LLM GUIDE Blogs
Legal writing for non-native students
By stephan in Gandhi & Me - LLM at UCL 2008-2009 on Jun 19, 2009
Even if you have written academic articles in your home country, you might want to improve your English legal writing skills to be prepared for exams and the dissertation. It’s not just grammar and vocabulary. The English legal writing has its peculiarities regarding structures and conventions an LLM student should be aware of. Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of books on this topic, but a course might be more helpful.The UCL Language centre offers a specific ‘Advanced Legal Writing’ course for non-natives which I have attended and which I can highly recommend. The course will prepare you for the essay and problem questions of your exams and help you writing your dissertation. Additionally, it will teach you how to handle the enormous amount of reading, take notes more efficiently, draw up case notes and other useful techniques.
The class size was small enough (around 8-15 students) to address individual concerns and problems, the teaching was very good and the atmosphere in the class relaxed. You will be expected to do homework (preparing essays, reformulate legal letters). This might seem like the last thing you need considering the piles of reading material waiting for you. However, it is well worth the time and effort. I cannot stress enough how much I have learnt in this course.
Unfortunately the course is not included in the LLM course fee and costs an extra £330. A mistake in my humble opinion. Taking into account the high percentage of non-native students and the high level of the LLM course fees the course should be offered free of charge. All the more as it is in the best interest of UCL to maintain a reputation of forming students who not only perform well in their subjects but who are also well-versed in English legal writing. Nonetheless, the course is definitely worth the money.
You can find more details about the course on the website of the UCL Language Centre.
Iniciando
By igorafm in llmparabrasileiros on Jun 7, 2009
Olá!
Meu nome é Igor Alexandre e estou começando hoje este blog. Acho que o título já demonstra o assunto predominante neste espaço: LLM para brasileiros.
Vou contar algumas coisas aqui para contextualizar esta página. Tenho 28 anos e terminei o curso de Direito na UFRN (ainda moro em Natal). Sempre desejei estudar fora para experimentar outra visão da ciência jurídica e buscava informações sobre assuntos relacionados, na tentativa (vaga) de enxergar alguma coisa que pudesse despertar meu interesse de forma mais concreta. Depois de um bom tempo de análise, visitas a páginas e tudo o mais, decidi que iria partir para a ação e planejar efetivamente (o que me faltava, porque até então minhas idéias eram muito abstratas) um mestrado em outro país. Meu primeiro passo foi definir a área. Gosto de estudar Direito, não importa o ramo. Adoro Direito Constitucional, Penal, Administrativo, Civil (especialmente Obrigações), Empresarial, Consumidor etc. É verdade que não tenho intimidade com muitos deles, mas tenho certeza de que, se necessário, poderia mergulhar em qualquer um e não sentiria falta de ar. Poderia ir fundo sem me afogar. A escolha, então, foi bem difícil. Mas a gente sempre acaba pendendo para algum lado, né? No meu caso não foi diferente e terminei por fazer a opção firme pelo Direito Tributário Internacional. Eu poderia escrever várias páginas justificando a escolha, mas acho que isso não interessa aos amigos que estão neste blog. Vamos seguir para os pontos mais relevantes.
Depois de optar por um ramo do Direito, surgiram outras dúvidas, como sobre a universidade que eu deveria tentar o LLM e outros assuntos dessa mesma natureza. Minha pesquisa então encaminhou-se para encontrar um critério que me levasse a uma boa universidade. Isso foi fácil, porque em quase todo lugar da internet é possível encontrar rankings com as classificações de boas instituições de ensino no exterior. No meu caso (para Direito Tributário Internacional) encontrei: NYU, Univ. da Flórida, Univ. Northwestern, Harvard, todas nos Estados Unidos. Na Europa, localizei a Univ. Leiden, Maastrich, LSE etc. Enfim, são apenas algumas. Não sei se esses rankings refletem bem a realidade do ensino, mas, de qualquer forma, acredito que são um bom critério. Em seguida, busquei informações sobre o tuition, forma de admissão etc.
Bem, essa coleta de dados levantou novas dúvidas em mim, especialmente sobre se eu deveria mesmo seguir meus planos, porque ficou demonstrado que é um alto investimento para quem pensa em advogar (e hoje há a opção pelo concurso, que dá a estabilidade tão desejada por muitos).
Enfim, muitas questões! Para dividir com todos as minhas incertezas, inseguranças etc (e interagir com quem enfrenta os mesmos problemas), resolvi criar este blog. Decidi dirigir a comunicação aos brasileiros, porque essa é a realidade que vivo e que, pela leitura que já fiz aqui nos fóruns, é a realidade de muitos que frequentam este site.
