Top LLM Programs in the USA 2019

The University of South Wales’s LLM course offers you a flexible approach to postgraduate study, where you can tailor your Master’s programme to suit your specific needs and career aspirations. You can explore a broad range of legal subjects, including commercial law, international trade law, competition law, employment law and intellectual property law.

The course aims to:

Scholarships: All admitted students will be considered for merit-based scholarships at the time of application.

Classes: LL.M. students create their own program of study and take classes with their J.D. student colleagues.

Start Date: Spring or Fall

Eligibility: To qualify, students must demonstrate that they:

The Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law has been at the forefront of financial services law since 1984. It is the oldest LLM program of its kind in the United States and, since its inception, has trained more than 2,000 lawyers for leadership positions in the United States and around the world. Our graduates hold influential positions in government agencies, law firms, corporations, financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations on a global basis.

In this program, we seek to provide an education that is both relevant and practical. To do this, we have assembled a faculty of financial services professionals who are masters in their field and who have the passion, dedication, and commitment to teach and train young lawyers. Our co-curricular activities provide our students with total immersion in the financial law area, through internships, career discussions, lectures and the opportunity to serve on the staff of the Review of Banking and Financial Law, the nation’s oldest student-run law journal devoted to this subject.... [-]

The Two-Year Master of Laws (LLM) at USC Gould allows you to spend one year learning foundational elements of the U.S. legal system and mastering legal English prior to one year of LLM studies.

During the first year, you will receive academic training in legal reading and comprehension, case briefing, legal analysis and more while improving your English skills. Small, personalized classes give you an opportunity to adjust to living in the U.S. and attending USC.

Upon successful completion of the first year, you will receive a certificate in U.S. Legal Studies and will be enrolled in USC Gould's LLM program.

The LLM (Master of Laws) Program at the William S. Richardson School of Law is a one-year course of study of the U.S. legal system. If you have a law degree, or will soon graduate with a law degree, you may apply for the Program. The Program runs from August to mid-May. Our Program will help to enhance your legal English skills and understanding of American legal culture while providing you with the opportunity to interact daily with excellent American law students and faculty in a warm and friendly environment.

The general LL.M. program offers law graduates an opportunity to broaden their backgrounds in certain specialized areas of law by enrolling in advanced courses and seminars and by engaging in specialized research. Although the School of Law awards no specific subject designated LL.M. degrees under this program, most students seeking this degree concentrate in areas such as corporate and commercial law, international law, legal practice and procedure, natural resources law, or property law.

To receive the general LL.M. degree the student must meet all of the following requirements:

(A) Residence in the School of Law for no fewer than two terms if a full-time student and no fewer than three terms if a part-time student.... [-]

Mitchell Hamline’s LL.M. introduces foreign law graduates to the legal system of the United States. The program brings together a global community of lawyers who receive the specialized training and education they need to practice law and compete on an international level. LL.M. students attend classes with Mitchell Hamline J.D. students, choosing courses and seminars that reflect their individual practice interests.

The LL.M. Program at Penn State’s Dickinson Law gives students and lawyers trained outside of the U.S. a high-level understanding of the American legal system. The program’s foundational courses introduce you to our unique analytic methodologies.

To ensure that we can provide hands-on training for our students, Dickinson Law has capped each LL.M. cohort at 20 students. This intentionally small class size ensures that students receive focused attention from faculty, guarantees ample opportunities to learn in practice settings, and fulfills the law school’s promise to best position its students to secure employment in a competitive marketplace.

The LL.M. program is a 24-credit, one academic year course of study. Students must enroll in at least 12 credits per semester and may enroll in no more than 17 credits per semester. The program’s foundational courses introduce you to our unique analytic methodologies. Students then may choose courses from our “Lawyer As …” curriculum divided by specialized fields of study, and create personalized tracks based on areas of interest.... [-]

Learn from devoted faculty, including some of the nation's most acclaimed tax law professors, in our online Tax LLM—ranked No. 3 online tax law program in the nation based on U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.”

Build the core skills needed to excel as a tax law expert in as few as two years. Go beyond text and theory as you learn from leading tax experts who know how to get results.

