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Some Facts to be in Top law Schools

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QSWE

Joined: 23 Nov 2008
Posts: 674
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:22 AM
Its the difference between an out and out capitalist state and a welfare state.
USA being a capitalist state, there is no allowance for home students, and they are expected to either win a scholarship or take a loan. However, one has to note that all the universities, which are the most sought after, are private universities. If one looks at State universities in US, the fees are uniformally low for both national and international students.

On the other hand, all the sought after universities in UK recieve government assistance in one form of the other and most of it is for the benefit of home and EU students becuase they are the children of tax-payers.

Plus, Overseas students are looked upon as great revenue generating machines and hence, heavy and taxing fee structures for them.

[Edited by QSWE on 27 Jan 2009]
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atkins

Joined: 09 Jan 2009
Posts: 13
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Wed Jan 28, 2009 05:59 PM
Jagsmehn is absolutely correct. Several U.S. law profs have confirmed to me that their respective LLM programs are lucrative money-generators for the institution. As evidence of this fact, most U.S. schools seem to have established, or are in the process of establishing, an LLM program. Aside from the purportedly "top" law schools, most LLM programs are filled by foreign students who return to their respective home countries after graduation. According to the profs with whom I've spoken, these students truly appreciate the education that they receive in U.S. LLM programs, so it's a win-win for everyone.

I do wonder about one point that Jagsmehn makes...I am beginning to wonder whether the US is drifting away from capitalism. In light of the recent economic crisis, it appears that we are moving toward a welfare state or perhaps a quasi-capitalist state. It will be interesting to see where we end up.

[Edited by atkins on 28 Jan 2009]
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nicemanin


Joined: 05 Aug 2008
Posts: 181
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Wed Jan 28, 2009 06:34 PM
By face of the above reading It is amply clear that LLM will provide a win-win situation for every foreign student but not in terms of job security in USA... Atkins and Jagsmehn, when do you expect to get the current situation (economic crisis) be normal in near future?
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grugani


Joined: 06 Jul 2005
Posts: 140
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Wed Jan 28, 2009 06:54 PM
I believe the present moment makes studying in the US even more interesting at this time. I wonder how rich will be the discussions in class...
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atkins

Joined: 09 Jan 2009
Posts: 13
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Wed Jan 28, 2009 07:23 PM
I think it will be a long, hard winter for the U.S. economy. My suspicion (i.e., speculation) is that the economy will begin to sprout-up again (but not blossom) in early-to-mid 2010. As of the present....Massive layoffs are being announced each day, and thousands upon thousands are losing their jobs. U.S. Law firms, too, are laying off people, albeit with greater stealth.

The entire situation should be interesting fodder for class discussions in LLM programs.


[Edited by atkins on 28 Jan 2009]
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QSWE

Joined: 23 Nov 2008
Posts: 674
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:55 AM
By face of the above reading It is amply clear that LLM will provide a win-win situation for every foreign student but not in terms of job security in USA... Atkins and Jagsmehn, when do you expect to get the current situation (economic crisis) be normal in near future?


By face of the above reading It is amply clear that LLM will provide a win-win situation for every foreign student but not in terms of job security in USA... Atkins and Jagsmehn, when do you expect to get the current situation (economic crisis) be normal in near future?


There are two aspects to this problem:

1) Job market has never been that warm for foreign educated US-LLM holders. So, even when it recovers, things won't change drastically. But peg your expectations beyond 2012 realistically because more than an economic crisis this is a crisis of confidence. Don't take it as a pescimistic opinion, but it is true that we are still far from the bottom, which should ideally be around June 2009, if not 2010, and you should add 2-3 years for the markets to recover.

2) Even with the recession and job cuts, one has a chance at getting jobs. Companies are looking at cost cutting. But thats a wrong way of seeing it. They are looking for Cost Efficiency. I think the era of specialists is going to be over for a few years. Only the excellent are going to hold their fort in the specialist departments. But at the entry level, those who have rounded profiles, for example mixing of 2-3 kinds of work fields, offer the solution, simply because there is very little work in sectors like finance and corporate matters that have held the limelight till now. So, if you offer value for money, i.e. you can be the work-horse without being a big eater of money, you have got a great chance even in the recession.

3) Employment, International Commercial litigation, International Dispute Settlement, Restitution, are the fields to cash in on for the next few years if employability is your concern.

[Edited by QSWE on 29 Jan 2009]
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atkins

Joined: 09 Jan 2009
Posts: 13
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Thu Jan 29, 2009 01:16 AM
Jagsmehn's paragraph (2) is especially insightful. No matter what occurs, there will always be jobs for those who are excellent, versatile, and less-costly. Work horses who do not eat a lot of money are really valuable (at least to the firms at which I've practiced).

