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Editor's Blog
An LL.M. in China - Is it worth it?
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on May 26, 2008
Hi there! I just wanted tell you all about an interesting blog post by Donald C. Clarke, a professor at George Wasington University Law School. He has collected and published the feedback he got from lawyers - who had either taken an LL.M. program in China or who are involved with hiring lawyers in the field - about the value of doing an LL.M. at Chinese universities. The PDF document can be found here.Meanwhile, here is an article we published last year about English-language LL.M. programs in Asia, generally.
We'll check in again soon. Until then, enjoy your summer!
The R-Word and the Job Market for Lawyers
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Mar 22, 2008
Hi Everyone! Even as the admissions decisions arrive from US and UK law schools, one of the liveliest discussion board threads has been one about the current job market for lawyers and LL.M. graduates. How has the sub-prime crisis, turbulence on the global financial market, and fears over a recession affected the job market for lawyers and graduating LL.M. students?
It's true, there have been widely publicized layoffs at big-league firms lately, but overall assessments of the legal job market depend on who you ask. Some papers are forecasting tough times ahead for lawyers, particularly for firms specializing in finance, mergers, and acquisitions. Others see light at the end of the tunnel, particularly for lawyers who can help out with insolvencies, sub-prime litigation, and the like.
At least these are the media reports coming out of New York and London. Does anybody have an insider view of the job market that awaits LL.M. graduates in these places, as well as other financial hubs like Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, ...? How bad is it out there?
Applications, Acceptance Rates, and Big Decisions
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Nov 14, 2007
Hi Folks,
It's been a while since we checked in here on the Editor's Blog. Winter is creeping up on us, which means application season for prospective LL.M. students. So, like last year, we'll be posting some of the upcoming application deadlines for US and UK law schools (and possibly others) in the LLM News section over the next week or so.
Some of you may even be undecided about whether to drop what you're doing to go get an LL.M. A few bloggers have tackled that age-old "To LL.M. or Not to LL.M." question over the last several months, including Law and Letters, TaxProf (two short posts: 1 and 2), and Andrew Hammel.
Speaking of admissions, we've come across this attempt to calculate acceptance rates at LL.M. programs at some of the top law schools in the United States. We're always interested to see new statistics and reports about LL.M. programs, simply because the big education magazines rarely dedicate much coverage to them. We're certainly not used to seeing quantitative spreadsheets like this.
The LL.M. student blogging on our site has been slower this year, although Ricey has given us a few nice posts from Harvard Law School, and for a while, one could count on shockresist for a candid and funny snapshot of student life in Beijing. But even if you're only now just applying to LL.M. programs for next year (that's right, Class of 2009!), it would be great to hear from you, too. There are dozens of MBA bloggers who start posting before they've even mailed their first application. LL.M. students face many of the same decisions – to go back to school, which school, etc.
Anyway, until next time, best of luck with the applications!
Take care,
Maren
Another Exciting Year Begins
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Jul 23, 2007
Hi, everyone! Hope you're all enjoying the summer. Some of you who are starting an LL.M. this Fall have already made the trip to your respective schools for summer law and language courses. I wish you all the best as you get settled in for an exciting year.Let me start this post off (once again) by thanking Ivan, Tmalmine, Droit (and the others) for their blogging this year. I know I'm not alone in describing their efforts as heroic. A read through Tmalmine's candid One Day in My Life, Droit's informative JOBS, the BAR EXAM and the THESIS, and Ivan's epic Season Finale and you'll see what I mean. I hope they keep us posted where they end up in the coming months.
If you're looking to pursue an LL.M., you can read all the law school brochures and rankings you want, but really, what's more insightful than an honest, down-to-earth, personal account from people who are actually doing it themselves?
So, here comes the predictable, not-so-subtle appeal to other LLM-bound folks to consider posting some of your impressions and experiences this year on LLM GUIDE Blogs. Harvard-bound Ricey has already kicked things off for the Class of 2008.
The blogs on this site get thousands of reads a month, mostly by people who are either also doing an LL.M. or hoping to do one in the near future. A periodic blog post is a great way to support the active community and knowledge sharing we've tried to foster here on this website.
If you have any questions about blogging, or anything else about our site, don't hesitate to get in touch.
