LL.M. Program for International Students
Message from the Dean
The Loyola University New Orleans College of Law has a unique emphasis on comparative and international law owing to its location in the State of Louisiana, the only one of the United States to have a private law system based on the civil law. The civil law was imported into Louisiana during the eighteenth century when it was first a colony of France and later of Spain. After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Louisiana in 1808 was the first jurisdiction in the Western Hemisphere to adopt a Civil Code, based on the Code Napoleon. Louisiana then began to adopt a number of common law institutions and concepts so that it can now properly be considered a “mixed jurisdiction.” Also contributing to the global focus of the College of Law is its Jesuit heritage and its location in the international port city of New Orleans with its diverse cultural heritage.
Loyola offers an attractive atmosphere for students from other countries for a number of reasons. One of these is our association with prestigious foreign law schools. We have cooperation agreements involving exchange of faculty and students with the law faculties at the following schools: University of Vienna, Moscow State University, Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest, the University of Belgrade, the University of Vytatus Magnus in Kaunas, Lithuania; the Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey, the University of Costa Rica in San Jose, and the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
The College of Law is also one of the top four law schools in the U.S. in the number of foreign summer programs of American law students. These programs are located in Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary and Moscow, Russia. In addition, Loyola has the largest number of summer programs in Latin America of any American law school, with programs in Cuernavaca, Mexico, Rio de Janeiro Brazil and San Jose Costa Rica. The school also previously operated study abroad programs in Kyoto, Japan and Capetown, South Africa. The school annually conducts a seminar in Europe that tours the leading institutions of the European Union, has an annual Seminar on Exploring the Roots of Civil Law in Rome and Istanbul, fields a team in the International Arbitration Moot in Vienna, Austria and regularly sends and receives visiting faculty to and from many foreign institutions. This burgeoning activity produces many opportunities for the study of international and comparative law, including frequent scholarly events such as public addresses and faculty colloquia, and much publication in comparative and international law journals.
Because of its location in a mixed jurisdiction, the College of Law offers two J.D. programs, a Civil Law curriculum (for students who intend to practice in Louisiana and other Civil Law jurisdictions) and a Common Law curriculum (for students who intend to practice in one of the other United States.) For a number of years we have offered optional certificate programs in Civil Law (for Common Law majors) and Common Law (for Civil Law majors), as well as a certificate in International Legal Studies.
Because of this richness and diversity of the College of Law’s international programs we are uniquely situated to initiate a new LL.M. program: an LL.M. in United States Law.
Attaining an LL.M. from Loyola will open new career options for you in the growing global economy. Because United States corporations and law firms occupy a dominant role in this economy an LL.M. degree from a U.S. law school will be a valuable credential whether you intend to work in the United States or return to your home country. The LL.M. program we will offer is designed to be flexible enough to meet a wide variety of specialties and interests. The LL.M. program will be fully integrated with the existing J.D. program, allowing you to choose from a large number of courses.
Advantages of a U.S. Law Degree Expanding Your Career Options
- Obtain Training in U.S. Law for a Globalized Economy
Because of the increasingly influential position of U.S. business in the world economy, familiarity with U.S. law has become increasingly important for lawyers whose practice includes international or transnational practice and for lawyers who hope to expand their practice into these areas. This could encompass employment with a law firm, corporation or government entity, either in your home country or in the United States.
- Earn a Well Respected Credential
The LL.M. degree from a U.S. law school is a widely sought after and respected academic credential. This is evidenced by the fact that over two thousand lawyers from other countries enroll in U.S. LL.M. programs.
- Qualify to sit for the bar examination in a U.S. jurisdiction that accepts foreign law graduates with an LL.M. degree
Fifteen states in the U.S. – most notably New York – allow foreign law graduates with some additional education at an ABA approved law school to take the Bar Examination.
Curriculum
LL.M. in United States Law
The LL.M. in United States Law is primarily (but not exclusively) designed for lawyers who have obtained their first degree in law from a law school in a Civil Law country. A concept of the program is that Louisiana’s Civil Law or perhaps more accurately “Mixed Jurisdiction” background will be attractive to lawyers from Civil Law countries. The Loyola College of Law Civil Law faculty will be available for these students as interpreters and “mediators” to assist them in better understanding unfamiliar Common Law concepts and techniques and other aspects of American public and private law. By achieving this familiarity foreign lawyers can become more comfortable in those areas of their future practice when they interact with U.S. lawyers, businessman, government officials or other legal institutions.
