Hello everyone,

I'll apologize in advance for the length of this posting, and give my thanks in advance for anyone who takes the time to respond.

So, here is my situation. I'm a Canadian studying law in the US in a dual JD/LLB program. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the program (the vast majority), I'll explain. I did two years of law school in Canada (University of Ottawa Faculty of Law) and now nearly done my first of two years of law school in the US at a tier three school (though supposedly very close to moving to tier two). Therefore, in May 2009 I will graduate with both my CDN LLB and my US JD. I figured the extra year of law school was worth the investment as lawyers from Canada are legally allowed to work in the US under the NAFTA agreement with very few hassles.

I have had interviews with two large firms, but nothing panned out. However, I do have a job at a large corporate firm in Toronto for his summer and post-graduation. If I do my tax LLM after I graduate I feel like I will have a better shot at getting a biglaw job in the US, although that will mean sacrificing my job in Toronto (at least for a few years).

Right now I am completing a tax concentration within my JD degree. By the completion of my degree I will have taken Basic Income Tax, Gift and Estate Tax, Partnership Tax, Corporate Tax, Int'l Tax, and either Tax Policy/Tax Clinic. In Canada I also took a basic course in federal income taxation. I'm really enjoying my studies in this area and would like to pursue it at a more advanced level.

So with all that background, here are my questions:

1) Do many people do a tax LLM right after they graduate with their JD? I'm worried that if I don't I might hurt my chances of landing a job in the US (not having graduated from a top tier school), and I feel that I am unlikely to return to the world of formal education once I start my career.

2) What are the job prospects with a tax llm? I have done some research and it seems like it is the only one really worth pursuing.

3) What are my chances of getting into NYU, Georgetown or UF? And on a sidenote, does UF place students in the NE of the US. I really have no desire to work anywhere except NY, Chicago or Boston (NE in general I guess)

Here are my stats:

-graduated with honors from my undergrad institution in Canada placing 2nd in my class after having received the highest cumulative GPA through my first three years (Economics and Finance)

-didn't do so great during my first year of law school (middle of the pack), but completed my second year in the top 22% with 5 of my marks in the A range (mostly business and tax related)

-current JD GPA of 3.74 (percentile class rank is around 95)

-I received the highest mark in Basic Federal income tax last term and am now a teaching assistant for my prof this term

-next year I am planning on participating in law review (or business related journal) and getting some practical experience with tax clinic

-my work experience consists of one summer at a major Toronto criminal law firm, and this upcoming summer at a large corporate firm in Toronto doing tax, competition and general corporate

Thanks again for any help or suggestions, I really appreciate it.

I sent you a personal post :)