« Updating Your Employment Information in Symplicity | Main | If You Are Worried About Your Grades... »
April 23, 2007
Timing for Pursuing an LL.M.
Thinking of pursuing an LL.M. degree? There are advantages and disadvantages to pursuing the degree immediately after graduating from law school. Here are some pros and cons to the timing of pursuing your LL.M. degree according to Linda Laufer:
It may make sense to pursue the LL.M. immediately after law school if you feel that you are still in a student frame of mind. After so many years of school, you may have the momentum to plow through one more year. You will be able to embark on your career without a one-year interruption or a multi-year juggling of work and study. A disadvantage is tacking on more debt when you may have already needed a significant amount of financial aid. At the same time, you will miss out on earning income.
If you decide to practice first, you may not have the incentive to return to school once you are in a work routine. The thought of studying and taking exams may become daunting. On top of that, you may have family and other obligations that make it impossible for you to add anything else to your over-scheduled life.
One advantage to practicing first is to give yourself a chance to take a break from school and decide whether you really want to pursue the LL.M. degree. You may also have the opportunity to save up a little money and possibly swing semester-by-semester payments. Best of all, you may be working for an employer that values the degree and is willing to pay all or part of your tuition while you continue to pratice!
There is one final consideration. You must have realistic expectations for how much an LL.M. degree can boost your career opportunities. Before entering an LL.M. program, learn what opportunities are available for LL.M. students, when and how students obtain them, and what career services are available to those students.
Posted by cld30 at April 23, 2007 04:09 PM