Aviso, desde já (até de forma insistente), que não tenho experiência em morar fora, em como funciona a seleção e coisas assim. Aliás, foi para dividir as dúvidas sobre esses (e outros) assuntos que decidi fundar este blog. Pensem neste espaço como um ambiente colaborativo, de troca de informação. Quem já estiver estudando em um LLM nos Estados Unidos ou Europa, por favor, fique a vontade para falar (na parte de comentários) ou mandar um e-mail com alguma informação que considere útil (igorafm@gmail.com).
É isso. Vamos começar. Temos um looongo caminho.
Abraço e obrigado.
An overview of Harvard's LLM
By LLMcomplete in The Harvard LLM experience on May 20, 2009
I discovered llm-guide when I was at the third year of my legal studies at an old University of a small civil law country in continental Europe. That was roughly three years before I started preparing my applications for an LLM program in the US. Before the time of the application came I had already read hundreds of posts by people asking for information, evaluating programs on reputation basis, reporting how they handled the application process, reporting their experience from actually pursuing the LLM degree at a specific university etc. I must confess that the wisdom contained in all these posts proved to be extremely helpful, while I was studying, since I knew what kind of extracurricular opportunities I should chase and on what I should focus as a student in order to be well-qualified for admission to an eminent LLM program. Because of the llm-guide board I was also well aware how to handle my application, how to write the essays and the statements. I also learned a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of the US LLM programs and thus I knew which schools to apply to and which schools to avoid.
In late summer 2007, about a month after I had completed my undergraduate studies in Law, I downloaded the applications and embarked on the preperation for the TOEFL exam. I had to chase down the –indifferent- professors of my University for letters of recommendation, translate my transcripts and prepare essays tailored for each school. I applied to Harvard, Chicago, Columbia, Berkeley and Michigan with my first preference being Harvard, but with my realistic goal being Chicago. I received admission from Michigan first, then from Chicago and then from Berkeley. I was waiting for responses from Harvard and Columbia, but I had already made up my mind that if I didn’t receive admission to Harvard, I would go to Chicago. In late March I received an e-mail from Harvard stating that I was offered a place in their LLM program. I literally cannot describe my excitement. Going to Harvard was a dream I had since I was 16 years old and this e-mail made it come true.
The time from late March to mid-August, when I arrived in the US for the orientation, went by really fast. During these four months I had to arrange for a visa, secure funding, make housing arrangements and pre-register for courses. People at Harvard were already eager to help me out by e-mail with all issues and that made things somewhat easier than I expected.
After the first exciting couple of days at Harvard, when I met classmates and explored the campus and Harvard square, things started becoming a little be more difficult. We were told that at the end of the orientation we would sit for an exam on the fundamentals of US law. There was a formal schedule of lectures that would run for 10 days until late August and also reading materials of about 300 pages. We were told that this exam would not count for our grade in the LLM course and was just for us to familiarize with how it is going to be to write exams at the Harvard Law School. Indeed the performance in this exam would not count for the final grade, but still you can imagine that no person that is admitted to Harvard wants to start the year by not doing his assignments. Therefore, many started the year by not sleeping well….
Early September the fall term started and we would get to sit in real classes with JD students. For every course there was either a book that we should buy –in exchange for a significant amount of money- from Harvard’s bookstore or some photocopied materials that we could take for free from an in-house copy center. Most courses included both a book and photocopied materials from the copy center. In any case the system was “client-friendly” in the sense that we were not simply provided with a reading list that required us to go in the library, find and copy the materials ourselves (as it happens in the UK for example), but we were directly provided with the actual materials in both hard copy and electronic form. That really saved us a lot of time.
Depending on the amount of credits that one was taking in a term, one should study from 250 to 750 pages per week. Professors have a series of ways to ensure that students do the readings. First, reaction papers: before each class you should upload a 2-4 pages text that bears on that day’s readings. Second, panels: in each class a number of students will be called to discuss cases with the professor and answer the latter’s questions. Usually you know one or two weeks ahead when it is your turn to be on panel and thus you have time to prepare adequately. Third, the Socratic blitzkriegs: professor calls students in a random way to answer questions pertaining to that day’s readings. This last method is the worst and not all professors follow it, but if they do it means that, no matter what, you have to be prepared everyday for class and you need to have done all the readings.