I am an employment (defense) lawyer, and I am extremely busy right now. Great field, but not so easy to break into. Plaintiffs' employment law is generally feast-or-famine. On the defense side, the trend is toward labor/employment powerhouse specialty firms and smaller niche employment firms taking over the market. The corporate firms in the U.S. are no longer the "go-to" places for companies seeking employment advice. I am not an international lawyer, so I cannot comment on international practice areas. I can, however, confirm that every patent attorney I know has plenty of work to do. So there are opportunities out there, regardless of the dismal market.

[Edited by atkins on 29 Jan 2009]
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Cedric


Joined: 08 Oct 2008
Posts: 202
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Thu Jan 29, 2009 09:33 AM
Facts to be in a top school: let your rich uncle pay for a new wing in the law library and I think you are in !

---
Many a man has been hanged on less evidence than there is for the Loch Ness Monster
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nicemanin


Joined: 05 Aug 2008
Posts: 181
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Tue Feb 10, 2009 06:13 AM
Hello friends... i am sure to add that for LLM admission in Kings,Indian students need 65%+.... In such i did not include class rank/publication/work ex. .... I can only say about marks in LLB because i have ^65%+++ and xenataurus in his post confirms it... (refer- www.llm-guide.com/board/56261/last/#last ) may be this info. help to the future applicants... i need your expert comments on this as may be there are some exceptions from this...
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mdiath

Joined: 12 Jan 2009
Posts: 9
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:34 AM
"Some of the information and numbers being thrown around in this thread shouldn't be taken as holy writ.

I can only speak for Oxford, and about Canadians, but this idea that your class rank needs to be tied to the "rank" of your school isn't anything I've observed. There are at least 6 Canadians in the BCL this year, and we're all from different schools, spanning the (largely imaginary) range of Canadian institutions. We're not all gold medalists, and I don't think there's a publication between us. We ran a relatively narrow gauntlet of work experience, from 4 years to none.

So far as I can tell, the idea that a country's "second-best" applicant will necessarily be bumped in favour of another country's "first-best" applicant is most likely a hallucination brought about by writing too many internet forum posts.

Moderation in all things, people."

I agree! Come on, if first university's ranking played an important role, no applicant from Africa and India and China would be accepted in favor of applicants from western european countries (no offence but i think that a reason for many rejectionss from top schools is the huge number of applications from mediocre applicants). on the other hand, if there would be a limit to peple accepted from every country, then how can you explain that some countries have 3-4 persons accepted in a year and in the next year none? furthermore, that oppinion equates every university and every country's universities. i mean that even the 20th from university of athens is a better candidate from university of cairo and the 40th graduate of munich is better than the 1st of university of thrace, because these are different institutions with a much different difficulty level!

Moreover, i think it is really sad the fact that "top schools" don't take into consideration professional experience that is much more important than grades according to every person's that practices law oppinion and it consists a much more important school than any university.
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nicktracy

Joined: 26 Jan 2009
Posts: 21
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Thu May 14, 2009 08:22 PM
what i have observed so far , in order to be in top LLM program you need-

1-10% rank in class
publications/research papers
international and national inter/summer training in legal sector
national and international moots
work ex.
pro-bono work/NGO
Apply as early as possible in law school,
National scholarship

......................... and my best of luck.....
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PUCCA


Joined: 23 Oct 2008
Posts: 347
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Fri May 15, 2009 08:40 AM
I wanted to go to LSE,,,i didnt apply to oxford or cambridge cause i thought i didnt stand a chance i dont know!
However Lse rejected me and decided to go to UCL instead, which i also consider a very good university :)
I must say i wasnt like the top top but i had very good grades, loooots of volunteering experience, work experience, im certified translator for english, french and spanish, i also speak italian, i have travelled a lot to do different courses,,,i actually thought this would help me get into LSE but i guess people there have far better grades or more important experiences than me,,,its really complicated but after all m really happy about going to UCL :)

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Never stop trying to be better
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pritt

Joined: 08 Mar 2009
Posts: 19
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Fri May 15, 2009 11:26 AM
Very impressive! I just wonder how old you are Pucca? and how old are these people who have so many experience? :-)
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Colorado

Joined: 03 Feb 2009
Posts: 101
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Fri May 29, 2009 07:36 AM
Very interesting posts indeed. I am aware that you are dealing esentially with Oxford and Cambridge, however I should be most grateful whether you could please let me know your thoughts about Durham University (UK).
I am going this year for an LLM.
Thanks so much.
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obamausa8

Joined: 29 Jun 2009
Posts: 1
Some Facts to be in Top law Schools
Wed Jul 01, 2009 02:49 AM
This is an interesting discussion.. thank you for sharing.

[Edited by link updater on 01 Jul 2009]
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