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Master of Laws
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The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. (also LLM or LL.M or M.L., [in Tamil Nadu]) from its Latin name, Legum Magister. (For female students, the less common variant Legum Magistra may also be used.)
rder to become a lawyer and practice law in most states and countries, a person must first obtain a first law degree.
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The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. (also LLM or LL.M or M.L., [in Tamil Nadu]) from its Latin name, Legum Magister. (For female students, the less common variant Legum Magistra may also be used.)
Background on legal education in common law countries
In order to become a lawyer and practice law in most states and countries, a person must first obtain a first law degree. While in most common law countries a Bachelor of Laws (or LL.B.) is required, the U.S. requires a graduate Juris Doctor degree to practice law.
If a person wishes to gain specialized knowledge through research in a particular area of law, he or she can continue his or her studies after an LL.B or J.D. in an LL.M. program. The word legum is the genitive plural form of the Latin word lex, which means "of the laws". When used in the plural, it signifies a specific body of laws, as opposed to the general collective concept embodied in the word jus, from which the words "juris" and "justice" derive.
The highest research degree in law is the S.J.D. (or J.S.D., depending on the institution), and it is equivalent to the Doctorate of Philosophy in Law (PhD or DPhil depending on the law school in UK) or the Doktor in Rechtswissenschaft (Dr.iur.) in Germany. There are also variant doctoral degrees, such as the D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Law) degree bestowed by McGill University in Montreal. Most schools require an LLM before admission to a SJD or a PhD in law degree program. Like the PhD, the SJD degree generally requires a dissertation that is graded (often by two graders), orally defended (by an exam known as Viva) and then often published as a book or series of articles.
"Doctor of Laws" (LL.D.) degree in the United States of America is usually an 'honorary' degree. The real research doctorate in the field of law in the United States of America is called "Doctor of Juridical Science" or in its Latin expression-"Scientiae Juridicae Doctor" (S.J.D.), which is the most advanced degree in the field of law in the United States of America.
International situation
Most countries do not require an LL.M degree to become a lawyer, and most lawyers choose never to obtain one. In fact, the education systems of most countries do not traditionally include LL.M. programs.
Historically, the LL.M. degree is an element particular to the education system of English speaking countries, which is based on a distinction between Bachelor's and Master's degrees. Over the past years, however, specialized LL.M. programs have been introduced in many European countries, even where the Bologna process has not yet been fully implemented.
However in Europe different countries as Belgium and France a Master's degree are one of the conditions to obtain a licence. Due to the Bologna process in these french speaking countries a BAC +5, a five year study divided into Bachelor and Master, are necessary.
Denmark and Switzerland requires a masters with an additional two years to become a lawyer. A person with "only" a LL.M is called a jurist.
In Finland an LL.M is the standard graduate degree required to practice law. No other qualifications are required.
Types of LL.M. degrees
There is a wide range of LL.M. programs available worldwide, allowing students to focus on almost any area of the law. Most universities offer only a small number of LL.M. programs. One of the most popular LL.M. degrees in the United States is tax law, sometimes referred to as an MLT (Master of Laws in Taxation). Another developing area is bankruptcy law. In Europe LL.M. programs in European law are recently very popular, often referred to as LL.M. Eur (Master of European Law). Other common programs include environmental law, human rights law, commercial law, intellectual property law, information technology law, estate planning (as a sub-specialty of tax), international law, maritime law, trial advocacy and insurance law. Chapman University School of Law, in Orange, California, offers an innovative LL.M. in Prosecutorial Sciences. Open only to active prosecutors with at least five years experience, this first of its kind program was reviewed and received "" from the ABA in 2007. The University of California, Davis School of Law offers a part-time in International Commercial Law taken over several 6-week summer sessions. Some LL.M. programs, particularly in the United States, focus on teaching foreign lawyers the basic legal principles of the host country (a "comparative law" degree). Moreover, some programs are conducted in more than one language (e.g. , were students have the possibility of undertaking courses in German and/ or English). Most LL.M. programs require a thesis.
Requirements
LL.M. programs are usually only open to those students who have first obtained a first degree in law . There are exceptions to this but an undergraduate degree or extensive experience in a related field is still required. Full-time LL.M. programs usually last one year and vary in their graduation requirements. Most programs require students to write a thesis, some do not. Some programs are research oriented with little classroom time (similar to a M.Phil.), while others require students to take a set number of classes (similar to a taught degree or M.Sc.).
LL.M. degrees are often earned by students wishing to develop more concentrated expertise in a particular area of law. Pursuing an LL.M. degree may also allow law students to build a professional network. Some associations provide LL.M. degree holders with structures designed to strengthen their connections among peers and to access a competitive business environment.
