University of Southern California - USC Law School

The Law School

Over 100 years old, USC Law is a small, private, top-ranked U.S. law school. One of the most prominent and highly selective law schools in the country, USC Law has a reputation for academic excellence. Our law school is distinguished by renowned faculty, the diversity of a friendly and collegial student body, a student/faculty ratio of better than 12:1 and a tight-knit alumni network composed of leaders in the legal, business, government and the public sectors. Students possess extraordinary credentials and represent a rich diversity of backgrounds and experiences.

USC is one of the world's leading private research universities and the schools of law, engineering, film, medicine, journalism, business and architecture are among the nation’s leading graduate schools. USC leads the nation in international student enrollment.

The Program

The Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program is a one-year degree program for candidates seeking a U.S. law degree. It is designed for attorneys, judges, government officials, prosecutors, corporate legal counsel, bankers, and recent law graduates who have received their basic law degree outside the United States. USC Law School students may tailor their courses in specialty areas including: Corporate & Business law, Intellectual Property, Entertainment & Patent Law, International & Comparative Law, or students may choose a general concentration. LL.M. students select from over 130 different courses offered by the Law School every year.

As a part of our career development offerings, USC Law’s LLM Program includes participation in a number of job fairs and networking opportunities, as well as series of bar preparation programs and courses developed uniquely for our LLM students and alumni. Many of our students take the NY or California bar exam upon completion of the LLM and they enjoy outstanding bar passage rates.

Our Early Bar Preparation Program is offered each spring exclusively for our LLM students. It introduces the components of the New York and California bar exams and consists of four day-long workshops covering Contracts, Real Property along with Multi-State and Performance Exam workshops. Substantive law is reviewed during the first half of each workshop and students then focus on essay writing for each subject. Students review outlining and practice writing a question on the subject that is then graded by the workshop instructors. For the Multi-State and Performance Exam workshops, students review the basics of multiple-choice format exams.

We offer a variety of courses exclusively for our LLM students that focus on topics covered on the New York and California bar exams. These courses include: Introduction to U.S. Legal System, Topics in American Law, Legal Profession, Legal Research, Legal Writing, and Reviewing and Negotiating Business Contracts.

The Faculty

Recognized as one of the United States’ most productive in scholarship, the USC Law Faculty is noted for its commitment to interactive and dynamic classroom teaching. USC Law professors are accomplished, approachable, supportive, and dedicated to helping students succeed. The Law School’s interdisciplinary focus is strengthened by its faculty members, many of whom hold doctorates in fields ranging from economics and history to psychology and political science. As primary resources for leading developments in law, the faculty of USC Law School influence corporations, legislatures, government agencies, and the courts.

Entry Requirements

To qualify for admission to the USC LL.M. Program, students submitting an application must have earned their first law degree (LL.B. or equivalent) outside the United States. Admissions are highly selective and those admitted will have excellent law school records, strong letters of recommendation and strong English language ability, as demonstrated by their TOEFL score, writing sample and personal statement. Although not required, some work or research experience following completion of a degree in law is preferred. The Admissions Committee carefully evaluates all parts of the application.

Application Procedure

There are two options to submit your application. You may either follow the instructions on our website (lawgip.usc.edu/apply.cfm) to APPLY ONLINE through our LSAC e-application, or you may download and fill in the PDF application form, print, and mail it directly to USC Gould School of Law with each of your required application documents. Please visit our website for a complete list of items that must be submitted with your application file.

To save you time and money, we highly recommend that applicants use the Law School Admission Council's (LSAC) Credential Assembly Service to collect, authenticate and distribute your university records to each of the participating law schools to which you apply. We will provide priority review of all applications utilizing LSAC's Credential Assemby Service. Provided that you are admitted and choose to enroll in USC Law’s LL.M. Program, we will credit LSAC’s $185 fee to your fall/spring tuition and fees upon your request.

We are no longer accepting applications for the 2009-2010 academic year. Applications to our 2010-2011 programs will become available in September.

Financial Aid

The Graduate & International Programs Office offers partial merit-based scholarships each year. Scholarship assistance based on merit is awarded to outstanding applicants. Very qualified applicants should simply submit a letter requesting scholarship consideration when applying to the LL.M. Program. Please contact the Graduate & International Programs Office if you have any scholarship questions.

Location

USC is an integral part of the cosmopolitan and dynamic Los Angeles community. Los Angeles is a vital center of business, the arts, and international trade and is comprised of an amazing array of diverse cultures, religions and people. Within this framework of diversity, there are countless opportunities to learn about how the law operates in American society. From small biotech start-up companies, to huge giants in aerospace, shipping, entertainment and media, the tremendous variety of industries and government agencies in L.A. is unmatched anywhere. USC Law students enjoy the sunny and warm weather all-year-round and are able to visit the beaches, mountains, golf courses, amusement parks, which are all within easy driving distance from USC!

Student Life

Our outstanding students bring a rich array of experience, legal knowledge and cultures to the Law School. They come from countries all over the world such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, Iceland, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Thailand.

The Graduate & International Programs Office hosts exciting events throughout the year, including a trip to the Hollywood Bowl, a USC Football game, a Laker's basketball game, an international food fair and many more! Students also have the opportunity to participate in a myriad of student run organizations and law school activities, including the JD/LLM Partnership Program in which students are paired up for informal information exchanges to share about law school, cultural differences and the practice of law in the U.S. and overseas! USC Law students enjoy their very rich and exciting student lives throughout the year.

Summer Program

The University of Southern California Law School invites you to participate in its 4-week Summer Law & English Program. The 2009 Summer Law & English Program will run for 4 weeks from July 13, 2009 to August 7, 2009. The law classes are Monday - Friday from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. The legal English classes are Monday - Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Classes are held at USC in state-of-the-art classrooms. At the end of the program, participants will receive a document from the USC Law School that certifies their completion of the Summer Law & English Program.

Our program is a unique non-degree course designed for international lawyers, judges, prosecutors and defenders, government officials, corporate legal counsel, business professionals, and law students who would like to learn about the American legal system while improving their English ability. Whether you are preparing for an LL.M. degree program at USC or elsewhere, or you simply want to build a foundation of the U.S. legal system, our program offers the perfect combination of American law and legal English.

The Program participants will receive essential information about the fundamental areas of law and will gain a better understanding of the theories and practices of the U.S. legal system. The curriculum also incorporates training in legal English by USC’s Rossier School of Education Language Academy. The English sessions are customized to complement the law curriculum, including legal vocabulary, presentation and negotiation skills.

For students who have advanced English fluency, afternoon classes will focus on idiomatic expression and developing native-like fluency through debate, discussion and analysis of current legal topics and cases. Students will participate in on-line, interactive surveys and evaluations of the current Supreme Court docket, the intersection of law and politics, and the impact of economic trends on global contract law.