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Northwestern University School of Law

MAILING ADDRESS
375 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611-3069
MAIN PHONE
312-503-3100
WEBSITE
http://www.law.northwestern.edu
ADMISSIONS EMAIL:
admissions@law.northwestern.edu
REGISTRAR'S PHONE/FAX/EMAIL:
312-503-8464/312-503-2518/
law-registrar@law.northwestern.edu
CAREER SERVICE PHONE/FAX/EMAIL:
312-503-3498/312-503-5128/
careerstrategy@law.northwestern.edu

An Overview


Since its founding in 1851, Northwestern has grown into one of the nation's premier research institutions. In 1853, the founders purchased a 379-acre tract of land on the shore of Lake Michigan 12 miles north of Chicago. They established a campus and developed the land near it, naming the surrounding town Evanston in honor of one of the University's founders, John Evans. After completing its first building in 1855, Northwestern began classes that fall with two faculty members and 10 students.

Sixteen presidents have presided over Northwestern in the years since. The University has grown to include 12 schools and colleges, with additional campuses in Chicago and Education City in Qatar.

Degrees Offered
  • Graduate Program in Law and Business
  • LL.M. Program in International Human Rights

Admission Information


Requirements Details
Eligibility Students must take at least 20 law credit hours to earn the LL.M. degree. LL.M. students may take up to two co-listed Kellogg courses if space is available. Co-listed courses are Kellogg courses taught by Kellogg faculty and offered through the Law School.

LL.M. students are free to design their own program of study from the Law School's many upper-level courses and seminars, including commercial & corporate, international, constitutional and human rights law.
Transcripts Applicants with foreign legal education credentials must use the Law School Admission Council LL.M. Credential Assembly Service.

The applicants with foreign education credentials for whom the LL.M. CAS fee represents a significant financial burden may submit the transcript form, official transcripts (and translations, if required) and documentation of class rank directly to the Office of Admissions. Applicants submitting their transcripts directly to the law school with their application should provide the identifying information required on the Transcript Request Form included in the supplemental application and send the form to the registrar's office of each college or university. Applicants who have attended more than one college or university should make a copy of the request form for each institution attended. Official academic records should give results for all coursework as well as results of comprehensive or yearly examinations. Transcripts that do not bear the registrar's signature and/or the institution's seal are not official
Letters of Recommendation Applicants must submit a confidential letter of recommendation from a previous or current employer or from a member of the applicant's law faculty. Applicants must comply with LSAC requirements and policies regarding letters of recommendation, and submit the letters with the LSAC forms to the LL.M. Credential Assembly Service.
Personal Statement In place of a traditional personal statement, applicants will be asked to answer two questions which can be found within the application under the heading "Essay Questions." Please follow the directions and answer each question separately in a one to two - page double - spaced essay.
Proof of Competency in English Students in the Degree Programs for International Students must have a high level of English proficiency in order to read the large amount of course material, to research and write papers and exams, and to participate in class discussions. Foreign applicants who are not native speakers of English should take the TOEFL examination and have an official copy of the score report sent from ETS directly to the LSAC LL.M. Credential Assembly Service (institution code 1565), and it will be reported in the credential evaluation. Since it may take two months or more for the score report to reach the law school, an applicant should take the TOEFL no later than December of the year prior to enrollment. An application will not be complete and ready for review until the law school receives the official score report. Northwestern looks for a TOEFL score of at least 250 on the computer - based test and 100 on the Internet - based test. The law school will accept scores up to two years after the test date. Northwestern school of Law no longer accepts the paper - based TOEFL (PBT) Examination. They only accept the computer - based (CBT) and the Internet - based (IBT) TOEFL Examinations.
Application Fee $100
Law School Admission Test No
Curriculum Vitae Applicants to the LL.M. and LL.M. IHR programs are required to submit a one to two - page curriculum vitae (CV) or resume written in English.

Other Information


Criteria Details
Nature and Tenure of Courses Offered nine-month general LL.M. program
Application Procedure/Time to apply/Application deadline LL.M. Program in International
Human Rights:
January 15
Graduate Program in Law and Business:
February 1, 2013
LL.M. Degree Requirements Applicants to the LL.M. degree program must hold a first degree in law from a university or college whose law degree requirements are comparable to Northwestern's. Only some states permit foreign lawyers to take the bar examination, and each state has its own requirements as to prior legal education, coursework in a U.S. LL.M. program, and other matters. As such, the LL.M., LL.M. I.H.R., and LL.M./Kellogg programs do not guarantee students that they will qualify to take the bar examination or practice law in the United States.
To earn an LL.M. degree in the Specialized Programs, students are required to get:

Course Requirement
Graduate Program in Law and Business Students take at least 18 credits (six to eight courses) but no more than 25 credits in law.
LL.M. Program in International Human Rights Five core courses (described below) fulfill 11 of the 20 required credits for the LL.M. in International Human Rights.

