I have reached a crossroads in my fledgling legal career and would like to request some advice. I completed my LLB from the London School of Economics in 2005, and have since done long-term research for a human rights NGO, completed an internship at the House of Commons, was a fixed-term paralegal in a City law firm and now work in local government.

I have been offered a place to study the Legal Practice Course part-time at the College of Law, commencing in August this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to combine it with a part-time study training contract. However, I am not sure if I want to go down the private practice route or the international human rights NGO route. I have always wanted to study or work in the US, and doing an LLM there would give my CV a much-needed international boost (as well as greater opportunities for placements abroad).

What are my chances of getting a place in a Top 20 US law school for September 2007, considering that I narrowly missed out on a 2:1 in my law degree (I have strong A-Levels though, including 98% in one subject)? Which American law schools are recommended for human rights law? I know it's a bit late to be thinking about this, but your help and advice would be much appreciated!

Anyone?

Personally, I don't know much about the Human Rights Law and corresponding work. But in terms of your academic and other experiences, I think you have a very good chance of being admitted in the Top 20 law schools. Remember the admission officers won't be able to meet applicants in person, so you have to make yourself unique and special with the application materials.

A further note, it is late for fall this year if you have not prepared anything. Most top 20 law schools application deadlines are already over or approaching. You may check their website see if they offer strong human right courses.

Thanks for your advice, Tony! There are a few law schools, mainly in California, that have Spring deadlines (which is very convenient, seeing as that would be my preferred location).

Cool. I am applying for fall 2007. I only focused my application on the east coast so don't know much about schools in CA.

I also applied LSE this year, still awaiting for the decision.

You will love LSE... The library is world-class, but it was the political activities which really floated my boat! Fingers crossed that you gain admission :-)

Which East Coast schools did you apply to? NYU, Columbia etc?

I applied Harvard, NYU@NUS, Georgetown, Cornell, UPenn, already admitted by Georgetown and NYU@NUS.

I have been to UK once, visiting my wife in Warwick University. I love London but I failed this year's Chevening Scholarship. So very little hope to enter UK schools.

Georgetown is another one I was considering for its proximity to various NGOs and Capitol Hill, but I think the deadline has passed.

Harvard is nigh-on impossible, for the tuition fees alone! I've heard of Chevening, but are there other organisations who offer grants to graduates who want to do Masters degrees abroad, even if one doesn't happen to be top of the class?

I had an offer of a place at Warwick too... It was a beautiful campus and seemed very stimulating.

I applied for Georgetown early review, the deadline was November 15. But I don't know what is the regular application deadline. I recall deadlines of DUKE, Upenn, Cornell have not passed yet, but still approaching.
Chevening is scholarship for one year master in UK. I guess another important one is Fulbright for US. I am not qualified for Fulbright in China, so don't know many details of that. All I know is that their deadlines are very early. Chevening deadline is Sep 30 2006 for 2007 entrance.
If you are not in a hurry, maybe take your time and do a thorough research for 2008.
Yes, I enjoy the Warwick campus a lot, very quiet and pretty.

Because I have tentatively accepted the two-year part-time LPC programme as back-up (I'm 23 now but will be 26 when I finish it), it's either now or never to ditch that and do a Masters in the US first (I'm afraid of getting too old to complete that LLM!).

Yes, I heard about Fulbright, but it's extremely competitive. I'd assume they only want graduates with first-class degrees?

U Penn is another strong one... What area of law do you want to specialise in?

Age is something to consider, but also your career plan. I am 30 this year and still hope to do my master's. I have been a lawyer in Beijing for about 6 years. My practices focus on foreign direct investment, M&As and some others.

If you choose LLM in US instead of LPC, what kind of job you want to have upon completion. If you wanna practice in the US, better prepare for a Bar and contact law firms. Maybe you will work for some organizations. I don't know anything about that area.

It's great that you're bringing so much solid post-qualification experience to the table already. I was thinking of working for an inter-governmental organisation or NGO as a human rights researcher / advocate upon completion of the US LLM.

However, maybe it is a better idea to qualify and practice in the UK first, then do an LLM in the US and go down the NGO route later on? At least then, the solid background as a practicing lawyer would give one more credibility!

Yeah, I think it is not a bad idea to practice for a while before entering the human rights route. There are things you never learn without actually doing them.

Good luck to your decision.

True, there are so many subtle nuances to be picked up in the workplace... Office politics and the intricacies of working relationships, for example :-)

Any more feedback, anyone?