Hi all, im only going to be starting law school next year (at where else but Michigan, as my name implies), and I was just wondering what the point of an LLM was. I certainly would like to do legal research stuff, as well as maybe somewhere down the line teach at a law school (though I guess my chances are slim, as I go to "lowly" Michigan and not harvard or yale). Do I need an LLM to do this? Or are LLM's generally used to "offset" lower ranked schools? Is it worth it only to do a LLM at a more prestigious school, like HYS? Any input would be great, I am indeed a puzzled 1L to be.
Two examples I've seen where LLMs sound useful:
1) I met a guy who went to an unaccredited law school for his JD, but did well enough to get into an accredited school's (1st tier even) LLM program. I believe that this allows him to practice anywhere now, instead of just the state where his unaccredited school had local accreditation (although, since he stayed in that state, I guess the only thing that mattered was the prestige boost).
2) They're big amongst international lawyers. It seems to be common practice to get the LLM in a country other than the one you recieved your JD (or foreign equivalent) from, especially (but not always) if those are the countries you are primarily working between. It gets you a degree from an institution recognizable to the foreign clients, eases your ability to join that bar (if necessary), and gives you a year of education which is structured (if not focused) on the point of view of ther legal system.
That said, I'm only a year into my JD... so what do I know?
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