Hofstra University School of Law

The Program

Hofstra Law School

LLM American Legal Studies

The American Legal Studies program should appeal to foreign law graduates who are encouraged to obtain legal training in U.S. law and practice in order to compete more effectively with U.S. law firms operating in foreign countries. Foreign law graduates who seek U.S. law training in order to make themselves more attractive to U.S. law firms and corporations will also benefit from this degree program. The program also helps to qualify a candidate for eligibility to sit for the New York State Bar Examinations and to be admitted to practice law in New York.

The Law School's package of courses in American Litigation and Advocacy should be of particular interest to foreign law graduates who want comprehensive exposure to American approaches to litigation theory and techniques in a variety of lecture, simulation and practice settings. The Law School is the Northeast region's base for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and the Hofstra faculty has extensive expertise in American litigation and advocacy.

LLM International Law

The International Law program allows LL.M. candidates to take advantage of Hofstra's substantial international law curriculum and its intellectually diverse international law faculty. The International Law concentration is intended to appeal to candidates with either foreign or U.S. degrees in law. LL.M. candidates concentrating in international law are strongly encouraged to take up to six credits of independent research to produce a thesis of publishable quality under the direct supervision of a faculty member. Candidates with an undergraduate law degree from a foreign university must successfully complete the August minicourse on U.S. Legal Methods and Systems, conducted one week prior to the start of all classes.

LLM Family Law

Hofstra Law School established the LL.M. Program in Family Law in response to contemporary family law practice's increased demand for specialization and need for an interdisciplinary focus for resolving family issues. The only program of its kind in the eastern United States, and one of only three programs in the country, Hofstra's LL.M. Program in Family Law furthers the Law School's commitment to developing skilled and compassionate family lawyers who have a thorough grounding in the issues central to the field - divorce, family violence, child custody, abuse, neglect and support - as well as knowledge in related areas such as tax, contracts, real estate, and partnership law, child psychology and treatment options.

Hofstra's LL.M. program meets the needs of all students, whether they seek to concentrate on matrimonial issues - marital dissolution, child custody, and property distribution; child protection issues - child abuse and neglect and the child welfare system; or one of the growing areas of subspecialty - international family law, legislative reform, or representing gay and lesbian families.

Hofstra's LL.M. Program in Family Law builds on the Law School's excellent national reputation for dynamic family law programs. Our family law faculty is one of the largest in the nation, with expertise spanning the breadth of the field.