Details of Courses Offered


Designed for business lawyers educated outside the United States, the Graduate Program in Law and Business (LL.M./Kellogg program) offers students a unique opportunity to study both business law and management techniques at two of America's leading schools in the fields of law and business--the Northwestern University School of Law and the Kellogg School of Management. Graduates of this program are awarded an LL.M. degree and a certificate in business administration.

The Program in International Human Rights Law is designed for students with American J.D.s or law degrees from other countries who wish to undertake an in-depth study of the norms and methods of international human rights law and international criminal law and their implementation by international courts and organizations and in domestic legal systems. The degree program provides an excellent grounding in international human rights law and international criminal law for individuals with career interests in the field.

Financial Aid


Kirkland & Ellis Diversity Scholarship: The Kirkland & Ellis Diversity Scholarship arose out of Kirkland & Ellis's desire to establish a separate stand-alone scholarship that would encourage top diverse scholars to apply for summer associate and full-time positions. The scholarship was established in 1996 and is supported by an annual gift from Kirkland & Ellis. The scholarship provides a $10,000 gift to a second-year diverse law student and is renewable for the final year of study. To date, the scholarship has been awarded to six students, all of whom have completed summer associate positions at Kirkland & Ellis. Three of four graduating students are either actively working at Kirkland & Ellis or have accepted a position to work for Kirkland & Ellis.

Baker & McKenzie Law Student Assistance Program: The Baker & McKenzie Law Student Assistance Program arose from Baker & McKenzie's desire to increase the firm's support for cultural sensitivity. The scholarship was established in 1989 and is supported by an annual gift from Baker & McKenzie. The scholarship provides a $5,000 gift to a first-year diverse law student and is non-renewable. Recipients are encouraged to apply for a summer associate position with the firm.

Winston & Strawn Diversity Scholarship: As part of its 150th Anniversary Celebration, Winston & Strawn LLP offered a scholarship to an entering law student at Northwestern University School of Law in the fall of 2004. The scholarship, which was awarded to a diverse student, was in the amount of $15,000 and was renewable in the recipient's second and third years of law school provided they remained enrolled in good standing at Northwestern University School of Law and obtained an acceptable GPA as determined by Winston & Strawn in their second and third years at the Law School.

Butler Rubin Saltarelli & Boyd LLP Diversity Scholarship: This scholarship, established in 2005, is designed to assist diverse students financially and create employment opportunities for them during their law school careers. Butler Rubin will select one first-year law student each year to be awarded a $10,000 scholarship, which will be renewable for the second and third year of study. The scholarship recipient will also work at Butler Rubin as a summer associate after the first year and for at least two weeks after his or her second year. Students will be selected for based on high levels of performance and achievement, a strong interest in the private practice of law in the area of business litigation, an intention to remain in the Chicago area following graduation, and outstanding interpersonal and communications skills.

Cost of Attendance


A.LL.M., LL.M., LL.M. IHR and LL.M. in Taxation degree programs: $56,744
LL.M./Kellogg (12-month)degree program: $77,010
Executive LL.M. (Seoul) degree program: $56,744
Part-Time LL.M. in Taxation and Non-Degree Taxation programs: $2,837 per credit hour

Career Development/Services Offered


While many of today's law school graduates remain within the legal profession and move between firm, public service, government, and academic positions, others choose to navigate between the increasingly integrated fields of law and business.

Rather than functioning as a "placement" office that focuses only on placing students in their first jobs, the Career Center offers an array of services to help students and alumni successfully advance throughout the course of their careers, including:
  • One-on-one counseling
  • Career-oriented panels and programs
  • Mock interviews, alumni coaching, and networking opportunities
  • On and off campus recruitment programs
  • Myers-Briggs self assessments and etiquette dinners
  • Job postings

The Career Center's mission is a key component of the Law School's overall strategy of admitting and educating students who will be better prepared for today's rapidly changing world. By interviewing and enrolling students with substantial work experience, strong interpersonal skills, and excellent academic ability, instilling them with sound career strategies and skills, and providing them with a relevant and up-to-date education that includes and goes beyond traditional layering, it believes that all students and alumni will be prepared for their overall careers better than those of any other law school.