Is anyone applying to the Northwestern 2 Yr JD starting Fall 2007?

hi raj... i plan to but i am still debating whether an LL.M. would be a better option for a foreign trained lawyer...

Depends on your career goals and where you got your first degree. AND whether or or not you wish to take the bar. An LL.M. would certainly be the cheaper option of the two. But I've heard conflicting stories about bar exam eligibility. If you're qualified as a lawyer in your home jurisdiction, then you can take the bar in California and some other states. Moreover, doing the LLM would qualify you to sit in New York.

So in the end, I guess a JD would certainly make things easier as it makes you eligible in all states to sit for the bar exam. But given the added time and cost, the LL.M. might seem more attractive. However, a JD from Northwestern, if you can afford it, is extremely well respected in the United States and would probably make you more employable than an LLM.

Just a postscript, you'll need to take the LSAT for the JD which you won't for the LL.M. That might be a problem if you're not residing in the US as the exam (as far as I know) is only administered in the US and only 4 times a year.

Good post RAJ. Personally, I think that for a foreign law school graduate the Northwestern 2 year JD program is a great way to go just because, as you noted, it is more respected than an LL.M degree and allows the foreign student to be admitted as an attorney in all 50 states.

I would say that LLM is much less preferable for the employers than the JD. Think when you are an employer and you are thinking of choosing between LLM grad and JD grad...who will you choose...

BUT if your LLM is a spicialized one ex. LLM in Taxation...that might make your life much easier than the general LLM. My foreign classmates graduating with LLM in Taxation got jobs in audit firms like KPMG and Prizewater House.....if they get the bar, they might be able to get a job in law firm.

Like above, with just an LLM, your option to find job in law firm in the states other than California and NY might be impossible. JD will give you more options.

Thanks for the information. I have a few questions, would be very thankful if you can provide me with info. Is a accounting background required to find job with Tax LL.M. Also what would be good courses to pick for Tax LL.M. I am starting at Temple University this Fall. I have a choice of going in for The Graduate Tax program or The General LL.M with a Certification is Taxation. Will it make a lot of difference as to which one I pick or is it more or less the same.

Thanks in advance
Supriya