A total of twenty-four credit hours is required for this degree. It is anticipated that the degree will be completed in one academic year (two semesters), but students may take longer if they wish with the permission of the Director. For example, it maybe possible to finish the few remaining hours in the summer following the academic year by taking summer courses either in New Orleans or one of several study-abroad programs.
The only specific required courses for this degree will be the three credit course in “Introduction to United States Law” and the two credit course in “Legal Research and Writing for Foreign Lawyers.” There is also a separate research and writing requirement which may be fulfilled by taking a two hour law school seminar for credit or a two hour independent legal research project (LAW L898) under the supervision of a faculty member. An LL.M. student may be able to complete a more extensive thesis under faculty supervision for up to a total of six hours credit. (This would be instead of the two hour project, not in addition to it.)
The remaining credits of the twenty-four credit hours may be taken from among any other courses in the College of Law’s course catalog except for the “Legal Research and Writing” for JD students, as well as, courses that are associated with service on the school’s four officially recognized law journals. The candidate should have a coherent plan of electives and have the approval of the director for all elective courses.
Up to four credit hours may be earned through a pass-fail internship with a law firm, court or government agency. The College of Law does not promise that an internship will be available to the potential LL.M. candidate, but will make best efforts to arrange one for interested candidates.
If a candidate chooses to write a thesis this may be completed after the candidate’s one year period of residency on the Loyola campus, but the LL.M. degree will not be awarded until the thesis is satisfactorily completed.
Students who have their first degree in law from a common law country other than the United States may elect, as part of their required twenty four credit hours, to take a limited concentration in Civil Law courses offered at Loyola and receive a certificate in Civil Law Studies reflecting this concentration. The additional requirements for the certificate in Civil Law Studies are that the candidate take one of the following Civil Law courses in our curriculum: Civil Law Property or Civil Law Conventional Obligations plus one other Civil Law course, i.e., one of those designed "LCIV" in the Loyola College of Law Bulletin.
Visa Requirements
Students applying for an F-1 or J-1 visa are required to show that they have sufficient funds to provide for their educational, living and personal expenses for one year before Loyola University will issued the necessary I-20 document for a student visa.
Students studying under an F-1 or J-1 visa must maintain full time enrollment during the academic year (excluding the summer session). To maintain full time enrollment students studying under an F-1 or J-1 visa must register for nine or more credits each semester. Some students in the United States on other types of visas may be eligible for part-time or full-time study. However, students cannot enroll with a tourist (B-1/B-2) visa.
U.S. embassies and consulates around the world require varying amounts of time to process visas. All applicants should confirm with the consulates or embassies in their home country the current visa procedures. For the location of the consulate close to you consult the US embassy website.
Financial Aid
Legal education in the United States is expensive. The Admissions office will work with applicants to explore options for financing their tuition and personal expenses while in the United States.
Scholarships from Home Country:
Applicants are encouraged to seek financial aid or scholarship funds from sources that may be available in their home countries. The Fulbright Program is one possible source. The selection process for Fulbright Scholars may vary from country to country. For assistance in locating sponsoring organizations, contact the United States Embassy or Consulate or the United States Information Agency in your country. Also, your government may have scholarship funds that you can access.
There are multi-national corporations and law firms located in your country that may be willing to provide financial assistance. You should partially consider such a source if you are currently working with one of these companies or anticipate doing so.
Loyola University Scholarships:
Loyola University College of Law has a limited amount of scholarship funds to help provide financial support to foreign graduate students. These are partial scholarships awarded to entering students based on academic merit and need. The College of Law does not provide full scholarships to foreign graduate students.
Loans:
Many American law students apply for federally subsidized loans to finance their studies. If you are a US citizen or permanent resident or foreign student who has a guarantor who is a permanent resident, you may be eligible for private alternative loans. Eligibility is determined by completion of a standardized form which may be completed online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The Office of Financial Aid at the College of Law can further counsel you on these programs.
Tuition and Fees
Because of the uncertainty of the economy and budgetary projections, Loyola University reserves the right to change tuition, fees, or other charges printed in this brochure. The rates for 2006-2007 are listed below:
Tuition (2006-2007)
$939 per credit hour
Thus for the academic year the cost would be $22,536 for a student taking the full 24 credit hours in one academic year or $11,268 for one semester. Tuition is normally increased for the following academic year beginning with the summer session.
