International postgraduate legal education is experiencing a radical change, with a vast range of programmes on offer to meet the growing demand from students. For law graduates with a JD or LLB, the most popular international postgraduate law course preparing you for legal practise is the LLM. So why the dramatic increase in the perceived importance of LLMs? How do you go about making your choice from the range on offer? And finally - and perhaps most importantly - how can you benefit?
Postgraduate law study
The numbers of international students at US university law schools increased five-fold between 1980 and 2000 – almost two-and-a-half times the general growth rate of international students in the USA in the same period. Similar growth is beginning to take place in Europe and throughout the world.
Like the enormous growth in interest in international postgraduate study across all disciplines, law – now most commonly manifested in the internationally recognised LLM qualification – is becoming increasingly popular amongst undergraduates. In the US alone, the number of universities offering LLM programmes has increased from only a few dozen in the early 1990s to 102 in 2003/04.
So why study for an LLM overseas? Is it because you want to experience life and the culture of a certain country? Or to focus on a certain specialisation? Perhaps you’ll increase your prospective career prospects by selecting an LLM relating to your desired field of practise? Making this decision will enable you to narrow down the option of which school, or in which country to study. Having said this, the latter may often prove the deciding factor due to influences such as funding, travel and lifestyle.
But why the recent rise in popularity of LLMs? This is in part due to the fact that employers are beginning to consider them more favourably. One reason for this is the increase in the representation of foreign clients at home, as well as the Bologna Accord and technological advances opening the door for cross-border, distance learning and personalised study. The choice of a huge array of specialisms is also desirable.
Carole Silver, Senior Lecturer at Northwestern's School of Law and an expert on LLM education comments on this growth in popularity: “Some students explain that the LLM provides legitimacy for them in their practices at home, especially in relation to their representation of foreign clients and work in transnational transactions. Transnational work is often the most sophisticated, but in order to gain entry to that practice they must be fluent in English and be familiar with US law and business culture – those are powerful reasons for coming to a US LLM programme.”
Recent trends are also beginning to indicate that gaining an LLM qualification may result in a higher salary
An LLM gives the opportunity for general study or specialisation, as well as the chance of comparative study abroad and to take advantage of the chance to immerse oneself in a foreign culture. Recent trends are also beginning to indicate that gaining an LLM qualification may result in a higher salary.
This increase in the supply of candidates, is helping meet the growing demand for specialised LLMs. Our natural surrounding and environment are beginning to dictate a higher level of demand for certain specialisms, for example, environmental LLMs are on the increase, with the rise in natural disasters and global pollution. There are plenty of institutions offering such specialisms – use our Grad School Search to find out where you can study your chosen discipline.
Whatever your preferences, it is now likely that you’ll be able to find a tailored LLM as well as a more generic overview with a generalised LLM.
The specialised LLM is a more focused degree and whether your area of interest lies in banking, IT, sports, criminology, human rights or taxation, there is likely to be a course to satisfy your needs. Students pursuing such a qualification often have a clearly defined career path, and already have some academic background in the area.
The general LLM - as the name implies - tends to be a more amorphous qualification, seeking to educate a student in the more general areas of law, covering a broad range of what might be considered essential tenets of the academic and professional area.
For international postgraduate students, a usual requirement is some measure of legal education in their undergraduate degree and a broad understanding of the legal system of the country in which they were intending to study. It should be noted, however, that the JD and LLB do no fully prepare you for the professional element of your training, such as passing the local state bar examinations. Those seeking to pursue the general LLM route as a means of becoming a practising lawyer would be best advised to conduct additional research to ascertain the various requirements for professional practice.
Studying in the US or Europe can throw up an abundance of dilemmas in choosing a course – each offering numerous variations in study methods, content and delivery, as well as in lifestyle, cost and prospects.
As the LLM Guide (www.llm-guide.com) states, ‘prospective students should be aware that there is no universal definition for the term LLM. It is used in different ways by institutions around the world’. This is particularly important to bear in mind when deciding where to study, as certain countries will solely focus on teaching foreign lawyers the principles of their own country – not ideal if you’re looking for a multinational perspective!
Studying in the US or Europe can throw up an abundance of dilemmas in choosing a course – each offering numerous variations in study methods, content and delivery, as well as in lifestyle, cost and prospects.
A useful point to note is that in the US, the JD is a postgraduate programme degree – compared to the undergraduate LLB – so entry levels may been construed to be of a higher level. Studying in the US may also offer a greater opportunity to specialise further and tailor your course to your requirements. However, whether opting for the US or Europe, competition for places in the top institutions can be equally competitive with multiple applicants vying for a relatively low number of places.
Teaching methods are also historically and noticeably different in the US and Europe. According to David Levy at the International Law Institute: “American law school classes are taught either as lecture courses, or smaller seminar courses. Lecture courses may range in size from approximately fifteen people for a specialised course such as Admiralty or Conflict of Laws, to perhaps sixty or more for a class such as Secured Transactions or Corporations. Lecture courses, particularly those with large numbers of JD students, are generally taught using the Socratic Method and have a single examination at the end of the course which determines the grade. The larger the course, the more likely it is that it will be taught by a full-time faculty member, rather than by a practising lawyer who teaches as an adjunct professor.”
