American Master of Laws (LLM)-Introduction to TOP Law School

There are a large number of applicants for law majors each year, and the number of majors in American universities is relatively large, but the level of law schools is obvious, and there is a big gap in employment. The best law firms usually only recruit first-rate students from top colleges. If the graduate school is average, no matter how good it is, it is difficult to enter the threshold of the best law firm.

Which are the Top American Law Schools?

American law schools have the so-called Top 3, Top 6 and Top 14. Top 3 is Yale University, Harvard University and Stanford University. These three schools have occupied the top three positions in law school rankings since the 1980s. Top 6 is these three schools plus Columbia University, University of Chicago and New York University.

Top 14 also includes the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, University of Virginia, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, University of California, Berkeley, Northwestern University and Duke University. The top 14 has always been a combination of these. . Let’s take a look at these colleges and universities in the United States with the editor today.

Which are the top ranking universities in the USA in law education?

Following are the top universities in the United States of America that rank on top as regards education in law:

1. Yale University

Yale Law School ranks first in the United States all year round. Since the launch of the US NEWS law rankings, in addition to being tied with Harvard for the first year, it has dominated the law school’s top position every year.

Unlike Harvard, Yale Law School is an academic small but refined law school with small class teaching and very few and strict recruitment. The scale of the LLM project is only about 30 people, and it only recruits about 3 people in mainland China. It basically only sees the north. .

The Yale LLM program focuses on rigorous, non-utilitarian academic training. For Chinese students, if you are not interested in a grand academic career, please don’t waste the precious time of Yale admissions officers and yourself. For young books interested in academics, Yale’s hopes are still slim.

Although sporadic small books have been recorded occasionally in recent years, Yale LLM is generally more suitable for young scholars, outstanding PhDs or TOP masters who have achieved certain academic achievements. The main source of mainland students for Yale LLM is Peking University.

For example, in recent years, several masters or doctors from Peking University Law School have been admitted under the recommendation of professors who have good friends with Yale. >>>Free admission rate test of Yale University

2. Harvard University

Harvard Law School’s LLM training approach is almost the opposite of Yale. Harvard Law School focuses on professional lawyer training for students. The number of enrollment is quite large, and the entire LLM program is about 150 people.

If Yale wins by quality, Harvard definitely hopes to overwhelm Yale by an order of magnitude. Although all walks of life have talked about Harvard Law School’s utilitarian secularization and its compromise with business society, its university standing is world-famous. The faculty and alumni are extremely powerful, and there is no such thing as being inferior to Yale.

In recent years, Harvard has been the best choice for Indian and China’s top students to hit T3. Every year, the Harvard LLM project will recruit 10-18 mainland Chinese people and 3-5 people without work experience.

Harvard generally only recruits 2 small books from the four universities of Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University, and Shanghai Jiaotong University each year, and the requirements for small books are also very high, high GPA (LSAC rating S is almost necessary), high TOEFL (108 It can be counted as a bottom line), excellent internship experience (Magic circle and V30 are better. The Beijing and Shanghai offices of the five major internal offices are also acceptable) are only standard hardware, and a good PS is also necessary.

Harvard’s PS preference is the rule of law in China, judicial reform, and other positive aspects, and it is not too cold for practical content. In addition, Harvard attaches great importance to alumni.

If you can get a recommendation letter from Harvard JD or even someone who has served as a faculty member at Harvard, you will be greatly rewarded.

Since the scale of Harvard LLM is the largest in T3, its graduates have a strong alumni network in the major TOP external and internal offices, and the alumni connection is relatively close. If you are lucky enough to be accepted, your entire career will benefit a lot.

3. Stanford University

Although Stanford Law School is deeply influenced by Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurial culture, it is notable for its impetuous commercial atmosphere. Stanford Law School’s idea of ​​building a school is similar to Yale to a certain extent, with full discipline, small class teaching, and very few recruits.

Stanford’s LLM project is divided into three tracks: Corporate Governance & Practice, Environmental Law & Policy and Law, Science & Technology, and each track only recruits 15-20 people.

The three tracks add up to 5-6 students in mainland China each year. For Chinese notebooks, it is even more difficult to get to the sky, no less difficult than Yale.

Unlike Yale, Stanford is characterized by preferring lawyers with practical experience (or those with bright entrepreneurial experience), whose IP expertise is top in the United States. Therefore, if you have a background in science and engineering, it will be a great bonus.

From the perspective of graduate school, Stanford favors Peking University the most. It seems from various factors that if there are no special advantages or special needs, it is not recommended to consider Stanford.

If it is a top undergraduate graduate + top work experience for more than 2 years, Stanford might as well give it a try. In addition, it is worth noting that Stanford’s LLM cannot apply for Stanford’s JSD. Applicants who are interested in JSD and academic paths can consider the SPILS project specially set up by Stanford for academics.

4. Columbia University

Columbia Law School is closely following the pace of T3. It is somewhat similar to Harvard in terms of LLM training. It is comparable to Harvard in terms of enrollment. The number is huge.

