UCLA Reopens LL.M. Applications, Creates New "Transition" Program

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law has announced it will reopen the application process for the 2009-2010 academic year to accept 20 additional grads of US law schools, including deferred hires. According to the law school, the action was prompted by "the changing employment situation for graduates of U.S. law schools."

Applications are now due on May 29, 2009.

Incoming students can choose to take the law school's new "Transition to Practice" LL.M. program, that will "replicate significant parts of the learning that comes in the first year of practice, but in a controlled learning environment."

"Through the new Transition to Practice program, which will focus on experiential learning and skills, law school graduates and deferred hires will be able to expand on their legal education and develop additional legal skills during this transition period," said UCLA Law School Dean Michael H. Schill.

The new Transition to Practice program will include "capstone courses" that will focus on practice-oriented projects, include part-time externships within corporate legal departments, as well as clinical simulations, where students work with real legal problems in a controlled environment that permits reflection and generalization of lessons learned.

The program will also include a workshop series focused on "practical issues that confront new lawyers, ranging from how to define a work-product to understanding a client's business and goals, and handling practical problems of ethics and confidentiality."

For more information, please visit the UCLA School of Law website or visit their full LLM GUIDE directory profile.