Emory University School of Law offers a practical, disciplined approach to the study of law that engages students in the roles the law plays in our community, society, and world. Our student-centered focus, innovative programs, and commitment to scholarship prepare graduates to make an immediate and lasting impact.

Emory Law’s LLM can be completed full-time in nine months or part-time in up to four years. Several concentrations are available or the program can be customized to a student’s specific interests through the general study option. The LLM program is open to individuals holding a foreign law degree and/or a US JD degree from an ABA-accredited law school.

"Emory Law is a global institution, and our ability to offer a variety of programs to train legal minds speaks to our commitment to scholarship, inclusivity, and accessibility."... [-]

A one of a kind, practice-oriented tax law program.

The Graduate Tax Program at the University of California, Irvine School of Law offers an innovative curriculum that instills students with both the doctrinal depth and the practical skills needed to practice tax law at the highest levels, in the United States or abroad.

The Graduate Tax Program aims to produce graduates who are prepared for careers as tax attorneys, judges, tax administrators and policy advocates, as well as markedly enhance the tax skills of those who are already members of the tax profession.

In designing its innovative curriculum, the program’s founding tax faculty consulted tax practitioners, government administrators, tax policy advocates and other industry experts to develop a world-class educational experience at one of the premier law schools in the United States. At the center of the curriculum is a mandatory practical tax skills requirement, which is completed through tax externships, tax clinics, or specially designed tax classes. Ours is the only program in the United States that makes practical tax skills an inherent, mandatory part of the academic curriculum.... [-]

The LL.M. degree program consists of 24 credits hours of study and can normally be completed in a year, although a part-time option is available for domestic students in the LL.M. in Dispute Resolution program.

The highly selective nature of the programs allows students to individualize their plan of study in light of their specific needs and interests. Applicants come from a variety of walks of life and from a wide array of countries.

Established in 1999 as the first of its kind in the United States, the Mizzou LL.M. in Dispute Resolution is designed to assist lawyers and other dispute resolution professionals develop a deeper and broader understanding of the role that conflict plays in society, and of better ways to manage conflict through the design and implementation of appropriate, effective and fair dispute resolution processes.... [-]

Intellectual Property is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing areas of legal practice and represents roughly 20 percent of the American economy. Technology and social media are enabling the rapid distribution of content to millions of mobile phones, laptops, and tablets across the globe, with new legal questions surfacing every day. Every lawyer, from the solo practitioner to in-house counsel to transactional and litigation lawyers in large firms will increasingly be faced with IP issues. LLM graduates with an IP Specialization will be prepared for the “knowledge” economy of the 21st century.

The Loyola Entertainment Alumni Network is one of the largest alumni networks in the world specifically focused on entertainment, media, and intellectual property. Externship opportunities held by Loyola students in just the past year read like a "Who's Who" of the entertainment business, and include companies such as NBC/Universal, Sony, Lionsgate, MTV Live Nation, Warner Brothers Television, HBO, Activision and many more.... [-]

Live and learn in Brooklyn, the ever-evolving international hub of culture and innovation. Brooklyn Law School is located just minutes from Wall Street, the epicenter of international finance and Silicon Alley, the hub for tech start-ups. Immerse yourself in a real-world learning environment where LL.M. students grow both professionally and personally.

In a time of increasing globalization and concern about issues of national security, refugee and immigration law has never mattered more. Our refugee and immigration law faculty includes scholars, policymakers, and practitioners who have made substantial contributions to the field, including in the areas of asylum law, refugee law, and international human rights law. These experts teach and practice against the backdrop of New York City, a hub of immigration practice and home to two immigration courts, two asylum offices, and one of the busiest federal Circuit Court immigration dockets in the country.... [-]

This innovative LL.M. program is designed to offer in-depth instruction on the critical issue of our time: the protection of human dignity across political, social, economic, and cultural lines. Lawyers, government officials, teachers, human rights activists, and businessmen and women with a commitment to human rights and social justice are invited to St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami to pursue an advanced degree in one of the most dynamic fields of international law: intercultural human rights.

The excellence of instruction emanating from world-renowned faculty from the United Nations and eminent centers of scholarship creates a highly stimulating learning environment and promises the most challenging academic experience of your career. Notable guest lecturers include:... [-]