St. John’s University - School of Law - LL.M. in Bankruptcy Program

The University

Welcome to St. John's University
St. John's is one of America's leading Catholic universities recognized for its superb academic programs, diverse student life, BIG EAST excitement and New York vitality.

Founded in 1870 by the Vincentian Community, St. John's is known for giving students the knowledge, skills and confidence to serve others while achieving personal and professional success. Graduates become leaders in their professions, their communities and the world.

The Law School

Celebrating over 80 years of excellence in legal education, St. John's School of Law has produced lawyers who have distinguished themselves in practice, government, and the judiciary. Among its graduates are former New York governors Mario M. Cuomo and Hugh L. Carey, current Court of Appeals Judges Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick and Theodore T. Jones, and the School's former Dean and former Court of Appeals Judge Joseph W. Bellacosa. The law school plays a prominent role in the New York City legal community, imbuing all that it does with the University's Vincentian tradition.

The Program

St. John's offer the nation's premier bankruptcy program. Our highly successful LL.M. in Bankruptcy program offers more than two dozen specialized bankruptcy courses taught by leading practitioners, judges and academics. Our graduates practice with top firms and clerk for leading judges throughout the country. In addition, we publish the American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review, the nation's first bankruptcy journal with a circulation of approximately 11,000. We also sponsor, jointly with the American Bankruptcy Institute, the annual Conrad B. Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, which brings teams to New York from law schools throughout the country to argue major current issues in bankruptcy law and culminates in a banquet attended by more than 600 leading practitioners, academics, prominent judges and students. Other bankruptcy activities at St. John's include an active Bankruptcy Law Society and the St. John's Institute of Bankruptcy Policy.

This program, which combines academic rigor with a unique multidisciplinary approach, is designed to produce bankruptcy attorneys with the skills, the ambition and the knowledge to become leaders in the insolvency field. We do not attempt to mask the intensity of the program; on the contrary, we want each applicant to understand the commitment that this program requires. We also want leaders of the insolvency community to appreciate the effort that each graduate will have made to successfully master such an enormously comprehensive program, and to understand that each is prepared to accept the responsibility of leadership that will go with the degree.

In return, the administration of St. John's University School of Law pledges hands-on assistance and dedicated understanding to the LL.M. students as they make their way toward their leadership role.

The St. John's LL.M. in Bankruptcy Program is fully accredited. It has been approved by the New York State Department of Education, and has received the acquiescence of the American Bar Association.

For more information, please call us at 718-990-5343, email [email protected], or visit on the web at www.law.stjohns.edu/bankruptcy.

The Faculty

The LL.M. in Bankruptcy Program benefits from the teaching expertise of the leading scholars, practitioners and judges in the field of bankruptcy law.

Entry Requirements

The student body will be limited to outstanding candidates who have the capacity to handle a rigorous academic curriculum. Acceptance will be based on the individual's performance at undergraduate and law schools, experience in practice (where applicable), published and unpublished written work, and, where appropriate, personal interviews. Particular emphasis will be placed on the applicant having achieved an outstanding academic record in obtaining a Juris Doctor from an accredited A.B.A. law school and on the applicant's employment history and documented promise in the practice of bankruptcy law. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted by an appropriate LL.M. program faculty committee in concert with the law school Faculty Admissions Committee and the Dean of Admissions.

Application Procedure

APPLY NOW FOR FALL 2012!

Student Selection Standards
The student body will be limited to outstanding candidates who have the capacity to handle a rigorous academic curriculum. Acceptance will be based on the individual?s performance at undergraduate and law schools, experience in practice (where applicable), published and unpublished written work, and, where appropriate, personal interviews. Particular emphasis will be placed on the applicant having achieved an outstanding academic record in obtaining a Juris Doctor from an accredited A.B.A. law school and on the applicant?s employment history and documented promise in the practice of bankruptcy law. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted by an appropriate LL.M. program faculty committee in concert with the law school Faculty Admissions Committee and the Dean of Admissions.