Australia
In Australia, the LL.M is open to law graduates. However, while the majority who enroll are legal practitioners, this is not a prerequisite for entry. The shortage of graduate program/articles places has resulted in some LLB graduates proceeding directly to an LL.M course prior to seeking graduate employment.
Britain
In the United Kingdom, an LL.M programme is open to those holding a recognised legal qualification, generally an undergraduate degree in Laws or a CPE. They do not have to be or intend to be legal practitioners. An LLM is not a sufficient qualification in itself to practise as a solicitor or barrister, since this requires completion of the Legal Practice Course, Bar Vocational Course, or, if in Scotland, the Diploma in Legal Practice but is an opportunity to gain specialist knowledge of a particular area of law and/or an understanding of the legal systems of other nations. As with other degrees, an LLM can be studied on a part-time basis at many institutions and in some circumstances by distance learning.
Some institutions allow those without legal qualifications onto their LLM programme although there are still minimum educational requirements, such as an undergraduate degree, or evidence of substantial professional experience in a related field. Examples of such institutions include the University of London External System which has been offering LLM studies to both LLB and non-law graduates since 1925 ,
the University of Edinburgh (LLM degree by distance learning ) and the University of Leicester . In addition, Queen's University offers an LLM suite, accessible to legal and social science graduates, leading to specialisms in sustainable development, corporate governance, devolution or human rights.
India
In India, the thrust of legal education is on the undergraduate law degrees with most of those opting for the undergraduate law degree either going forward to enroll themselves with the Bar Council of India and start practicing as Advocates or giving legal advice without being eligible to appear in courts (a consequence of non-enrollment). Similar to the United Kingdom, a Masters degree in Law in India is basically opted by those looking forward to either join the academia and teaching profession or to specialize in particular areas of law. Traditionally the most popular areas of specialization in these Masters degrees in law in India have been constitutional law, family law and taxation law.
However with the established of the specialized autonomous law schools in India in 1987 (the first was the National Law School of India University) much emphasis is being given at the master's level of legal education in India. With the establishment of these universities, focus in specialization has been shifted to newer areas such as intellectual property law, international trade law etc.
United States
The LL.M. programs in the United States have many unique characteristics.
In the U.S., legal training is a professional doctorate program. The first professional degree for law in the U.S. is the Juris Doctor (J.D.). Admittance to a J.D. program at an American Bar Association-accredited institution requires a bachelor's degree.
Admittance to a LL.M. program at an ABA-accredited institution requires a law degree—usually a J.D., but also the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree if the lawyer was trained in a Commonwealth country which grants such degrees.
This leads to the unusual situation in which graduates from a U.S. institution are required to possess a doctorate before pursuing the master's degree, since there is no other first law degree in the United States. This is because the LL.M. is an academic program, while the J.D. is a professional program.
As the first graduate academic degree in law in the U.S., seeking an LL.M. is common for potential law professors. While usually not a requirement for becoming a tenured professor, many professors hold an LL.M.
An LL.M. degree from an ABA-approved law school also allows a foreign lawyer to become eligible to apply for admission to the bar (license to practice) in certain states, such as New York.
Various states have different rules relating to the admittance of foreign-educated lawyers to state bar associations.
New York allows foreign lawyers to sit for the New York bar exam once they have completed a minimum of 20 credit hours (usually but not necessarily in an LL.M. program) at an ABA-approved law school involving at least two basic subjects tested on the New York bar exam. In addition, foreign lawyers from civil law countries have to present that they attended at least three years of law studies in their home countries. Lawyers from common-law countries face more lenient restrictions.
California allows students who have not completed a three-year legal degree program in United States law (or, in very rare circumstances, an apprenticeship) to sit for its bar exam after completing an LL.M. in comparative law from an ABA-approved law school. Other states are similar to California in requiring an LL.M. to be taken by foreign lawyers in order to take the bar exam.
As of 2008, there is also one LL.M. (in international law) offered by a non-law school (The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University).
LL.M. Programs Around the World by area of Coverage
Canada
Bioethics
United States
Admiralty Law
American Law
American Business Law
Banking
Bankruptcy Law
Child Law
Commerce & Technology
Comparative Law
Constitutional Law
Corporate Law and Governance
Criminal Law
Dispute Resolution
Elder Law
Employee Benefits
Energy and Environmental Law
Entertainment and Media
Environmental Law
Estate Planning
Family Law
General Studies or U.S. Law
Government Procurement Law
- George Washington University Law School
Health Law and Global Health
Human Rights
Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy
- University of Arizona College of Law
Intellectual Property
International Business and Economics
International Commercial Law
- University of California, Davis School of Law
International and Comparative Law
International Criminal Law and Justice
International Development
International Law
International Tax & Finance Law
International Trade and Trade Regulation
Prosecutorial Science
Military Law
Science and Technology
- Stanford University Law School
Securities and Finance
Tax Law
See also
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