The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University offers two LL.M., or Master of Laws degrees, one in biotechnology and genomics, another in tribal policy, law, and government. The LL.M. is an advanced legal degree requiring a prerequisite of a J.D. or a terminal law degree from a foreign educational institution .
LL.M., Biotechnology and Genomics The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law is the first to offer an LL.M. in Biotechnology and Genomics. The College’s Center for the Study of Law, Science, & Technology is the United States' oldest and largest academic center of its kind with 29 faculty fellows and more than 14 permanent faculty from both legal and scientific disciplines teaching genomics and biotechnology related courses. The LL.M. program focuses study in the growing intersection of law and genetic applications, such as pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine, genetically modified organisms, forensic evidence, gene testing, gene therapy, cloning, stem cells, and behavioral genetics. These raise a plethora of legal issues relating to privacy, confidentiality, regulation, liability, international trade, evidentiary standards, intellectual property, licensing, and business planning. The LL.M. requires the completion of 24 credit hours and provides its students the legal mastery and the scientific understanding to keep pace. Students benefit from the Center’s established international reputation, regular conferences on Law & Genetics, and the Center’s 18-year collaboration with the American Bar Association to publish Jurimetrics: the Journal of Law, Science, and Technology. In addition, Arizona and the Phoenix metropolitan area have made a strong commitment to genomics as a driver of future economic growth, including raising over $100 million to attract the International Genomics Consortium (IGC) and Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).The Biodesign Institute, located near the law school on the ASU Tempe campus, works as a close partner with the Center for the Study of Law, Science, and Technology, provide additional opportunities for students and faculty. Many Phoenix law firms recently have established life sciences and biotechnology practice groups in response to this new industry.
LL.M., Tribal Policy, Law, and Goverment The LL.M. in Tribal Policy, Law and Government is designed for lawyers and law school graduates who desire to work on issues related to tribal law and federal Indian law at the professional and academic levels. The Indian Legal Program is nationally known and was established in 1988. Today, the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law graduates more Indian law specialists than any other law school in the country. The LL.M. program provides students with a detailed understanding of the nature of tribal government, law, and policy development within the domestic federal structure. Candidates will benefit from the extensive resources committed to the Indian Legal Program, including a full-time director and staff and an Indian Law Clinic with its own full-time director and staff. The core curricular offerings focus on domestic tribal law, federal Indian law, and American institutions of law and government. The program explores the expression of domestic law within contemporary administrative, governmental, and judicial institutions. ASU is located in the heart of the southwest United States, home to roughly one-third of the Native population in the United States and where many of the largest Indian nations in the country reside. It is the academic home for several nationally known scholars who do research on American Indian issues, and houses many unique resources for such scholarship, including the Labriola Collection at Hayden Library.
