HI Casper,

I am currently completing my LLM at Georgetown in Washington DC. I have secured a job with a New York law firm doing structured finance and securitization work.

It is hard getting a job but it is easier if you come from a common law country (I am from Australia) and English is your first language. That is just from my experience. My friend also from Australia has been offered a position in New York doing IP and also in LA.

So it definitely is possible to get a job but I know a lot of LLM students are struggling to secure employment. Big firms are probably harder but I don't think there is much difference between big or small firms in NY in terms of hiring. The firm I am going to work for is smaller size boutique firm which just does structured finance and securitization but my friend is going to work for a large firm. So it all depends...

I would say while it is very expensive to do your LLM it is worth it. And firms do look at your grades - they ask you for your transcript straight away so it pays to study hard!

Any more questions - I would be happy to answer them!!

Good luck!

Emma

Hi emmylou,

Congratulations! You must be very outstanding! I've heard from a friend doing LLM in UPenn saying that only 10% LLM students in average get job offer from US law firms.

Do you think US law firms consider nationalities a lot when they hire foreign LLMs? For example, they might want someone from a particular country to handle related cases/clients?
Do law firms tend to hire foreign LLMs for one-year internship instead of permanent positions?

May I ask you what work experience or other credentials you have before you start your LLM in US?

Thanks in advance!
-Peggy

Brilliant...i too want to study IP law, it's pretty exciting. I just didn't want to go through the process of applying as a foreign law graduate to LLM programs, and then be turned down by all the US firms...that would be so disappointing!
I'm definitely going to do my best, hopefully hard work over the next couple of years will pay off when i'm applying for jobs in the US :)
All the best, and thanks again...you've definitely helped me out :)