Fees (2006-2007)
For Beginning Students
Application Fee (non-refundable) $40
Acceptance Deposit (applicable to tuition) $500
($150 due by May 1, non-refundable; $350 due by June 1, refundable only until July 15; $150 Student Bar Association.)
For All Students
Student Center Fee $88/semester
Summer Session $45/session
Student Government Association Fee $40/semester
Publications Fee $20 fall semester
Athletic Fee $80/semester
Information Technology Fee $125/semester
Contingent Fees
Late registration $20
Late payment $100
Students are encouraged to make payments by check or money order payable to Loyola University. Cash transactions are discouraged. Credit card payments are also accepted for tuition and fee payments. Wire transfers from foreign banks can also be arranged.
The Student Community and Social Life
Loyola University’s LL.M. program will be fully integrated socially in the College of Law. LL.M. students will attend most of their classes with J.D. students as well as with other LL.M. students. There are a number of co-curricular and extracurricular student organizations in which you may interact with your fellows students outside the classroom. In addition, there are Friday afternoon social hours sponsored by the Student Bar Association and other student organizations which are open to all law students. The city of New Orleans, particularly the Uptown area where the Loyola University is located, offers a number of excellent restaurants, cultural and entertainment opportunities.
Career Services Program
The College of Law’s Office of Career Services (OCS) assists students and alumni with career counseling and professional development needs. LL.M. students will have full access to the services of this office, which offers one-on-one counseling either through an “open-door” policy or scheduled appointments. A variety of workshops are available each semester on topics such as cover letter and resume writing, interviewing skills, salary negotiations, career planning and organizing a job search. You will receive regular e-mail notifications from the Office of Career Services announcing relevant job and internship posting. Guest speakers are regularly invited to participate in career planning seminars.
The Office of Career Services participates in national job fairs and alumni events. Also the OCS participates in the international job recruitment fair based in New York in January of each year.
OCS maintains a website www.law.loyno.edu/career to assist students and alumni with local, national and international job searches. During the fall and spring semesters, OCS hosts both an on-campus and off-campus interviewing program for employers.
Campus and Library Facilities
In December 1985 the College of Law moved to its current facility 7214 St. Charles Avenue. The state of art structure, approximately six blocks from the main campus, doubled the available library space and afforded the opportunity for increase use of classroom technology. A new 16,000 square foot addition to the Law School building has now been completed. With this new addition the College will have over 116,000 thousand square feet of classroom, library and office space.
The law library collections of approximately 335,000 volumes and microform equivalent supports the curriculum and researches needs of the College of Law faculty and students. Its working collection includes source materials and finding tools for all US, federal and state jurisdictions as well as from many foreign countries. Due to the civil law tradition of Louisiana, the law library collects substantial materials on French, Quebecois and Scottish Law. The library is a US government documents depository and a depository of Louisiana State documents as well as WTO documents.
In addition to conventional resources, the library has extensive computer facilities in place to access information outside the confines of the library. The Online Catalog Library Center service permits the library to access a national bibliographic database of more than 10 million publications, most of which may be borrowed by using the computer terminals located in the library. The LEXIS and WESTLAW services allow the library to access the two largest legal databases in the nation, which contain court decisions, statutes, and regulations on both federal and local levels; court decisions and statutes of France, the United Kingdom, and the European Communities; and articles from regular and legal newspapers and journals.
Both LEXIS and WESTLAW are currently offering students personal passwords which enable them to access the systems from home computers, as well as from the library’s computer labs.
The College of Law is also committed to acquiring for each country from which an LL.M. student comes – to the extent to which we do not have this already – a core of primary materials (such as Civil Code, Commercial Code, Code of Civil Procedure and Code of Criminal Procedure as well as selected secondary materials) to allow students to keep up on the law of their home countries and provide comparative insight to their fellow LL.M. and J.D. students.
For LL.M. students who elect the thesis option we will acquire additional foreign and comparative materials as needed – although our foreign materials are already extensive.
Housing
The College of Law is located in a residential area of Uptown New Orleans where a number of graduate students and undergraduates live. Single and shared apartments and houses are available within walking distance of the College of Law. Average monthly rent ranges from $750 and up. The Office of Admissions provides housing information and assistance for all LL.M. applicants, including maintaining a roomate list.
