Hello,

I'm really hesitating between King's college and American U for an LLM in international law.
AU is ranked 5th in the US for the international program and King's has a strong reputation too.
Please help!

My sense is that both are good, though on the assumption costs are not an issue, a more pertinent question to ask might be: where do you foresee working? I can imagine attempting to obtain work related to international law might require working the scene and if that's London, it may not be of much utility to pursue an LLM in AU (and, no doubt, vice versa).

I want to work in a law firm in the US or in France focusing on inter. law

Not too sure of the link between France and UK but if US is where you foresee being, then AU sounds like a sensible choice. Although even then, the market in the US is fairly depressed at the moment so you should keep that in mind when making the choice. International law also is very often not the bread and butter of firms, so you might want to take that into account in your decision making process.

Definitely AU. No doubt about that!!

Hi, I got a master at KCL a few years ago and I am now going for a US LLM. The choice should depend upon what you want from your LLM. KCL is a good program and has a strong reputation in Europe and Asia. It can definitely give you an edge if you have a purely French education. The cost is also lower than a US LLM even if London is a very expensive place to live.
However, a LLM in England will not allow you to take a US bar exam like a US LLM. And if you are qualified in France or in another EU country, you can take the QLTT directly in England without needing a LLM (even if it can help to get acquainted with English law in the LLM...). But if your goal is to go back to France, KCL seems to be a better bet.
KCL is strong in certain subjects such as corporate-finance and European Community law but I would say that certain US programs have a better reputation in international law (NYU, Columbia).
If you want to work in London, my conviction is that a US LLM will not help you. However, if you intend to work in the US one day (regardless of visa or pending economic climate), a US LLM would probably be better. To work in France I think that both programs from KCL or AU would be a good choice.
I would think that KCL is a better bet that a second rated US law school but if we are talking HLS, NYU or CLS, then a US LLM would make better sense. I just know AU by reputation and it is indeed considered to be a top US LLM...So choice is yours but there is also the cultural element. Are you more attracted to the UK or to the US?

A US LLM will get you a lot more easily into US law firms and as easily in UK firms as a UK LLM.

This is one of the reasons for me to choose for a US LLM. But I'm going for corporate matters, very different than international.

Santa,
I have observed from the previous posts that a foreign law student have a less chance to get into UK law firms with a US LLM ( for this i am not sure) ..

Will you put some light on the statement "A US LLM will get you a lot more easily into US law firms and as easily in UK firms as a UK LLM"

Santa,
I have observed from the previous posts that a foreign law student have a less chance to get into UK law firms with a US LLM ( for this i am not sure) ..

Will you put some light on the statement "A US LLM will get you a lot more easily into US law firms and as easily in UK firms as a UK LLM"

To be quite honnest and to react to Santa's post I do not think that there is a huge difference between UK and US LLMs if you want to go back home in Europe...Both can be very useful degrees and as long as the university you attended has a good reputation and that you speak English that's what matters...
I am speaking of Oxford, Cambridge, University of London colleges (KCL, UCL, LSE, etc.) and top US law schools. After it all depends on opportunities, finance and what you want to do with your LL.M.

I know that to get into US firms (f.e. Jones Day, Cleary) you'd better have a US LLM or you start the interviews way behind people who have one :)

For the other countries or other firms I can't tell.

Thank you guys for all your answers.
I will probably go to D.C for two reasons:
-the very strong International Legal Studies Program in AU, ranked 5th in the US
-I obtained a 25,000$ scholarship at AU

Probably the best choice then. Good luck!