What is an L.L.B.? Forum

[oldguygoingback]

What is an L.L.B.?

[stillwater]

What is an L.L.B.?

The J.D.'s predecessor. (Bachelor of Law).

[sundance95]

old skool law degree

[oldguygoingback]

is it worth getting while waiting to go to law school? I plan on taking lsat this summer and applying for admissions in 2013 and would like to occupy my time constructively

[oldguygoingback]

also if i have an undergrad can i go get an llb or llm or do i need a jd?

[rinkrat19]

Bachelor of Laws, an undergraduate law degree that isn't offered in the US anymore now that the JD is the required legal degree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Laws

Other common law countries still offer law as a UG degree.

I doubt it would be useful. (and where would you get it? Australia?) Foreign law school graduates with LLBs have to get an LLM from an ABA-accredited law school to qualify to practice in the US.

For lawyers educated here, UG => JD is the way to go. LLMs are largely useless, except if it's in tax and from a few select schools.

[stillwater]

also if i have an undergrad can i go get an llb or llm or do i need a jd?

The LL.B. hasn't been offered in the United States in decades, if my understanding is correct. You just need a JD.

[Guchster]

also if i have an undergrad can i go get an llb or llm or do i need a jd?

wut

[oldguygoingback]

do you need a JD to get an LLM

[rad lulz]

.

[rinkrat19]

do you need a JD to get an LLM

You need a US JD, or a law degree from a foreign law school.

Why are you so fixated on LLMs? It won't help you get a job after law school.

[Guchster]

do you need a JD to get an LLM

You need a US JD, or a law degree from a foreign law school.

Why are you so fixated on LLMs? It won't help you get a job after law school.

This is correct. An LLM for those with an american JD is really only useful if you're going into tax.

Most LLM program require either JD or LLB (from your home country). Some do not allow people with american bachelor degrees to enter into the program at all.

ETA: Even if you were an international and got an LLM, only some states would all you to sit for the bar without a JD (NY being one of them, but it requires requisite classe)

[rinkrat19]

do you need a JD to get an LLM

What? Why?

edit: as in why do you want an LLM.

I'm guessing he saw that an LLM program is only one year and got excited about taking a short cut?

[rad lulz]

.

[rinkrat19]

do you need a JD to get an LLM

What? Why?

edit: as in why do you want an LLM.

I'm guessing he saw that an LLM program is only one year and got excited about taking a short cut?

My guess too. Although 3 yrs for a JD is completely arbitrary, there's no way around it really.

2-year AJD at Northwestern seems to be the only respectable option so far.

[oldguygoingback]

didnt get excited just curious...saw job opening that stated an LLB was sufficient and then Googled what it was and was presented with LLM

[vanwinkle]

The L.L.B. is a "bachelor's of law" degree. It is a bachelor's degree, not an advanced graduate degree, and (I believe) every state in the country now requires a graduate-level degree to be admitted to the bar. For this reason, nobody in the U.S. offers the L.L.B. program anymore; it's a pointless degree, since you'd still need a J.D. to take the bar.

The L.L.M. is a "master's of law" degree. It's a shorter program than the J.D., and often offered with a focus on a particular subject. Most states have minimum hours requirements for a graduate degree that only a J.D. can offer; an L.L.M. will only offer one year of study and about 24 semester-hours of credits, whereas most states are set up intentionally to require enough years or credits that only a J.D. is good for bar admission.

The reason L.L.M.'s still exist mainly is for international students. An international student may have what is considered a solid legal education already, but since 1) many other countries only require an L.L.B. to practice law and 2) a legal education outside the U.S. probably doesn't prepare people for practicing U.S. law, many states will impose an additional requirement of at least one year of legal education in the U.S. and a graduate-level degree. The L.L.M. can satisfy these requirements. So international students who obtain in L.L.B. elsewhere and an L.L.M. in the U.S. can be admitted to the bar.

But that option is only offered to international students who've received their L.L.B. abroad. There's no shortcut for students here in the U.S. You can't go straight to an L.L.M. because no L.L.M. program will admit a U.S. student who doesn't already have a J.D., and an L.L.M. won't give you the 2-3 years of graduate study the bar requires.

[oldguygoingback]

also you state that an LLM is useless why? What about the Securities LLM offered by Georgetown?

[rad lulz]

.

[oldguygoingback]

The L.L.B. is a "bachelor's of law" degree. It is a bachelor's degree, not an advanced graduate degree, and (I believe) every state in the country now requires a graduate-level degree to be admitted to the bar. For this reason, nobody in the U.S. offers the L.L.B. program anymore; it's a pointless degree, since you'd still need a J.D. to take the bar.

The L.L.M. is a "master's of law" degree. It's a shorter program than the J.D., and often offered with a focus on a particular subject. Most states have minimum hours requirements for a graduate degree that only a J.D. can offer; an L.L.M. will only offer one year of study and about 24 semester-hours of credits, whereas most states are set up intentionally to require enough years or credits that only a J.D. is good for bar admission.

The reason L.L.M.'s still exist mainly is for international students. An international student may have what is considered a solid legal education already, but since 1) many other countries only require an L.L.B. to practice law and 2) a legal education outside the U.S. probably doesn't prepare people for practicing U.S. law, many states will impose an additional requirement of at least one year of legal education in the U.S. and a graduate-level degree. The L.L.M. can satisfy these requirements. So international students who obtain in L.L.B. elsewhere and an L.L.M. in the U.S. can be admitted to the bar.

But that option is only offered to international students who've received their L.L.B. abroad. There's no shortcut for students here in the U.S. You can't go straight to an L.L.M. because no L.L.M. program will admit a U.S. student who doesn't already have a J.D., and an L.L.M. won't give you the 2-3 years of graduate study the bar requires.

Thank you

[oldguygoingback]

thank you

[CanadianWolf]

Some Canadian law schools still award the LLB degree, although most have converted to the JD which was created in the US to further distinguish a law degree as a graduate degree.

[stillwater]

also you state that an LLM is useless why? What about the Securities LLM offered by Georgetown?

I think most people here will you tell you the only truly worthwhile LLM for US JD's is the one in Taxation from NYU.

[rad lulz]

.

[CanadianWolf]

LLMs for graduates of US law schools are valuable for continuing legal education credits as well as for specialization for practising attorneys. Often they are paid for by one's employer. The preference for Georgetown, Florida and NYU LLMs in Taxation is correct for those seeking job placement based on those degrees.