There is one Loyola University dormitory, Cabra Hall, directly adjacent to the College of Law. This dormitory is comprised of suites which house eight students in double rooms. Four rooms share a bathroom, multipurpose area and a living room. Each bedroom is furnished with two single beds, two desks, two closets, basic cable service and a local telephone service. The living room is furnished with a loveseat, chairs, sofa and coffee table. The hall is centrally heated and air-conditioned. Study room, laundry facilities, study lounges, a computer room, a community kitchen and a sun deck are also located within this residence hall.
While Cabra Hall is available to law students including LL.M. students, we cannot guarantee that rooms will be available since priority is given to undergraduate students for space in the residence halls.
There are no accommodations for married students on campus. The University does operate an active apartment listing through its Center for Commuter Services in the Danna Center.
Meal Plans
Any student, via contract on a semester basis, may participate in Loyola University’s voluntary meal program. Loyola offers a unique approach to food service. With the availability of our meal plans and the option of dining in any one of five on-campus restaurant facilities, the student will find convenience and variety an everyday reality.
The cost of meal plan ranges from $1,315 for the 5-MEAL PLAN to $1,613 per semester for the 9-MEAL PLAN for the 2006-2007 school year. For more information, go to www.loyno.edu/dining.services.
Application Process
- Applicants for the LL.M. program must have earned a first degree in law from an educational institutional which is accredited by the government of the country in which the law school is located or by a recognized regional or national agency.
- Students whose first language is not English must take the TOEFL and attain a score of 230 on the computerized version of the TOEFL or a score of at least 570 on the paper based version and minimum of TWE score of not less than 5.5 with the understanding that higher score on the TWE could off-set the less than minimum score on the TOEFL. For the internet based version of TOEFL, the following scores will be required: writing 25, speaking 24, listening 20, and reading 20. In lieu of the TOEFL students may provide other satisfactory of English proficiency, such as an undergraduate transcript from a university where classes were conducted in English or extended residence in an English speaking country. The TOEFL code for the Loyola University College of Law is 6374.
- You must have two letters of recommendation and submit a current curriculum vitae.
- Academic Transcripts from all colleges, universities and law schools attended. International applicants to the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law’s LL.M. degree programs are encouraged to register with the LSAC’s LL.M. Credential Assembly Service (www.LLM.LSAC.org). This service will save you time and money, especially if you intend to apply to a number of U.S. or Canadian graduate law degree programs. You will only need to obtain your transcripts and other required credentials one time in order to make them available for all of your law school applications. For a registration fee of $185 (US), LSAC will collect, authenticate, and distribute your university records [and TOEFL score(s)-if required]. You will be able to use this credential-processing service to apply to participating U.S. and Canadian law schools for a period of five years. Five reports to law schools are included in the registration fee. For additional information about this service, go to www.LLM.LSAC.org. Please note that you must still complete the Loyola application and submit all required application fees to Loyola University College of Law. The LSAC service serves only to authenticate non-U.S. or Canadian credentials that are needed in addition to a completed admissions application. If you choose not to register with LSAC’s LL.M. Credential Assembly Service, you will need to send us one set of original transcripts printed in the school’s country’s language and one set printed in English and evaluated by a credential evaluation service such as World Education Services.
- Complete the application form and include the application fee of $40. This may be paid by check or money order made payable to the Loyola College of Law. This amount is not applied to tuition or other expenses or fees. Checks must be drawn from U.S. bank accounts or from banks that have branches in the United States. No money orders in non-U.S. currency will be accepted. You can also pay by credit card using the application form.
Admission Decisions
Completed applications for admission for enrollment in the fall semester will be considered by the admissions committee in mid-March and applications will be notified of the committee decisions as they are made. Applicants who need to have a visa are required to submit their application no later than May 1st, but preferably earlier. Applicants who are not required to have a visa will be considered after May 1st but only a space available basis.
Contact us:
Director, James M. Klebba, Victor H. Schiro Distinguished Professor
Email: Klebba@loyno.edu
Phone: 504-861-5669
Fax: 504-861-5480
Coordinator: Judy Corcoran
Email: corcoran@loyno.edu
Phone: 504-861-5563
Fax: 504-861-5480