JD --> work in Lat. Amer? Forum

[indo]

I want to study law. I also want to live and work in Latin America. I understand that if I do as well as I hope to do in law school, I will have a better chance of working for a firm that has offices in Brazil, Colombia, etc.

Is this realistic? Is there a demand for JDs in Latin America?

If you think so, what do you think about doing a dual JD + MA in Latin American Studies? If not, which academic path would you suggest in order to achieve my goal of working for an international firm in Latin America?

There's always a demand for people who know nonapplicable laws in a given country. We even have a demand for JD's fluent in gibberish and gulla-gulla.

lol

[Leaborb192]

Both.

Joint degrees aren't that useful, and FIU is bad and may lead to extreme joblessness

How is it not useful? Perhaps not in a "traditional" sense that it would catapult me ahead or offer me some sort of "edge" over the competition when it comes to finding a job. Is that what you mean? Perhaps not, but on a personal level it would be very fulfilling to get the degree because I've been studying Spanish language and cultures for a very long time and it would be very rewarding for me to get the dual degree. And getting a job isn't just about your grades; the school you attend; or the fancy degree you have -- it's about how you present yourself; the connections you make; etc. I realize that FIU isn't Harvard or Yale, but I don't want that. I really want to go to a nice school in Florida to escape the extreme cold. I'm going to investigate more, but it's a toss-up between FIU and University of Miami. And I can always come home and get a job if I absolutely need to. I'm not worried about employment, I'll always have a job waiting for me if I need it.

[NoleinNY]

Go to Harvard. Then your JD will travel.

[Leaborb192]

Go to Harvard. Then your JD will travel.

I'm definitely not smart enough to get into Harvard. LOL

[Unagi]

edit

[Leaborb192]

I think if you want to practice in Brazil the JD is not a good path.
To become a lawyer here you have to go to law school (5 years) and then take the national bar. Most big lawyers go to public law schools (for free) and then do a LLM in the US. There are some good private schools, but you have to pay from 1k to 3k dollars per month. And here you HAVE to study all kinds of law during school and you are tested on all of them on the bar (criminal, tax, civil, labor...)
I'm a brazilian lawyer... and I'm going to do a JD in the US. Don't come here! You have no idea of our reality. This pretty story of Brazil's success... bs
I live in Rio de Janeiro, the most beautiful city, and life here sucks. You are always afraid of being robbed, our politicians are THE WORST, everything is veeery expensive, the education is terrible, the traffic is a nightmare, it just sucks. And the worst part, good people that try to do good things are punished.
Come here, stay on Copacabana or Ipanema, go to Carnival, to the beaches, to the good things Brazil has to offer to a tourist. Because if you live here you'll see life isn't that good.

You sound like my friend Hector. He's Venezuelan and pretty much hates his country. He's not a big fan of Latin America as a whole either.

[Unagi]

Well, I have to say me and Hector are right

[Leaborb192]

Well, I have to say me and Hector are right

I have a professor from Chile who think that Americans don't know what it's like to be poor. I got into a bit of an argument about this, because I know all-too-well what it's like to be poor; I grew up that way. Meanwhile she attended a private college in the USA during the Pinochet regime. Anyway I told Hector this, about how she thinks that only LA knows poverty, and he responded with: "Latin Americans are lazy. They just don't want to work." I was like, "Wow, I don't think that's entirely true." He's a pretty interesting guy. He studies English and French, and Spanish, obviously and I'm trying to get him to get a PHD in Spanish because we could use him here in the states.