The good thing about all that is that your grade in a course will not depend entirely on how well you did in the final exam, but will also be based on your performance on reaction papers or class participation. There is a continuous evaluation over the term and therefore you feel a little be less stressed when the time of the exam comes.
Speaking of exams, I should state that exams can be in-class of take-home. In both cases you should take the exam on your laptop and things get really complicated when you ask to handwrite your exam (to be sure, I know of no student that asked to handwrite his exam). In-class exams last for three hours and are usually open-book. However, there is LITERALLY no time at all to open books in the exam. You start typing from the very first second of the exam and stop typing when the proctor says that you’re done. If you need to open a book to look for an answer, then you’ll most likely not have time to answer all questions. Take-home exams last for 8 hours, but I didn’t have any course that had one, so I cannot comment on how it is.
As far as grades is concerned, there is this thing that is called “curve”. That means that there is a pre-determined and specific number of people who are going to receive an A+, a specific number of people getting an A, A- and so on. That means that even if you indeed have answered perfectly all questions, you still might not get an A+ because there might be some other people who have written even “more perfect” exams than you. And at Harvard there are many such students. An LL.M. student is usually at a disadvantage to JD students with regard to grades for two reasons: English is JDs’ native language and JDs are used to writing an exam on their laptop. This is why most LLM students will end up with a B- or a B.
LLMs also spend a significant amount of time writing their paper, which can be 25-pages long for 0-1 credit or 75-pages long for 2-3 credits. Most people end up spending more time on their paper relatively to the credits they receive, but writing a paper at Harvard is really a great experience due to the resources that you have. There is no article or book that you’ll need that they don’t have and in the extreme case that they don’t have a book that you need, they are going to buy it for you at no time. You can really pick any topic you like and you can be sure that there will be dozens of resources available. We’re talking about the best law library in the world.
The only downside of the program is that you have very little time available to do other stuff than studying. Some LLMs took it easy, choosing courses that they had studied before or courses that were somewhat overlapping or that were not particularly demanding. Especially if you don’t care about grades you might be able to enjoy your year a bit by travelling a little bit or going out every now and then. But this is just the exception. The rule is that you will study your butt off at Harvard. Studying never stops. It starts from day 1 and it only ends on the last day of the exams. It’s a very rigorous and tough program. Very often you will end up doing nothing else but studying from sunrise to sunset (and going to classes). You won’t have many careless and relaxing moments to remember and not so many opportunities to enjoy the beautiful campus or the cafes of Harvard square.
Second Semester is over
By Jaan222 in UVA LL.M Experience on May 8, 2009
Hello Guys, second semester is over. Every one is happy. Seond semester was very interesting, I enjoyed it fully. It seemed that second semester is shorter than First semester. I can't believe I am done with it. Some important lessons I have learned from this year are as following. First, exam pattern is totally different than civil law countries. Questions are long and complicated. even though we are allowed to take books with us, but that does not help as there is not time to open them. If one open books then you cannot solve the question. In civil law countries we are used to have essay questions where we can write whatever we want according to the book. Here it was totally different. Moreover, one must have to do exam on computer, no handwriting is allowed. Second most important thing is grading system, in which even though one is a very good student, on curve system you go down like B, B-, or B+. It is hard to get an A. It is hard to compete with American students as it is their educational system and English is their first language. If one study hard and devote substantial time for study then you can get high grades.
Now another hurdle is Bar Exam. We have to study all that stuff we have not done in our whole life time or law schools. This is also a challenge. We all hope to pass that. Last hurdle is Job Search, At this time Economy is bad so to get a job on your own is very very hard. I know some people got jobs thorough connections. So it is luck, past experience and connections, every thing plays its role. I would not like to discourage anybody rather I would say, it was very nice and rewarding experience. Good Luck for everybody. Next week we have graduation and most probably, it will be raining. So TO "rainy graduation".
Time is not on my side
By stephan in Gandhi & Me - LLM at UCL 2008-2009 on Mar 31, 2009
Time is definitely not on your side as an LLM student (*) - to start off with a sweeping generalisaton. Of course it depends on the approach you choose. Some students are just keen on the title and do not care about fancy 'distinctions'. Hence they use their intelligence to pass the LLM with as little effort as possible (the so-called 'party approach'). On the other end of the scale we find the 'all-you-can-eat approach'. You paid a hefty lump of money mostly by yourself and you want to grasp as much knowledge and experience as possible. So you read as much as you can, audit additional classes and attend guest lecturer events.
