Point to an LLM?

[Michiganaccepted]

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.   

[bhvexille]

Michigan is a top 10 school and a jd from there does not hurt your academic prospects at all

[Benny23]

I am a 2LE but have been told by many that L.L.M.'s are primarily for future professors of law except in the field of taxtion due to the quantity of IRS codes that cannot possible be understood in 3 years at law school. A hiring parnter told me that is the only place an L.L.M. makes a difference for him: taxation.

[Lawprofessor]

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.   

I would say that an LL.M. is probably only really necessary if you are going into teaching or taxation.  The real point of the LL.M. is to get some writing (i.e. publications) prior to your going on the market for teaching.  Now more than ever, in order to get into teaching, writing is a requirement.  I got my LL.M. from American University about 2 years ago and I was able to write 3 articles that I was ultimately able to get published.  It helped me find the time to write which once you graduate, you are going to have a hard time.  Going to one of the BIG schools, such as Michigan means you will not HAVE to get an LL.M.  My JD School was the University of Florida.  A good school, but in the world of law teaching, not good enough, and if you are going to teach, it helps to have one of the BIG schools on your resume, such as Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Michigan, etc...   It would have helped me even more had I gone to GW or Georgetown, but not having the knowledge that I have now hurt me in that I didn't think that it mattered that much.  I hope this helps.

[kenxc]

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?

[Teletype]

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). [...]

That said, I'm only a year into my JD... so what do I know?

This is very intriguing, and is something that I will file in the back of my mind.  My own situation is that I am halfway into a four-year night school program at a non-ABA school.  Transfering to an ABA school for the most part means starting over...for various reasons, that doesn't seem to really be an option.  (Long story on both counts.)  But I wondered what things I could do later, after a few years post-JD, to fill the perceived gap?  Surely repeating the entire JD at an ABA school isn't realistic...in fact, that seems downright foolish.  But it sounds like an LLM is at least plausible in my situation, provided I do well enough my current school.  It's at least something for me to think about. 

Thanks, /Sandy/