As accomplished as you may be in your home country, you may not be fully prepared to face the challenges posed by a graduate law program (LL.M or JD) in the U.S.

For many international attorneys (particularly those trained in Civil Law), the study of U.S. law can be an unexpectedly different and counter-intuitive process that varies greatly from how they learned law in their home countries. For them, prior training in Civil Law turns out not to be an advantage, but in fact, a source of confusion.

This calls for setting clear expectations around the LL.M/JD experience as a whole and due preparation on how to tackle it  effectively.
 

A few questions may help you assess your level of preparation:

 

¨ Are you a Civil Lawyer (i.e. trained under the Civil Law tradition)?

¨ Have you had exposure to Common Law reasoning?

¨ Are you familiar with the “case law” and Socratic methods of legal education?

¨ Are you familiar with American case law and/or statutory law?

¨ Have you briefed cases before?

¨ Are you familiar with the expression “issue spotting”?

¨ Are you familiar with the following concepts:

– Precedent or Stare Decisis

– Black Letter Law, Holding, Dicta

– Public Policy

– Consideration

– IRAC and CREAC Methods of Legal Analysis and Writing

¨ Are you aware that in many U.S. law schools final exams typically account for 100% of your grade?

¨ How familiar are you with the practical implications of moving to the U.S. for a year? (Alone or with your family?)
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