What are job prospects looking like after recieving an LLM in Taxation from University of San Diego? I ultimately would like to practice in Chicago.

I talked to the dean at usd a couple months ago and it sounds like most people end up in the san diego area. Although, it's not a lot of firm jobs. E&Y does a lot of hiring there too. The people who don't stay in CA seem to go to AZ. That's all the info I got.
If you want to work in chicago go to Northwestern. Although I hear it's tough to get a firm job out of there too since it's still a newer program and firms don't see the value in hiring a NW tax LLM yet. But, the big four has been fairly active hiring out of there and placing in the chicago area.

Dear krltax,
Do you know when Northwestern University initiated their Tax Program? And how about the valuation of this program? (So far as you know.) Thank you.

i was accepted to NW, but decided not to go there. even though it's still fairly new, it's gaining alot of respect quickly. i think it started in 98-99. it's already risen to #4 in the tax llm rankings and the placement, especially in the chicago area is pretty good. i've spoken with a graduate from there who actually ended up working in texas and the NW tax llm carried some respect there as well.

Hi branson1,
Thank you very much. Your positive answer makes me relieved. (I thought the Tax program began in about 2004.) I wonder where did you decide to go instead of NW?

well, i'm still waiting on NYU to let me know if i'm in or not. but if i don't get in there, i'm going to Florida. it was a tough decision, but i decided to turn down Georgetown and NW. how about you? where did you apply?

I was rejected by U of Florida but accepted to NW. Ｉfailed to meet NYU's deadline and Georgetown requires lots of work experience which I don't have (So I applied for its LL.M. in general studies.) It seems that NW is my better choice for now. The international Tax program at U of Florida is famous. Good for you. I wish you the best of luck in your application to NYU, the perpetual No. 1 in Tax. I wish I could studied in NYU's Tax program.

well, i'm still waiting on NYU to let me know if i'm in or not. but if i don't get in there, i'm going to Florida. it was a tough decision, but i decided to turn down Georgetown and NW. how about you? where did you apply?

I spoke with law firms and tax lawyers in the area of the country where I want to practice and almost all of them gave me the same advice:

If you get into NYU, go there. It's number one.
If you don't get into NYU, go to Florida. It's the next best and some even choose Florida over NYU because it's so much less expensive.
Don't go to GT unless you want to work for the government. It's a great program, but it has a reputation for being slanted toward government positions.
Don't go to NW unless you want to work in Chicago. It's also a great program and gaining alot of respect, but it's still fairly young and it's tax program is just getting it's name out there.

These are TAX lawyers giving me this advice. They only care about the TAX program. When looking at a TAX LLM, they don't care about how the JD school is ranked. They also put alot more emphasis on where you get your JD, not your LLM.

If you want a general LLM, then consider the overall rankings or the general LLM rankings, but that won't help you get a TAX job.

Hi branson1,
It sounds great you could talk to some tax practitioners before you decide where to go. But be careful about these practitioners' backgrounds which are quite different from ours since we are foreigners to American. I believe that most of whom you talked already had their JDs as well as some work experience before enrolling in the Tax program. Considering to merely strengthen their professional in Tax, they might not care so much about the overall fame of schools where they are going to study Tax. As foreigners we may face different conditions. I think it is very difficult for a foreigner to land a job if he didn't graduate from Top 20 Law Schools (LL.M). However, these above are my personal views and credentials are differ from people to people. You may have strong academic and work background so you probably won't face such difficulties. I would like to appreciate your views, if possible.

By the way, I think location is also important. Job fairs tend to be held in big cities like NYC, LA, or Chicago. Though U of Florida is particularly famous for its Tax program, it is still more local than national. One graduating from U of Florida might have less chances than those from big cities. Do you plan to work in the US? How many Tax practitioners you know or talked are graduates from U of Florida? It seems that Tax-related jobs at big firms usually are occupied by NYU and Georgetown LLM (Taxation) graduates, as well as Havard and Yale JDs.

I am an American so I guess our views will be different.

Hi branson1,
Sorry I didn't notice your background. I appreciate your views.

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this blog. So be nice! I've been admitted to the LL.M. (Tax) at NYU and the LL.M. at Columbia (where I'll take corporate law/business classes). Which do you believe is more prestigious?

I am aware that the tax program at NYU is the best, but in terms of pure program recognition, what is better? My ultimate career goal is to be a politician in Canada, country where I am from. I am not very concerned about getting a job as I already have a good one in Toronto, and am only concerned about program prestige and recognition among the masses.

Thanks everyone.

Hi all,

I am currently a JD student at USD. My interest is in corporate transactional law at a medium-large private firm. I was wondering whether I should take the Tax LLM or the LLM in Business and Corporate Law. The Tax LLM can be done in one semester, while the Business LLM appears to take one year so it would be more expensive. I'm told by many people that tax issues touch everything in transactional law. The Tax LLM ranking at USD of 10th seems pretty good, and I'm not sure of the Business LLM ranking at USD. What do you all think?

Thanks.

branson1,

You and I are in a similar situation. I applied to NYU, Florida and Georgetown. I have been accepted into Florida and Georgetown. I have not heard from NYU. I recently found out that I have been awarded a scholarship to Flordia. Although I really wanted to attend NYU, I am starting to lean towards Florida. I think it is ridiculous for NYU to wait so long to send decision letters to domestic students.

For references:

NYU Tax Program was founded in 1945.
http://www.law.nyu.edu/programs/tax/gradworkshop/2005/anniversary.html

Northwestern tax program was founded in 2002.
(from the tax brochure)

Florida for over 30 years.
http://www.law.ufl.edu/tax/

branson1,

You and I are in a similar situation. I applied to NYU, Florida and Georgetown. I have been accepted into Florida and Georgetown. I have not heard from NYU. I recently found out that I have been awarded a scholarship to Flordia. Although I really wanted to attend NYU, I am starting to lean towards Florida. I think it is ridiculous for NYU to wait so long to send decision letters to domestic students.

Branson1,

I finally received my "admitted students package" from NYU. It came almost four months after I received my acceptance letters from Florida and Georgetown. I get the feeling that domestic students are an after thought for NYU. Both GU and Florida accepted me earlier and offered me scholarships. Needless to say, I am strongly leaning towards attending GU or UF.

hey thanks for the update...still waiting here.