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While an LL.M. can be a significant credential for some attorneys, by no means is it a guarantee of marketability for recent law school graduates with little to no work experience in a particular practice area. The most significant exception to this is in the tax arena. For experienced attorneys seeking to take their careers to the next level or to focus on a specific area, an LL.M. may prove useful, provided the practice area is in demand and provided the school they choose has a strong track record.
For lawyers who have obtained their law degrees in countries outside of the U.S., obtaining LL.M. degrees may be the only way that they will be able to get licensed in certain states. Unfortunately, not every attorney who has obtained a LL.M. from an American law school has fared well in the job market here. However, without a doubt, if a foreign attorney is interested in returning to his/her native country with a U.S. LL.M. in hand, these attorneys are likely to be highly regarded and may even have a chance at being hired by a U.S. firm doing business with an office in their own country.
For attorneys here in the U.S., an LL.M. degree may or may not be a good investment, depending upon the practice area. One of the most respected LL.M.s is in the area of tax law. Indeed, many firms practically require that their tax attorneys have also gone on to obtain an LL.M. in tax, regardless of whether their practice area is corporate and partnership tax, international tax, or even ERISA and employee benefits. As such, many graduating law students, especially if they are not graduating from a top-tier law school, may find it useful to continue on for an extra year of study in order to have the added prestige of an LL.M. in tax. In the areas of ERISA and employee benefits law, because so few lawyers have this expertise, having an LL.M. makes them attractive candidates to virtually any quality law firm, even if they did not originally graduate from a top-tier law school.
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While an LL.M. can be a significant credential for some attorneys, by no means is it a guarantee of marketability for recent law school graduates with little to no work experience in a particular practice area. The most significant exception to this is in the tax arena. For experienced attorneys seeking to take their careers to the next level or to focus on a specific area, an LL.M. may prove useful, provided the practice area is in demand and provided the school they choose has a strong track record.