Whatever approach one chooses, it can be generally stated that an average LLM student always lacks time. The reading for the courses takes up a lot of time since reading lists are ranging from extensive to ridiculous (even if you focus on the recommended reading). Add finding material and printing it. Or as one fellow student put it: "I feel like I have done a lot of work just finding the materials to read."
Maybe you want to stay in London or the UK after the LLM and apply for a graduate programme? Be prepared to spend a lot of time applying in the early weeks of your courses (deadlines are ludicrously early), going to interviews and career events. Or you might want to get involved in the countless societies, clubs, moot courts and volunteer opportunities. Some people even work part time next to a full time LLM or cruise the world to attend conferences and pursue their academic career. Hats off, I couldn't do it.
It can become too much. "Everyday I have a nervous breakdown.", I overheard one girl say. But: Don't panic! Thousands of people have mastered the LLM before you, loads of them neither as intelligent nor as zealous as you.
(*) My lack of blog posts may serve as the perfect proof.
New Photo Upload Feature
By Maren[LLM GUIDE] in Editor's Blog on Mar 18, 2009
Hi All,
Spring is around the corner, and I hope everyone is getting good application news back from their law schools of choice.
I wanted to tell you about a small new feature we've added to the LL.M. programs directory: the "Upload your Photos" function. Basically, this tool is for students past, present, and future to share their photos of law school campuses and surroundings. 
Three cheers to Elena25, who has already posted some nice, wintry photos of law schools in New York City and Montreal, and to Manuel_Law for his snapshots of Stanford and Berkeley.
If you've visited or attend some law schools and have some campus pics laying around, let us see 'em! Don't worry if they're not National Geographic material; just as long as they are your own.
And now for the boring but obviously necessary caveat: this tool was NOT designed for law schools to blast our site with marketing pics, nor was it created for people to post photos of themselves (there are other sites for that!). We will delete all of these, along with any photos that violate our terms of use. Repeated violations will be subject to editorial and public ridicule. ;)
Take care, and talk with you again soon!
Maren
LL.M. in International Legal Studies
By LLM Board - WCL in LL.M. experience at American University Washington College of Law (WCL) on Feb 25, 2009
Dear readers,
Let me first start with introducing myself. My name is Onur Arslan and I am a Fulbright-scholar from the Netherlands who is currently enrolled in the LL.M. in International Legal Studies program at the American University Washington College of Law (“WCL”).
I know how hard it is to choose an LL.M. program since there are so many opportunities. Since I personally enjoyed getting information first hand from alumni, I started this blog to give you guys more information about my experience at WCL. I am the president of the LL.M. Executive Board (“LL.M. Board”) and together with my fellow board members we will maintain this blog.
I started with the program during the fall semester. We started with approximately 100 students from all around the world and with different backgrounds. Some have been experienced lawyers or prosecutors while others just recently graduated.
During orientation we got informed about the law school and had the opportunity to get to know each other during a barbecue that was organized by the dean. The LL.M. Board organized a welcome diner and party later that week to make us feel at home. During those events we also got to know the LL.M. students who started during the spring semester.
During the add/drop period we had the opportunity to audit the courses we are interested in and to make sure we elect the courses we like most. Since I am interested in international business law I chose International Business Transactions, U.S. Business Law and International Financial Law & Development Finance. I also chose American Legal Institutions because that course is mandatory for students with a civil law background. The courses were very interesting and interactive. For example, for U.S. Business Law we had to draft a business plan and for Financial Law & Development Finance we practiced our negotiation skills during a negotiation simulation exercise.
The Office of Career & Professional Development organized a conference for us at the Washington DC office of Arnold & Porter LLP to prepare us for life as an LL.M. student. Also, we went to the Washington DC office of White & Case LLP where we got information about their Latin American practice group.
The first semester we had too many activities to mention in this blog. Amongst other things we had a soccer tournament, an embassy reception, a graduation party for graduating students, a potluck diner and a trip to the United Nations in New York. Another event that I think is worth mentioning is the LL.M. Board election. Every semester the LL.M. students elect a new LL.M. Board. This semester there were two teams competing to be the next LL.M. Board which was quite fun because it was at the same time as the U.S. presidential elections. Both teams were campaigning and we even had an official “presidential” debate. In November it was time to vote and after weeks of intense lobbying and campaigning we were delighted when we got the news that we got elected!
