Thinking about an LLM in Securities/ Banking/ Financial Reg

[mm7276angie]

Im currently a 3L and im thinking about applying for an LLM in Financial Reg/ Securities/ Banking. Do employers truly value this type of masters in law? Im also unclear about what program would be better (GULC or GW). GULC's Securities & Financial Reg LLM Program is only taught online & part time. Any suggestions or thoughts?

[QContinuum]

My understanding is that U.S. J.D.s generally get little/no value out of doing a non-tax LL.M. (tax LL.M.s are a different story, but even then only the top three tax LL.M. programs are generally considered valuable: NYU, Georgetown, and UF, in that order). Instead of doing a LL.M., probably better for career prospects to clerk.

[Jmart082]

My understanding is that U.S. J.D.s generally get little/no value out of doing a non-tax LL.M. (tax LL.M.s are a different story, but even then only the top three tax LL.M. programs are generally considered valuable: NYU, Georgetown, and UF, in that order). Instead of doing a LL.M., probably better for career prospects to clerk.

U.S. JD with a non-tax LLM here. Can confirm that everything just said here is accurate.

[LawGrad16]

My understanding is that U.S. J.D.s generally get little/no value out of doing a non-tax LL.M. (tax LL.M.s are a different story, but even then only the top three tax LL.M. programs are generally considered valuable: NYU, Georgetown, and UF, in that order). Instead of doing a LL.M., probably better for career prospects to clerk.

U.S. JD with a non-tax LLM here. Can confirm that everything just said here is accurate.

Not sure if my question was posted. Could you elaborate on your the U.S. JD with a non-tax LLM topic? Did you find that this benefit your career or professional development in any way? What was the motivating factor in getting the non-tax LLM in the first place? Thanks. I'm asking because I am considering the same.

[Jmart082]

My understanding is that U.S. J.D.s generally get little/no value out of doing a non-tax LL.M. (tax LL.M.s are a different story, but even then only the top three tax LL.M. programs are generally considered valuable: NYU, Georgetown, and UF, in that order). Instead of doing a LL.M., probably better for career prospects to clerk.

U.S. JD with a non-tax LLM here. Can confirm that everything just said here is accurate.

Not sure if my question was posted. Could you elaborate on your the U.S. JD with a non-tax LLM topic? Did you find that this benefit your career or professional development in any way? What was the motivating factor in getting the non-tax LLM in the first place? Thanks. I'm asking because I am considering the same.

It was solely to make myself more marketable to biglaw by getting a credential from a T-14 and at the same time carving out a clear focus for my practice. I got a little bit of the latter, but none of the former. They'll only hire through OCI/Summer Associate placements.

[RedGiant]

I did a concurrent JD and LLM in Banking and Financial Regulation, mostly because I like finance and some of the law school classes were super-litigation based or ivory-towerish, and the profs in the Banking program were real-world practitioners (and not all of them lawyers). It didn't really help my job prospects other than that the Banking program was a GPA-booster if you were a non-foreigner (as there were some language barrier issues). There was not a ton of recruiting for biglaw out of my program (BU) but people did get excellent compliance jobs or returned to decent careers they already had. I got my job through JD recruiting, which was wholly separate. Outcomes varied greatly depending on your work eligibility/foreign status. I think bank regulatory work is super-interesting (I worked at Wells during the Wells-Wachovia merger) and less boring than folks might imagine. Don't do a program like this if you think it will "cleanse" prior bad JD grades or a low-ranked program. It will not.