LLM Programs and Career Building — A Sensible Option?
Experienced Los Angeles Legal Recruiters
In the wake of the much-publicized collapse of the legal market in 2008, law school LLM programs have seen record applicant numbers as job-seekers attempt to strengthen their overall candidacy. Though LLM programs are a reasonable option for some attorneys (as we’ll see further ahead), it’s worth considering whether an LLM degree is suitable for your specific career purposes.
Let’s take a look.
Eligibility for the California Bar Does Not Require Local Legal Education
Many foreign attorneys look at LLMs as the simplest and fastest means by which they can qualify themselves to sit for the Bar exam.
California is unique, however, in that it does not require that foreign attorneys obtain a local legal education in order to sit for the Bar exam — so long as you are in good standing and admitted to the active practice of law in a foreign jurisdiction, you are qualified to sit for the California Bar. As such, the LLM is rather superfluous for foreign attorneys who would not otherwise be interested in the degree, and who are looking to stay in California for the bulk of their career.
Developing a Legal Specialization
Many attorneys pursue LLMs as a means of deepening their specialization (such as tax law) or for the purpose of switching to a new specialization. Some fields, such as intellectual property and tax law, look quite favorably upon LLM specialization, but the same is not necessarily true for other fields. It’s important to do your research on the legal market and understand whether the specialization you intend to pursue is actually valuable, and whether you can obtain a more marketable suite of knowledge through a year of additional, focused work experience.
Publishing Opportunities
Going back to school for an LLM can give you fresh opportunities to research and publish papers in a specialized area of law, which is an excellent way of legitimizing your specialization in the eyes of employers. The great advantage of doing so is that it separates you from attorneys who have on-the-job experience — you can position yourself as an attorney with academic leanings, and who is tapped into the future of the field at-issue.
School Brand and Networking Advantages
It’s no secret that the value of a law degree (and the opportunities available to those with such degrees) varies significantly depending on the “brand” and prestige of the school in which it was earned. If you obtained your JD from a University with a relatively weak law school brand name, and you wish to break into Biglaw (or a prominent in-house legal department), then it may be worth pursuing an LLM at a prestigious law school to gain the advantage of that enhanced brand name — quite simply, it will open doors that might otherwise be closed for attorneys lacking extraordinary experience that sets them apart.
Further, top law schools offer significant networking advantages. Not only are other attorneys that you attend school with likely to remain resources throughout your career, but industry attorneys are brought in regularly to speak to students. On-campus recruiting may also give you a leg-up when it comes to “breaking into” Biglaw or a prominent in-house legal department.
LLMs Come at a Significant Cost
When deliberating on whether to pursue an LLM, prospective students are well aware of the expenses required to attend their target programs, but may not have considered the significant opportunity costs associated with pursuing an LLM, or any other advanced degree.
If you pursue an LLM, then you will be losing a year of earnings. As such, not only will you have to pay out for tuition, room and board, and various other expenses, but you will be losing out on an entire year’s worth of income. Depending on your existing success in the legal market, this opportunity cost could be significant.
Further, though an LLM may strengthen your candidacy as an attorney looking to secure a new position, particularly with regard to specialized areas of law (i.e., tax law), it’s important to compare the benefits of an LLM against the lost potential of a year spent gaining additional experience in the workforce.
In fact, if you wished to gain specialized experience in a particular field of law, then you could spend the “LLM” year at a boutique firm that may be willing to give more responsibility to an attorney with less experience in the field at-issue. That year of career building on-the-job could be just as impressive — if not moreso — to prospective employers than an LLM degree.
Contact Garb Jaffe & Associates for Comprehensive Legal Recruitment Guidance
If you’re interested in making a transition to a position at a firm or in-house legal department in California, or if you’re looking to make a more transformative change in your legal career, then we encourage you to get in touch with one of the experienced Los Angeles legal recruiters here at Garb Jaffe & Associates.
At Garb Jaffe, our legal recruiters have decades of experience assisting attorney-candidates at every stage of the hiring process, from job evaluation, to resume drafting, to practice interviews and more. We believe in end-to-end, comprehensive representation so that our clients are never left confused or overwhelmed.
Ready to speak to a legal recruiter about your candidacy, career options, and goals? Call 310-207-0727 or send us a message online to connect with a skilled Los Angeles legal recruiter at Garb Jaffe today.