Spring semester:
When I came back from the winter break I attended the inauguration of President Obama. When you study in Washington D.C. you really realize what an amazing city it is. It often reminds me of stories about Rome during the higlights of the Roman Empire. Anyway, before I could recover from the cold and my jetlag I rushed myself to New York to attend the International Student Interview Program (“ISIP”). I had 11 interviews and was quite nervous. Luckily many WCL students were there so we had the opportunity to socialize and relax a bit before the interviews started.
After returning from New York it was our duty as the new LL.M. Board to organize a welcome event for the incoming LL.M. students (It is possible to start the LL.M. program during the fall and spring semester). We decided to organize a welcome dinner at a Mexican restaurant and went to a club afterwards. This way the old students had the chance to meet the new students and the new students had the chance to get to know each other as well. The week thereafter we rented a bus and organized a ski-trip to Whitetails ski-resort in Pennsylvania. For many students this was the first time they saw snow or that they skied. We even had a mini après-ski at a restaurant to talk about our ski-experience. All in all it was a great day and I enjoyed every minute of it.
During this semester I am attending the following courses; International Banking Law, International Project Finance and International Regulation of Securities Markets. I know that this might sound boring to many of you but I think it is great! There are many courses to choose from and as an LL.M. student you can choose to specialize in for example human rights law, international trade law, environmental law or intellectual property law. I don’t have any experience with those courses so I leave the comments for those courses to my fellow students.
Anyway, I think I have given you a bit of an idea how life as an LL.M. student is at WCL. I know that I forgot to mention many things but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me.
Kind regards,
Onur Arslan
Grüezi and welcome
By stephan in Gandhi & Me - LLM at UCL 2008-2009 on Jan 20, 2009
Grüezi*, dear readers. First of all - and before introducing myself - I have to apologise for the rather daft name of this blog. Apparently studying has deprived me of any form of creativity. "Gandhi & Me" was the first half-original name I could think of. It might, however, be quite an appropriate blog name. Not that I would strive to become an even remotely famous or revered person. No, no, no. I am pretty satisfied with my humble existence. Yet, professors and deans certainly hope that a considerable amount of their students will become alumni they are proud to impress current and potential students with. I won't forget the introductory courses at UCL when several speakers called us the future elite. Ahem. Me? Thank you. But quite an overstatement of my deeds and abilities - and as some might argue of that of the UCL as well.But I'm deviating. Introduction was the supposed topic. So here we go. My name is Stephan. I am a Swiss lawyer with a few years of legal experience back in Switzerland. Since last September I've been studying at the University College of London (UCL). After completion of the LLM I hope to work for a few more years in London before returning to Switzerland. More information about me? I'm sure you will learn more about me if you dutifully read all my blog entries.
I've wanted to blog about my experiences since the start of my courses, but for several reasons (to be disclosed at a later point) I never got around to do it. Until now. So, once again: Grüezi and welcome.
* Grüezi: Swiss German for hello.
LLB graduate, passed the NY Bar - now what opportunities await him or her in NYC?
By crm042 in NY Bar Examination - July 2009 on Jan 18, 2009
Ever noticed how difficult it is to get a paralegal job in New York? Most firms require at least 2 years or so experience. What are the realistic chances for an LLB graduate who has passed the NY Bar Examination to get a job as a paralegal, let alone a job as an Attorney?
Lets face it, the JD ought to be considered parallel with an LLB from the UK (or any other jurisdiction - not to be taken literally), but in reality is that really the case? No! Notwithstanding the differences in the legal systems, anyone who passes the NY Bar, evidently has demonstrated an understanding of the US legal system and whilst a JD graduate, naturally, would be expected to be more orientated, he or she would have been tested by the same NY Board of Examiners as an LLB graduate from another jurisdiction.
It irritates me that an LLB graduate is seen less qualified than his JD counterpart - this may not be reflected in literature, but in the real world, many would argue that an LLB graduate is at a huge disadvantage, even in circumstances where he or she takes an LLM in American legal studies to become more familiar with the said system.
So, you have a dream of working in the Big Apple, you have no experience but you are a qualified Attorney by virtue of passing the NY Bar.... you cant get a paralegal job to ascertain the required experience because you are lacking the experience....what do you do? Contacts are non existent.....what do you do?
I propose this idea, let all students and Attorneys on this site who are in the same predicament establish contact, form a company (easier than it seems) and show the New York firms that we are far capable....Lol
Seriously, in today's world, the issues mentioned herein are cause for concern for the aspirant and ambitious lawyer who wants to experience life in New York.
I look forward to any comments, criticism, proposals or recommendations.
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