hi i am currently studying in england and intend on qualifying as a lawyer here before moving to california. before sitting the bar exam i want to do an llm but i am undecided whether to do a specific area llm or a general law llm? also i am undecided which universities i should consider as you do not get a sense of there reputations from there websites? any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
thanks

Hello,

If we refer to the "supposed" rankings, the best law schools in California are:

1. Stanford
2. Berkeley
3. UCLA

You also have other ones such as USC, University of San Francisco, University of San Diego etc.

If you apply to an LLM at Stanford, you'll have to choose between LLM in Corporate Governance and LLM in Science & Technology. The others have general LLMs.

In my opinion, you won't find a lot of differences in these law schools, only the reputation on paper is different.

Best

I personally disagree (no offense intended, just my opinion based on what I have heard). Stanford has an excellent reputation for its JD program, much less for the advanced degrees. The LLM program was only introduced a few years ago, and the SPILS might be good for academic career outside the US, but in the US it is not considered by law firms and useless to go into academia. If I were to choose, I would go to Berkeley or UCLA.

Good point. As an insider, I actually tend to agree (even though I haven't been to Berkeley and UCLA and thus cannot judge their respective real values). The SPILS Program is very particular and one should really be careful before even applying to it; it really is meant to be for future Professors mainly, such as the Yale LLM, and you can spend a whole year without actually learning anything about US law. This being said, and maybe surprisingly, the former foreign students who got permanent positions in US law firms were coming from the SPILS Program (at least several of them), maybe due to the fact that they got in close contact with the Faculty members (some of which being counsels in Elite law firms) which can less easily be done in a traditional LLM.

As to the LLMs, it's more difficult for me to say as I'm not doing one but, apparently, Stanford requires foreign students to be very qualified and have a lot of experience in their respective fields. The then problem is that they offer "standard" classes as the ones offered to the JDs students who never got any experience, and you may have the feeling not to learn a great deal.

Stanford is no doubt a top place in a top environment, but the programs tend to be new, and organization is indeed not always perfect in my opinion.

This being said, a friend of mine went to Harvard and had the same feeling...you can probably raise criticisms in any law school...

In other words, when you choose an LLM Program, focus on the classes and the Professors you're interested in rather than just the "brand name", or you might be admitted, happy, and then disappointed to realize that it's not that much better than anywhere else...

Can you please tell me what you mean by SPILS? Also, I have been practicing for 15 years and want an LLM. Which school is best for an LLM in IP and does it help get better positions?
Thanks

usc also ranked in top20 acording to usnews.

A general LL.M. consisting of classes on subjects tested on the California Bar Examination would probably give you a better chance of passing the exam. UCLA. UC Berkely, UC Hastings and USC are all good schools.

How about UC-Davis?
Is it the good law school?

^
^
UC-Davis ranks 32 in US-News 2006.

Have you, guys, heard about USF LL.M. Program? I will be thankful for any information you can share.

hi i am currently studying in england and intend on qualifying as a lawyer here before moving to california. before sitting the bar exam i want to do an llm but i am undecided whether to do a specific area llm or a general law llm? also i am undecided which universities i should consider as you do not get a sense of there reputations from there websites? any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
thanks