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Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. (also LLM or LL.M) from its Latin name, Legum Magister. (For female students, the less common variant Legum Magistra may also be used.) The LL.M. degree is a course of specialized research pursued after earning a first degree in law (such as a LL.B., B.C.L. or J.D.).
In the USA, the LL.M. is a "master's" degree for persons who are already lawyers. Historically, the J.D. ("juris doctor") has been seen, and is in most cases, the only professional degree needed for those who wish to "practice" within the law; the LL.M. is seen as an advanced degree which while being more oriented towards academia, is increasingly becoming a useful tool in the specialized legal profession.
Internationally, the LL.M. from selected law schools in the United States can have high status. However, since no U.S. state requires an LL.M. to practice law in any area, well over 98% of U.S. lawyers, including those that practice in areas of taxation and international law, do not have LL.M. degrees.
As a comparison of the degrees, the J.D. requires, according to the rules of the American Bar Association (ABA), the accrual of 90 credits in law beyond an undergraduate diploma and contains a year-long legal writing component and additional seminar with a thesis-type article. In contrast, an LL.M. requires the accrual of at least 24 credits in upper-level law courses, with or without a writing component or thesis.
An LL.M. degree is also seen as part of the path for those who wish to become law professors. While the LL.M. is not a requirement for becoming a tenured professor, since the LL.M. provides the opportunity for a focused academic study of law, 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 practice in certain states, such as New York. With regard to admitting foreign-educated lawyers to state bars, the United States has disparate rules. The two major states for legal practice, New York and California, take different paths. New York allows foreign lawyers to sit for the New York bar exam once they have completed a minimum of twenty credit hours (generally, within an LL.M. program, but not necessarily) 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, on the other hand, allows students who have not completed a three-year legal degree program in American 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. The culmination of the two must equal four years of legal study. Other states are similar to California in requiring an LL.M. to be taken by foreign lawyers in order to take the bar exam.
Persons in the United States who obtain an LL.M. do so after they have received their first law degree, thus U.S. law students receive a doctorate degree (or J.D.) first and their Master of Laws degree second. This is due to the fact that the professional law degree in the United States was originally called the Bachelor of Laws, abbreviated as LL.B. Although some United States law schools had granted a Juris Doctor degree to graduates holding a bachelor's degree, it wasn't until the late 1960s that the American Bar Association approved the change for all of its affiliated law schools to better represent the academic standing of those holding law degrees. However, the LL.M. name was never changed. Nonetheless, it must be kept in mind that the J.D. and LL.M. differ in that the J.D. program is professionally focused, while the LL.M. program is academic.
As of 2008, there is also an LL.M. in international law offered by a non-law school, namely the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Generally speaking, "Doctor of Laws" (LL.D.) degree in the United States of America is usually a '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 and equivalent to a Ph.D. in other field.
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, or research degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. (also LLM or LL.M) from its Latin name, Legum Magister. (For female students, the less common variant Legum Magistra may also be used.) The LL.M. degree is a course of specialized research pursued after earning a first degree in law (such as a LL.B., B.C.L. or J.D.).In the USA, the LL.M. is a "master's" degree for persons who are already lawyers. Historically, the J.D. ("juris doctor") has been seen, and is in most cases, the only professional degree needed for those who wish to "practice" within the law; the LL.M. is seen as an advanced degree which while being more oriented towards academia, is increasingly becoming a useful tool in the specialized legal profession.
Internationally, the LL.M. from selected law schools in the United States can have high status. However, since no U.S. state requires an LL.M. to practice law in any area, well over 98% of U.S. lawyers, including those that practice in areas of taxation and international law, do not have LL.M. degrees.
As a comparison of the degrees, the J.D. requires, according to the rules of the American Bar Association (ABA), the accrual of 90 credits in law beyond an undergraduate diploma and contains a year-long legal writing component and additional seminar with a thesis-type article. In contrast, an LL.M. requires the accrual of at least 24 credits in upper-level law courses, with or without a writing component or thesis.
An LL.M. degree is also seen as part of the path for those who wish to become law professors. While the LL.M. is not a requirement for becoming a tenured professor, since the LL.M. provides the opportunity for a focused academic study of law, 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 practice in certain states, such as New York. With regard to admitting foreign-educated lawyers to state bars, the United States has disparate rules. The two major states for legal practice, New York and California, take different paths. New York allows foreign lawyers to sit for the New York bar exam once they have completed a minimum of twenty credit hours (generally, within an LL.M. program, but not necessarily) 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, on the other hand, allows students who have not completed a three-year legal degree program in American 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. The culmination of the two must equal four years of legal study. Other states are similar to California in requiring an LL.M. to be taken by foreign lawyers in order to take the bar exam.
Persons in the United States who obtain an LL.M. do so after they have received their first law degree, thus U.S. law students receive a doctorate degree (or J.D.) first and their Master of Laws degree second. This is due to the fact that the professional law degree in the United States was originally called the Bachelor of Laws, abbreviated as LL.B. Although some United States law schools had granted a Juris Doctor degree to graduates holding a bachelor's degree, it wasn't until the late 1960s that the American Bar Association approved the change for all of its affiliated law schools to better represent the academic standing of those holding law degrees. However, the LL.M. name was never changed. Nonetheless, it must be kept in mind that the J.D. and LL.M. differ in that the J.D. program is professionally focused, while the LL.M. program is academic.
As of 2008, there is also an LL.M. in international law offered by a non-law school, namely the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Generally speaking, "Doctor of Laws" (LL.D.) degree in the United States of America is usually a '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 and equivalent to a Ph.D. in other field.