Hello everyone,

I have applied to many law schools for an LLM (2010/2011), from UCLA to HLS.

I'm a French student, and i'm currently completing a Master of Science in Management at HEC Paris. HEC is ranked 1st business school in Europe according to the Financial Times.

I also completed a Master (1st year) of corporate law with honours (Master I for French students), and I'll complete the 2nd year (Master II) in June at the Université de Paris I Sorbonne.

My work experience is quite light: 6 months of internship in Paris in american law firms, and a humanitarian mission of 2 months.

I was wondering if some students (and French students in particular) have an idea of my chances. I mean, can a business school be a key factor of admission? Or is everything focused on the legal studies? Lastly, what is the importance of the letters of recommendation: for instance, can a letter from a teacher of a law school, or from a member of the Board be sufficient to be admitted?

Thank you very much, and good luck for your admissions!

dabk,

There are so many variables involved. Some universities may not be bothered about light work experience; HLS doesn't seem too fussed about it from what I have heard, but other schools like Columbia would prefer to see more (of course these things are flexible and depend on the applicant in question).

I can't comment on your chances but I wanted specifically to respond to the point on references: these are really, really important. References from academics who know you well will be much more influential than a generic reference from someone very eminent. Nobody who is applying to those sort of schools will have bad references. A personalised reference can cover some of the ground you don't have room to cover in your personal statement (if the recommender knows you well enough). If you must submit a reference from someone very eminent which tends towards the generic, make sure that you're also submitting references from people who can comment in depth on your academic ability.

edited - sorry, I skimmed this and I see you've already applied so this is all a bit academic now...as to whether it's ever going to be 'sufficient', who can say? perhaps if the person reading your application is a big fan of your recommender, maybe that could swing it. All one can say with certainty is that the references are important.