student, one is required to take certain courses in American law. In addition, where else one can get better knowledge of insurance than in the States? Having done some research about them I have not found anything 'wow' about their students. However, as somebody from Wall Street had said, UConn is one of tree law schools in Connecticut, one of which is Yale, so it has to be good to compete with such a giant.

University of Vermont - cannot really say anything yet, have to do some research..

University of Hawaii -  what can I say.. a year in paradise always sounds good! even though LL.M. students are not allowed to take Hawaii bar (only UD JDs are), I could always get back to NY and try myself here.

University of Singapore - have never been. But isn't it great to learn International Business Law in Singapore, Asia's center of business, and Shanghai? the bitter pill is that I can only be admitted there to practice only as foreign lawyer without a JD from Singapore. but, no doubt, this is the future of international business. again, it sounds great in Asia, maybe in Europe. and again, DOES NOT MATTER in the USA.

well, back to real life. now is the time of preparation of all the docs, application and praying for the tuition fees not to go up next year.. :)

Although I would have liked to spent a year in South Royalton, VT, I don't think it's everyone's cup of tea. Plus, you won't exactly be in the epicenter of the legal market. ;-)

UConn seems a fairly good choice. Specialization in insurance law, in Hartford which is the insurance capital of the US (apparently).

But, why not go for a JD and maximize your chances of landing a job. With the time you have apparently spent in the US, it should have been possible. Your credentials should also make it possible to get some kind of finaid.

Good luck!

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate it! about JD - would love to do it and thought about it, makes much more sense since I'd like to stay in the US. don't have this money again. scholarships for my country do not work for me because I've lived in the US for the past 2 years and I'm not a US citizen either. so..
we'll see how it goes, one can transfer to JD after LL.M. without taking LSAT, so it's an option.
Are you a fullbright scholar? are you going to go back to germany after school?
u see, even if we don't find anything in the States, back in our countries we'll be stars with an American LL.M. :) good luck to u too!

If you like insurance, besides being an Associate Dean of a graduate program that focuses on student publishing, I am the Author in Chief of the financial advisory publications of National Underwriters reference division. We are the dominant information service provider for the life industry. See profwilliambyrnes.com/about-2/

Take a look at some of our publications and reach out to me if you uncover anything of interest. By example - maybe wealth management is your cup of tea. Certainly an expanding employment market that did not feel the steepness of the downturn of other financial industries this past three years.