First, the degree types of American law majors
American law schools mainly award three degrees, namely JD (Doctor of Law), LLM (Master of Law) and JSD (Doctor of Law). Because there is no law major in American undergraduate course, JD, though translated into doctor of law, is actually equivalent to American undergraduate education in law.
Length Master of Laws (L.M.): A master's degree in the field of law, lasting for nine months, mainly for foreign students with law degrees. You only need to take the TOEFL to apply.
J.D. (Doctor of Law): The first degree in law belongs to a three-year program in the United States. Studying American law in detail, you can take the American bar exam, which is expensive and has few scholarships. You need to take the law school entrance exam to apply. You can apply for a bachelor's degree.
J.S.D (Doctor of Judicial Science): A doctor's degree in the field of law, which is generally translated as "Doctor of Law". Generally speaking, an applicant for an advanced degree in law must have a career goal of engaging in legal research, and must have a master's degree or a doctorate in law before applying.
To become a lawyer in the United States, you usually need to obtain a doctorate in law and then pass the bar exam (American bar exam) before you can become a professional lawyer. However, there are 1 1 states in the United States that allow students with LLM degrees to take the bar exam, especially in California and new york. Many Chinese take the bar exam, so many lawyers have LLM degrees.
Second, the requirements for studying abroad for law majors
LLM majors in American universities do not need GRE/GMAT or LSAT scores, and the only criteria for considering students are TOEFL scores and GPA. Therefore, if you want to apply for a prestigious school, it is recommended that your TOEFL score be above 100. It should be noted here that because law is a subject that relies on language communication, many schools have high requirements for spoken English, generally above 20 points. The GPA is recommended to be above 3.5.
Although LLM emphasizes theoretical study because of the 1 year academic system, it is far from enough for students who really want to enter the ranks of lawyers, but it is more suitable for the requirements of the legal department of multinational companies because of its short and fast academic system and many international students.
In addition, in the United States, because only those who have passed the lawyer qualification examination (American Judicial Examination) can obtain the lawyer practice qualification, a considerable number of applicants choose LLM in order to obtain the lawyer qualification in the United States.
At present, there are 1 1 states in the United States that allow LLM students to take the bar exam, among which new york and California have the largest number of applicants. Although the lawyer exam is quite difficult, in fact, LLM graduates who pass the exam are not less than JD students.
Third, popular law schools in the United States.
1, Yale Law School
Yale Law School, located in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, is famous for its antique buildings and the law library with the richest collection of books among law schools in the United States. Compared with the same top Harvard Law School, Yale Law School is small in scale and advocates elite small class teaching, so the admission standards for students are extremely high, and students' academic ability is highly valued. Over the years, Yale Law School has gathered the best and most competitive legal talents in the United States, and being able to enter Yale Law School is obviously the "best future" in the eyes of many scholars.
2. Stanford University Law School
Stanford Law School is located in the prime location of Palo Alto, one of the core cities and legal centers in Silicon Valley. In the past three or four decades, relying on the development of Silicon Valley technology, Stanford Law School has become one of the most prestigious law schools in the United States.
Compared with other law schools, Stanford Law School is more willing to combine its own advantages to carry out various teaching innovations. Stanford University Law School has many law courses jointly offered with other schools, such as sub-discipline courses in the fields of company law and venture capital jointly offered by law school and business school. Through this unique mode of running a school, Stanford Law School has developed rapidly. Intellectual property law, company law and other disciplines rank among the top three law schools in the United States, and they are also in a leading position in environmental law, tort law and international economic law.
3. Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is located on the Charles River in Cambridge, Boston, Massachusetts, and its undergraduate department focuses on Harvard Square in a shady place. Harvard Law School pays attention to cultivating students' practical application ability of law and combines theoretical study with practical application in the classroom. There are not many students enrolled each year, and the quality of students is strictly controlled.
In terms of curriculum, not only the courses of law school itself cover a wide range of contents, but also students can cross-register for courses at Harvard, choose courses from other 13 graduate schools of Harvard, and also choose courses from other universities such as MIT and Brown University. For students with a wide range of interests, Harvard Law School is undoubtedly the best choice. Of all the courses, there is always one for you.
4. University of Chicago Law School
The Law School of the University of Chicago has played an important role in promoting the application of social sciences in law, especially known as the research center of legal economics and a world-class academic center of law. Ronald coase, a Nobel laureate in economics who teaches in law school, Judge Richard A. Posner and Professor Daniel R Fisher of the United States Federal Circuit Court for the Seventh Circuit are all leading figures in legal economics. Aaron D 'Alecott, the founder of the field of legal economics and the founder of the Journal of Legal Economics, is also a professor at the Law School of the University of Chicago and one of the important figures of the Chicago School of Economics.