Ms. Séverine Pruvost, an in-house attorney for Rémy Martin in Cognac, France and a member of the LLM Class of 1999 from Columbia University Law School agrees: “the American teaching system is much different from that of the French. Students are assigned readings ahead of class so there is an interactive discussion between students and professors. In the beginning, adapting to the new system of study was not easy.”
Moving from the US to Europe, graduate legal studies are approached in a different manner, often reflecting the system of law in operation in any one particular country.
Moving from the US to Europe, graduate legal studies are approached in a different manner, often reflecting the system of law in operation in any one particular country. In the United Kingdom, students tend to follow programmes based on common law; while in continental Europe the framework is most often that of the civil court. But differing systems aside, popularity of LLMs is close to the US. According to ELSA’s (European Law Students Association) Guide to Legal Studies in Europe (GLSE), 319 law schools and law faculties currently offer 227 LLM qualifications covering both the general and specialised fields.
One of the topical attractions of studying an LLM in Europe, is the focus on globalisation and the integration of Europe, thus the emphasis on learning to cope with the multinational nature of legal practise may lure many graduates. Aside from this, benefits include small programmes allowing close interaction, options of many part-time courses, and very good value compared to the high US fees – as well as the factor of programmes in various languages.
So what other characteristics differentiate US from European LLM programmes? According to Maria Litzell, Vice President of Marketing at the ELSA, content and theme are also very different. “Our view is that US LLM programmes are more commerce-based than in Europe. It is felt that LLM curriculum across the US emphasises the importance of business-vocational training, while in Europe criminal law, human rights and EU institutions are of better quality than commercial law programmes (except for law schools in London). We also see more and more specialisation in LLM programmes, probably in response to increased demand in certain subject areas. Most noticeable is the increase of specialised masters in human rights programmes, as well as international law European community law and, possibly, environmental law.”
An interesting development in European LLM programmes, facilitated by the advent of the Bologna Accord, is the cross-border programme, allowing students to study at a variety of institutions for a single qualification. According to the ELSA, “the tendencies of cross-border and cross-disciplinary movements in European LLMs differ from region-to-region, but is on the increase. An example is the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation requires students to spend their first semester in Venice, but their second semester in any of their various partner universities across Europe. This pattern is likely to become more and more common as the effects of the Accord grow stronger.”
“An LLM from a US law school offers a unique experience that is valued in a student's home legal profession. The same degree may be offered by a European university, but tuition for a European LLM is often the cost of tuition at a US law school.”
The final and often deciding factors are costs and funding of LLMs. In the US, ranges can vary from one end of the scale to the other, but costs can run into tens of thousands of dollars in fees, with little financial aid available. Contrastingly, European schools also have a wide range of fees, but are generally a fraction of this cost.
Carole Silver, Senior Lecturer at Northwestern's School of Law and an expert on LLM education comments expresses her views on the divide: “An LLM from a US law school offers a unique experience that is valued in a student's home legal profession. The same degree may be offered by a European university, but tuition for a European LLM is often the cost of tuition at a US law school.”
Some LLM alumni from European institutions also believe there are financial benefits to studying in Europe. One Cambridge LLM graduate reported: “I was offered a place at a top ten American LLM programme, but I chose Cambridge because I was able to get more scholarship money and in the end it cost less because the course is shorter.”
So what is the future for LLMs and how will current practises and advances in technology affect the trends of LLM study? The global nature of legal and technological developments means that distance learning may become more commonplace and open a new door for cross-border study. E-learning may also lure a greater number of students, as this could potentially open up a gateway allowing students to dictate timescales and fulfil their wants for cross-border study without having to leave their home. This is likely to increase numbers and ensure that international LLMs continue to increase in popularity.
This is backed up by the QS Postgraduate Applicants Survey 2006 that showed that 25% of respondents would now opt for part-time study, whilst 13.78% would be interested in distance learning.
A stint abroad can also stand you in good stead for the future – personally and professionally.
A stint abroad can also stand you in good stead for the future – personally and professionally. Michele Shoresman, Assistant Dean for Graduate and Joint Degree Programmes at the School of Law of the Washington University in St Louis, comments on the advantages for an international student following an LLM degree in the US: "An LLM programme can offer practical and theoretical knowledge of US and international law while developing expertise in a specialist field such as intellectual property and technology law or tax." Indeed, according to the American Bar Association (ABA), there are over 6,000 students studying for the LLM degree in 97 of the 186 ABA approved law schools in the United States.
Now is a great time to get a foothold whilst demand is high, so take a look on www.topgraduate.com to see what courses you can study throughout the world, and at the same time increase your personal, career and salary prospects.