Hi all,

Been admitted to schools in the T-40 range (with good funding) and T-15-20 range.

Foreign lawyer here with work permit and will take the bar after the LLM and remain in the US. I am not sure which school to enrol. I see a lot of posts reinforcing the ranking aspect, but is there much difference between a school which is 30 something and a school which is in the T-20?

I was given good funding by a 30 something ranked school and waiting on funding from T-20 schools. I am tempted to take the larger scholarship and make the most of it but any views are welcome.

Thank you

Congrats! Isn’t it wonderful to have options? :)

As an LLM candidate our career trajectory will be a little difficult than traditional JD students so in my case I chose schools which would help me prepare for the Bar exam.. and I was looking at CA only. I currently live in Chicago I got into 2 schools with scholarship and got waitlisted at Northwestern (who is also generous with LLM scholarship) and I got into USC and Berkeley. Berkeley didn’t offer any scholarship, USC did however the difference is so little that choosing Berkeley was no brainer.

For me BAR prep is a huge factor. I feel like northwestern isn’t all used to their LLM candidates staying back .. I wasn’t comfortable with their website and course offerings. Not saying it’s not a great school! But we can’t tsje IL bar and I feel like they’re not much acquainted with preparing students for the other states’ bar. That’s why I started leaning towards CA schools.

I haven’t enrolled at USC and they’re already sending me webinars for my path as a foreign lawyer in America. That matters a lot to me. Having said that CA bar is the most difficult bar to pass with a 12% 14% pass rate for foreign lawyers lol so definitely look at how you want to move ahead.. chances are you get a job in the area where you graduate.. plus we would be hungry for work and may have to take whatever job is offered. so do you see yourself living in that area for at least 2 3 years after graduation? When do you wanna take the bar? Right after graduation or take a year break or something. Consider all these things. Hope it helps you in the right direction!

Thank you! I am going to PM you! any other views are welcomed!

I did the USC LLM and they do a really good job trying to prepare you for the bar and the job market here. Lots of support staff. However, who you are and what your credentials are will in the end matter the most. If your English is near perfect (especially written), your GPA is high, and you have relevant work experience then your chances of getting a job is much higher. Basically you have to figure out what you have to offer that a JD student doesn’t have. Maybe it’s special language skills or big law experience in your home country. Wherever you go, in the end it will be your networking effort and hard work that determines if you manage to break into the legal job market in the US.

But my advice: ranking matters. If you want to work in Entertainment Law or live in LA then USC is an excellent choice. Berkeley has a stronger brand throughout the country though. Do not choose anything outside T20 unless you have excellent connections in the legal market already.

I did the USC LLM and they do a really good job trying to prepare you for the bar and the job market here. Lots of support staff. However, who you are and what your credentials are will in the end matter the most. If your English is near perfect (especially written), your GPA is high, and you have relevant work experience then your chances of getting a job is much higher. Basically you have to figure out what you have to offer that a JD student doesn’t have. Maybe it’s special language skills or big law experience in your home country. Wherever you go, in the end it will be your networking effort and hard work that determines if you manage to break into the legal job market in the US.

But my advice: ranking matters. If you want to work in Entertainment Law or live in LA then USC is an excellent choice. Berkeley has a stronger brand throughout the country though. Do not choose anything outside T20 unless you have excellent connections in the legal market already.