There are about 280 people in the entire LLM program. In the past few years, about 40 Chinese were admitted. People (including 2 Chinese PHD).

With the excellent Location advantage of NYC (for example, many famous NYC partners will work part-time in Columbia), the overall atmosphere is known as the “business school in the law school”. The strong atmosphere of working in Big Law has attracted many people. A batch of top foreign LLMs (especially LLMs who hope to find Internship or even official positions in the Big Apple City).

Columbia’s corporate finance law is a trump card major, invincible in the United States. It is no different from Harvard. IP law and international law are also the top in the United States.

It is said that Columbia University has an unwritten rule that applicants who have worked for less than three years after graduation will not be admitted.

The percentage of Columbia Working Party is 100%. There is a view in the community that Columbia tends to recruit TOP lawyers with many years of experience. Past experience has shown that as long as the total score of TOEFL exceeds 105 points, Columbia generally will not specially card small points.

In addition, Columbia has a non-binding EA (Early Action), and applicants who are interested in Columbia can apply as soon as possible.

Since the main body of Columbia LLM students are lawyers with many years of work experience, and its alumni network is very elite in mainland China, the influence of Hong Kong alumni cannot be underestimated.

5. New York University

NYU is the watershed of T6 and the last school of the “HYS-CCN” group. T6 is the symbol of the American super law school, and NYU is one of the relatively weak ones. The reputation of its university is weak, and the campus hardware is slightly insufficient.

The rise of NYU originated from a strong dean who used alumni resources to dig out talents from various law schools. Once the limelight rushed into the top 4, it has stabilized at No. 6 in recent years.

One of NYU’s strengths lies in its location in the Manhattan CBD. NYU’s tax law and international law are both No. 1 in the United States, which can be called the trump card in the trump card.

In addition, NYU is also very strong in areas involving financial law, commercial law and IP law. The reason why so many department laws of NYU are so strong is because from the faculty profile, NYU is a higher grade than law schools outside T6.

For small books, NYU is one of the few law schools in T14 that does not discriminate against small books, so the difficulty of applying for small books is slightly lower than that of T5.

As a T6, especially the law school that recruits the most outstanding fresh graduates in T6, NYU has a relatively high degree of recognition among law firms. On the whole, NYU’s student composition is very diverse, ranging from old to small partners to small graduates, from foreign to V10 lawyers to traditional lawyers to criminal in-house lawyers.

In life, due to the high prices in Manhattan, the cost of living will be a big expense. Therefore, applicants with outstanding qualifications must apply for Hauser Scholarship. This is not only a full award, but also an honor.

6. University of Pennsylvania

As a member of the Ivy League, UPenn is also one of its signatures. Located in ancient Philadelphia, Penn has a rich cultural heritage. The law school has been stable at No. 7 in recent years and has achieved a clear leading position in the former “MVP Group” (UMich, UVA, UPenn). Corporate law is a feature of UPenn.

In terms of enrollment tendencies, applicants who prefer work experience, have rarely heard of Penn’s admissions in the past few years. As a law school outside T6, Penn enrolls about 110 people every year. In recent years, the number of LLMs in China has been floating at a low level of less than 20 people.

However, as the threshold of LLM continues to decrease, UPENN’s LLM also has a trend of expanding enrollment. The TOP booklet is worth a try. Although LLM can audit Wharton’s courses, according to the official caliber of business school admissions personnel, having the Penn LLM experience will not increase the chance of successfully applying for the Wharton School.

This has a certain reference and risk warning function for some students who intend to study at Wharton in the future. However, UPenn allows transfer to JD, and there have been successful cases of Chinese LLM in previous years.

In the admission process, Penn and Columbia have a non-binding EA program. Interested parties please apply as soon as possible. Penn University also has a very good reputation in China, and its small and sophisticated graduates are welcomed by various TOP institutes.

7. Duke University

Duke’s “Blue Devils” are hidden in the vast North Carolina Forest. The natural environment is excellent. Duke’s college basketball is well-known in the United States, and the cohesion of alumni is extremely strong.

As one of the few universities in the United States with academic strength and excellent physical education, Duke University is the leader of universities in the southern United States.

As far as the law school is concerned, Duke Law School, as an upstart, has gained momentum in recent years and has reached number eight. The fly in the ointment is that Duke is relatively far from the three major urban agglomerations in North America (New York, California, and Chicago).

The quality of Duke’s faculty has always been among the best in law schools. Duke’s IP law, international law and environmental law are all top-notch. Duke has a very low percentage of Chinese people and tends to have work experience.

Duke historically has always favored applicants with large backgrounds. In addition, applicants from Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Jiaotong University are also more popular. Every year there is a chance for a full prize for the Chinese (compete with JD).

Because Duke’s JSD program is relatively open and transparent, coupled with its emphasis on academic teaching style and faculty settings, applicants who wish to continue studying for a JSD degree after graduating from LLM should give priority to consideration.

It is also easier for Duke to transfer to JD. Basically, more than one Chinese LLM transfers to JD every year.