Lately there has been a lot of talk about getting an LLM. Is an LLM worth it for a law school student? Some other blogs have made some good points about LLMs, and I can't be help but wondering what the point really is. For example, should one continue with law school after they can take the bar? If you are to be a lawyer and you are ready to take the bar and pass it, why would you go back to school? The ABA requires lawyers to take CLE courses every year. While these courses cost money, they cost nothing near the price of going for an LLM.
That being said, at one time I thought that I may go for an LLM. This is my dark secret, and one that I felt I should get out there. You see, I am probably not different from many students in this regard. I honestly thought that getting an LLM would make me seem more “valuable,” as if my value is related to how much schooling I get. Further, I thought that I could go to a higher ranked school, such as Georgetown, U.C. Berkeley, or Columbia to retrieve this LLM. That would make up for my school's lower ranking, wouldn't it?
Further, I thought that if I had a hard time getting a legal job, I would be way ahead of my J.D. holding peers with a shiny brand new LLM. Who could resist hiring someone with not just a JD, but a JD with an LLM? Wouldn't a degree from, say, Fordham, Cardozo, Albany, or University of Colorado coupled with an LLM from a higher ranked school be just as good as a regular JD from NYU, Georgetown, or UCLA? Of course not. Employers stop caring about how much school you have at some point and value work experience. It's kind of like transferring law schools. Before you get your first year grades, the LSAT is extremely important. But once you get your first year's grades, the LSAT becomes irrelevant. After a few years work experience, where you went to law school (largely) becomes irrelevant (except for certain schools). Yet, thousands of young ones are being misled, thinking that the LLM is “another” golden ticket.
LLMs, however, don't just come from the cream of the crop. There are LLMs from even the lowest of the low. Cooley and other lower ranked schools offer their own LLM programs. I always wondered why a person would get an LLM from a forth tier or lower rated school. Since many people go back for an LLM with the mistaken belief that more schooling equals better riches in the future, you would think that these people would also understand that the school's reputation is also somewhat important. And, if you did so bad in law school that you could only go to a very low ranked school to get an LLM, you may want to forget law school and consider doing something else.
Now I know that I won't be going back for an LLM. It doesn't have a real place in the legal world for me. Some have said that a tax LLM from certain schools is a pretty safe bet. I don't see myself doing taxes, and those kinds of programs are still quite competitive. Further, if I was to go back to school due to not doing well in law, it would probably be something other than law. That being said, when I am finished with law school, with too many years of education behind me, I think that I may just throw in the towel and say “enough is enough.”
Enough is enough. There is no reason why one should be so masochistic to continue to up their loan amounts to the stratosphere. If an LLM in space law guaranteed you a ride to space to some far away planet in which you could default in peace, I would consider it. Rumor has it that there are some Earth like planets that could theoretically sustain life. These planets may have intelligent life that has surpassed Earth when it comes to higher education costs. I wonder how one would use that space law LLM there though. Then again, I wonder how a person uses a space law LLM on Earth. Further, I can't help but wonder how much one could teach about space law. Perhaps one could create a semester long course on space law (which I imagine would mostly be based on international law), but how the heck does one do multiple semesters of full time study on space law? What the heck would you be learning about? Saturn v. Uranus? Red Giant v. Alpha Centauri and Suns? Spock v. Yoda (a heated case no doubt)? If space law is so important, why is it not taught at most law schools?
That being said, at one time I thought that I may go for an LLM. This is my dark secret, and one that I felt I should get out there. You see, I am probably not different from many students in this regard. I honestly thought that getting an LLM would make me seem more “valuable,” as if my value is related to how much schooling I get. Further, I thought that I could go to a higher ranked school, such as Georgetown, U.C. Berkeley, or Columbia to retrieve this LLM. That would make up for my school's lower ranking, wouldn't it?
Further, I thought that if I had a hard time getting a legal job, I would be way ahead of my J.D. holding peers with a shiny brand new LLM. Who could resist hiring someone with not just a JD, but a JD with an LLM? Wouldn't a degree from, say, Fordham, Cardozo, Albany, or University of Colorado coupled with an LLM from a higher ranked school be just as good as a regular JD from NYU, Georgetown, or UCLA? Of course not. Employers stop caring about how much school you have at some point and value work experience. It's kind of like transferring law schools. Before you get your first year grades, the LSAT is extremely important. But once you get your first year's grades, the LSAT becomes irrelevant. After a few years work experience, where you went to law school (largely) becomes irrelevant (except for certain schools). Yet, thousands of young ones are being misled, thinking that the LLM is “another” golden ticket.
LLMs, however, don't just come from the cream of the crop. There are LLMs from even the lowest of the low. Cooley and other lower ranked schools offer their own LLM programs. I always wondered why a person would get an LLM from a forth tier or lower rated school. Since many people go back for an LLM with the mistaken belief that more schooling equals better riches in the future, you would think that these people would also understand that the school's reputation is also somewhat important. And, if you did so bad in law school that you could only go to a very low ranked school to get an LLM, you may want to forget law school and consider doing something else.
Now I know that I won't be going back for an LLM. It doesn't have a real place in the legal world for me. Some have said that a tax LLM from certain schools is a pretty safe bet. I don't see myself doing taxes, and those kinds of programs are still quite competitive. Further, if I was to go back to school due to not doing well in law, it would probably be something other than law. That being said, when I am finished with law school, with too many years of education behind me, I think that I may just throw in the towel and say “enough is enough.”
Enough is enough. There is no reason why one should be so masochistic to continue to up their loan amounts to the stratosphere. If an LLM in space law guaranteed you a ride to space to some far away planet in which you could default in peace, I would consider it. Rumor has it that there are some Earth like planets that could theoretically sustain life. These planets may have intelligent life that has surpassed Earth when it comes to higher education costs. I wonder how one would use that space law LLM there though. Then again, I wonder how a person uses a space law LLM on Earth. Further, I can't help but wonder how much one could teach about space law. Perhaps one could create a semester long course on space law (which I imagine would mostly be based on international law), but how the heck does one do multiple semesters of full time study on space law? What the heck would you be learning about? Saturn v. Uranus? Red Giant v. Alpha Centauri and Suns? Spock v. Yoda (a heated case no doubt)? If space law is so important, why is it not taught at most law schools?
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