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A Look at LL.M. Programs

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published August 08, 2005

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<<"This background influenced me strongly in choosing an international approach to my studies," said Kalcevic. "The University of Trier offers a two-year course in Anglo-American law studies in addition to regular German law studies. This gave me an introduction to the American law system."

After she returned from an eight-month study period in Thessaloniki, Greece, she began working as an intern for a law firm in Knoxville, TN. She said after her exposure to international law, she thought that an LL.M. from another country would suit her background well. "Because of my personal connection to the U.S., I decided on an LL.M. degree in American Law," she said.


Kalcevic chose to pursue an LL.M. at Wake Forest University School of Law in the fall of 2004. She said she made the decision to attend Wake Forest after visiting the campus a year earlier when she was warmly welcomed by the program staff that provided her an abundance of information about the program and a tour of the school. She was later offered a one-third scholarship to cover her expenses.

"My experience at WFU was terrific in all aspects: the program, the studies, my fellow students, and my personal experiences," said Kalcevic, whose classmates hailed from Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, Korea, Bolivia, Switzerland, Taiwan, and South Africa.

Wake Forest University offers a one-year LL.M. program in American Law that consists of 24 credit hours, including legal writing, one first-year J.D. course, and an American law survey. The program accepts 15 students a year; in the 2004-05 academic year, it received 400 inquiries and 120 applications to the program.

"Being such a small group, it was possible for the professors and staff to give us a lot of individual attention and thus enhance our learning and personal experiences considerably," said Kalcevic. "It was always possible to talk to professors and J.D. students if we had any problems inside the classroom or outside."

Kalcevic said students were given the opportunity to choose classes in their field of interest. Many of their classes were general classes attended by J.D. students as well as LL.M. students. She said students were also afforded the opportunity to experience American culture and not just legal culture, outside the classroom.

"We participated in two daytrips to local state and federal courts, the U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI, and Secret Service, as well as a trip to Washington, DC—where we had the privilege of listening to two oral arguments before the Supreme Court one morning—followed by a tour led by a WFU law school alumnus who now works at the Supreme Court," explained Kalcevic.

She said even one of her professors, Professor Gilreath, the Assistant Director of the LL.M. program, invited LL.M. students to his house to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family.

Wake Forest also has the distinction of being one of only four American law schools that offer the Judicial Observation program for international law students, lawyers, and judges, sanctioned by the Federal U.S. Judicial Conference Committee on International Judicial Relations. Under this program, students are offered the opportunity to be paired with a federal judge for four to six weeks during the summer following graduation to experience the U.S. civil and criminal litigation process.

There are 79 U.S. law schools that offer LL.M. programs. Duke University offers two LL.M. programs to its students. It offers a one-year program for students with first degrees in law from other countries. There is also a J.D./LL.M., which is a three-year, joint-degree program. On completion of the program, students receive both the first degree in law offered in the U.S. (J.D.) and a Master of International and Comparative Law (LL.M.).

The students that typically enroll in the J.D./LL.M. program are American students with an interest in international or comparative law. These include those with undergraduate degrees in fields related to international or comparative law who have studied or worked abroad and are fluent in another language. The one-year LL.M. students have their first degrees in law from universities outside the U.S.

"They are young lawyers, judges, prosecutors, government officials, in-house lawyers, and recent law graduates from all over the world," said Jennifer D'Arcy Maher, Assistant Dean for International Studies, Duke University School of Law.

Maher said LL.M. students take two required courses in U.S. law and then choose from courses offered to J.D. students. She said they often concentrate in business and commercial law, intellectual property law, or public law. "The LL.M. degree enhances their careers, increases their English fluency, and qualifies them to sit for the New York bar exam."

Maher said the J.D./LL.M. program gives students the opportunity to get additional training in international and comparative law within the same timeframe as a regular J.D. program. Students attend summer sessions, which include time in Geneva or Hong Kong.

Maher said the one-year LL.M. program places special emphasis on interaction with American J.D. students.

"It enrolls international students in the same courses as Americans; it has an administrative position dedicated to achieving interaction; and it takes advantage of the group of internationally focused American students in the J.D./LL.M. program to promote friendships and collaborations among the two groups of students," explained Maher. "Graduates report strong personal and business relationships spanning borders that have developed out of their experience studying together."

While foreign students come to the U.S. to study American law, Duke has offered its J.D./LL.M. program to American students to offer them the opportunity to gain knowledge of foreign legal systems as well.

"That is the goal of the J.D./LL.M. program, although students do not concentrate on one other foreign legal system alone, but instead study the international regimes that govern relations among legal systems and also study comparatively several other legal systems."

What do LL.M. students do after they have completed their degrees?

For international students, after they have completed the one-year LLM program, many choose to work in the U.S. for a year or less, explained Maher. She said some find permanent positions in the U.S., but most return to their home countries or to other international locations, where they enter law practices with international clients and have transnational careers. "Some begin to teach, and others return to their previous positions with more international responsibility," said Maher.

Kalcevic said she hopes to use her LL.M. degree working in a law firm that handles business transactions between Germany and the United States. She said it would allow her to combine her love for both countries and her insight into both cultures through her professional career.

Why get an LL.M. degree? Find out here.

"I still have to complete two years of internships in Germany in order to be admitted as a lawyer in Germany," said Kalcevic. "And I am planning on returning to Germany to start those internships at the end of this year after sitting for the New York bar this July and hopefully obtaining an internship in a law firm in the U.S. for several months after that."
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published August 08, 2005

( 27 votes, average: 4.9 out of 5)
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