Rolling Admissions and Application Deadline - APPLY NOW FOR FALL 2012!
Students may commence the program either in the Fall or Spring terms. We use a rolling admissions process and consider applications as they come in and make every effort to inform you of our decision as soon as possible after receipt of your completed application. An application is considered complete when the School of Law has received the following:

Completed & signed application
Two letters of recommendation
Personal statement
Transcripts from law school (including class rank) and undergraduate schools attended
LSAT Score (a copy of the front sheet of the applicant?s LSDAS report, indicating his/her LSAT score provided by Law School)
Application fee of $100 (non-refundable)
A prospective student may apply by sending the completed application to:

LL.M. in Bankruptcy Program
St. John?s University School of Law
8000 Utopia Parkway - Room 118-D
Queens, N.Y. 11439

Students will be expected to submit at least two letters of recommendation with the application, directed to the student?s capacity to handle the intensive program contemplated, preferably from one faculty member and, where appropriate, one practicing insolvency professional with whom the applicant was employed. In addition, the student must submit a personal statement explaining why the applicant desires to enroll and how the applicant believes the program will advance his or her career goals and objectives. The statement should be written in a clear, concise manner, reflecting the applicant?s personal writing style, and be approximately 250 to 500 words. Students may supplement these materials with published or unpublished work written by the student or other information or material the applicant believes may be helpful in the selection process.

Foreign Applicants: Foreign applicants must complete the Foreign Applicant Addendum portion of this application. You must also register with the LL.M. Credential Assembly Service, administered by LSAC. Registration can be done through their website at www.llm.lsac.org. Foreign student applications not made through the LSAC will not be considered. Foreign applicants (other than students from Australia, English-speaking Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom) are required to have taken the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and obtain a grade of at least 600 on the Paper-Based TOEFL Test, a score of at least 250 on the Computer-Based TOEFL Test, or a score of at least 100 (a minimum of 25 on each component) on the Internet-Based TOEFL. In addition, applicants must obtain a grade of at least 5 on the TWE component of the TOEFL Test. The TOEFL score report codes are 2799 for the institution and 03 for the department. Applicants should contact:

TOEFL
P.O. Box6155
Princeton, NJ 08541-6155
Telephone: (609) 921-9000
www.ets.org
or
CITO/SYLVAN Learning Systems
P.O. Box1109,
6801 BC Arnhem,
The Netherlands, 31263521577.

All TOEFL scores are to be sent to the LSAC as indicated on its website.

New York Bar Examination:
The New York bar examination has often been the choice for foreign-educated lawyers who complete an LL.M. program at an ABA-accredited law school. In April 2011, changes were made to the eligibility requirements that become effective August 2012. Eligibility requirements for the New York bar examination found at www.nybarexam.org.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition (2012/2013 Academic Year)

Full-time student (one year): $48,000* ($1,600 per credit)
Part-time students: $1,600 per credit
Tuition will be the full-time tuition in effect divided by 30 for each credit taken.

Location

The School of Law has the benefit of being on a campus located in a quiet, safe, inexpensive and suburban neighborhood in Queens, about 30 minutes from Manhattan.

LL.M. in Bankruptcy Courses are offered at both the Queens and Manhattan campuses.

Accommodation

The School of Law has the benefit of being on a campus located in a quiet, safe, inexpensive and suburban neighborhood in Queens, about 30 minutes from Manhattan. St. John?s understands that many incoming students will need to relocate to the area and would like to provide you with the information to make this transition as smoothly as possible. There are several housing options for law students including:

Living in the University-owned DePaul Townhouses;
Living in Off-Campus Housing; and/or
Being placed on the Roommate List.

Meal Plans
The St. John's University Office of Residence Life administers a Meal Plan for all University students. Law students may, but are not required to, enroll in a Meal Plan. For more information, please visit the Meal Plan website or contact the Office of Residence Life at (718) 990-2417.

Campus Life
For more information about all that the Queens campus has to offer, please visit the Queens campus Student Life website.

Housing Form
If you are an admitted student, please complete the following Housing Response Form as soon as possible to begin receiving updates on housing options. The form may be returned to the Admissions Office at the contact information theron via fax, e-mail, or U.S. Mail.

Contact Information
If you have any further questions concerning your Housing options, please contact the School of Law Admissions Office at (718) 990-6474 or at [email protected].