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International advantage-Why is the LLM so popular?
Numbers of applicants for the Masters of Laws (LLM) continue to rise, year in, year out. So why is the degree proving so popular? Caryn Voland, Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Georgetown University Law Centre says: “An LLM is an additional attractive credential for your resumé. Depending on your country of origin, you may choose to do an LLM immediately after completing your first law degree, or you may wait for a few years until you have some practice experience. As the law profession becomes more internationalized, lawyers who can demonstrate a familiarity with legal systems outside their own country will have an advantage.”
Elizabeth Dalferes, Assistant Director at Tulane Law School agrees that an LLM gives graduates an international advantage. She says that “students pursuing an LLM will find that the degree program enables them an opportunity to gain more knowledge of the international market, focus on a specific course of study, and advance in their professional endeavors.”
An LLM allows students to focus on specific areas of the law in much more detail, thus better preparing them for a career in a particular speciality.
An opportunity to specialize
The chance to focus on a particular aspect of the law is a great advantage of the LLM, says Justin Ryan Swinsick, director of the LLM programme at IE in Madrid: “Studying for an LLM is an opportunity for a student to specialize. Most LLM programs require a first degree in law, so students have already learned many basic legal principles, concepts, and theories but in a broad and general sense. An LLM allows students to focus on specific areas of the law in much more detail, thus better preparing them for a career in a particular speciality. This specialIty can be something as narrow in scope as arbitration or tax law or as broad as international business law. The general principle is that students graduate from an LLM program with detailed knowledge, prepared to begin a career in their chosen field.”
The skills that they learn whilst doing this will make them attractive to potential employers, continues Swinsick: “International law firms and company legal departments increasingly demand lawyers with a global perspective, able to add value in complex international transactions by providing top-quality legal advice and services, with an in-depth understanding of business issues and the highest standards of professional ethics. Studying an LLM which focuses on the practical skills necessary to carry out these transactions gives a lawyer a distinct advantage.”
Dalferes agrees: “Today’s lawyers often seek out additional training through an LLM program so that they can expand their professional activities and gain mobility in the international market. The LLM allows lawyers to further specialize in fields such as health law, or environmental law. Some lawyers might chose to pursue an LLM degree in order to teach in their home countries, or to be eligible for appointments to the judiciary.”
Stepping stone to work in the US
Another advantage of doing an LLM is that it is a good stepping stone to working in the United States, says Dalferes: “Many lawyers choose to complete an LLM in order to be able to practice in the United States since foreign lawyers are sometimes eligible to apply for a bar exam in certain states upon completion of an LLM degree from an ABA-approved law school.“
Voland says that the course at Georgetown opens up the US legal system to international students: “Many students have been practicing law in their home countries, and find that they are interacting with US lawyers or US laws as part of their work. Our LLM program can give lawyers trained outside the US a better understanding of the US legal system.“
Spending a year in the US getting an LLM offers an opportunity to reflect on one’s own system and traditions while becoming familiar with US law and culture.“