Until next time, take care!
Maren
Law School Rankings
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Apr 7, 2007
Hi, everyone! Spring is finally here, and I hope all is going well with your LL.M. programs or applications. We've really enjoyed the blog posts and discussion threads in recent weeks. As is the case each spring when law school decisions start coming in, the discussion board makes for lively reading.
As you may know by now, the US News and World Report published their famous Law School Rankings for 2008 at the end of March. Although these rankings tend to reflect more on J.D. programs than LL.M. programs, prospective LLMs still like to know where their favorite schools stand among top US law schools. Still, the whole business of ranking law schools remains somewhat controversial.
In a recent discussion board thread, Ivan2006, also one of the bloggers on LLM GUIDE, pointed out an interesting article over at the Social Science Research Network, which dissects the methodology of US News rankings.
For those looking for a second opinion on US law schools (other than the US News rankings, that is) there's also the Leiter's Law School Rankings website, run by University of Texas professor Brian Leiter, as well as the Hylton Rankings, compiled by J. Gordon Hylton of Marquette University. And if you want to browse rankings for schools outside of the United States, you can find a few links here.
Until next time,
Maren
Job Hunting Tips from the Law Schools
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Jan 29, 2007
Happy New Year, everyone! First off, thanks again to this year's LL.M. bloggers for keeping us updated with their honest and insightful posts.
Branching out a bit from my earlier post on job prospects for LL.M. students, I'd like to share some of the career planning tips that top US law schools give their international LL.M. students. We've found some pretty good sources on the Internet about career planning, which are sometimes buried away on law school websites.
The first one I'd like to mention is the "International LL.M. Career Planning" brochure published by the Yale Law School Career Development Office. Although it is understandably Yale-centric, the brochure has useful information for any international LL.M. student who might be looking for a job in the United States. The brochure includes bar exam information, interview tips, as well as sample resumes and cover letters. There are even some useful contributions from LL.M. alumni (who found jobs!) and recruiting directors from big-league law firms.
Other useful LL.M. job hunting sources include Georgetown's Graduate Professional Development FAQs and LLM Resource Manual. University of Virginia Law School has a shorter handbook with tips for international LL.M. students.
There are surely other good sources out there. As always, let us know if you find anything good. 'Til next time!
Law Podcasts
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Nov 26, 2006
It was just a matter of time before law schools jumped on the podcasting bandwagon. But it is a good development for those of you who want to listen-in on high-profile talks and panel discussions on a variety of legal topics and issues. Some LL.M. programs have even put some of their lectures online - great for prospective students.
Here are few of the outstanding examples of law and LL.M.-related podcasts that I have found while browsing around. Am I missing any good ones?
American University - Washington College of Law (WCL) Podcasts
http://www.wcl.american.edu/podcast/podcast.cfm
University of Chicago Faculty Blog with links to Podcasts
http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/faculty/podcasts/
Law & Technology Program, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law Podcasts
http://web5.uottawa.ca/techlaw/en/podcasts/
Lewis & Clark Law School Podcasts
http://lawlib.lclark.edu/podcast/
Choosing an LL.M. Program
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Oct 3, 2006
"Bitsou" - Stanford JSM 2006 and active participant on the LLM GUIDE online community - has posted some food for thought about how to pick an LL.M. program on the Discussion Board. Also discussed is what lawyers can expect from the post-LL.M. job market in the United States. A good read, particularly for foreign lawyers considering coming to the United States for an LL.M.
LL.M. Job Prospects in the Blogosphere
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Sep 21, 2006
Hi folks. One of the questions we see most often on the LLM GUIDE Discussion Board is some version of "Is getting an LL.M. worth the time and money?" or "Will I be able to get a job in the United States after finishing an LL.M. there?" Fair questions, of course. We've found a few good, recent posts in the blogosphere on that very topic that you might be interested in reading. The first is a post on the blog of Maya Steinitz, an Israeli lawyer and international law expert who got her LL.M. and JSD from NYU. There's also the "Law & Society Blog," which here comments on Steinitz and adds some new points to the discussion. Of course, Gregory W. Bowman's great "Law Career Blog" also tackled the issue of job prospects for LL.M. students a few months ago (in 3 parts).
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