How to Choose an LLM Program and 3 Application Tips

With the new admissions cycle on its way, I thought I should give some insight into the thought process of selecting and applying for an LLM program.

Choosing an LLM

The first and most important aspect is knowing why you want to pursue an LLM degree. There are a wide range of valid reasons. But if you don’t have a clear plan, you won’t get your worth out of an expensive LLM.

For example, you may want to explore a new area of the law, or you may want to gain bar admission in your home jurisdiction or in a new jurisdiction, or you may be interested in academia. These sorts of considerations should form the basis of your decision.

While I love King’s financial law curriculum, I would have stayed in Leiden for public international law. Similarly, I would have chosen some US LLM if I wanted to sit the New York State bar exam. And if I wanted to enter academia, I would have applied to Oxford.

When I researched LLMs, I had already decided to specialize in financial/securities law. I also don’t necessarily have the intention of qualifying somewhere abroad, although the legal profession in England will become more liberalized with the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE). Instead, I intend to practice in the Netherlands and possibly Belgium (my home country). So, naturally, I ended up looking at programs relevant for cross-border and, crucially, European legal practice rather than LLMs focusing on US or English domestic law. I wouldn’t know what to do in the EU with extensive trust law and equity skills.

King’s LLM stood out to me for two reasons. First, many financial law subjects are taught by practitioners. Secondly, the academics teaching EU law subjects are renowned experts. I think my module choices (see my previous post) reflect this very well. Ravi Tennekoon teaches the international transactions that global law firms deal with, while Alexander Türk never fails to raise academically thought-provoking issues on regulatory architecture.

Secondly, do rankings matter? This can be controversial depending on who you ask, partially because the parameters differ massively per ranking. In short, I think they do, but to a certain extent. Again, you have to consider the why question. What do you hope to achieve with your degree?

In Belgium and the Netherlands, King’s College London tends to be more a recognizable name than the traditionally higher-ranked UCL or some excellent US law schools (think Georgetown or UChicago). I see this reflected in a disproportionate number of Belgians at King’s and Belgian firms targeting King’s students/graduates. If you are deciding between two or more similarly ranked programs, look at the curriculum on offer and consider how it will help to achieve your goals.

One piece of advice if you’re looking at EU LLMs and want to find opportunities in the EU: many law schools in the EU tend to be very comparable in reputation and teaching quality. Unlike in the UK and the US, there is more of a level-playing field. For example, a Dutch law firm recruiter will not be more impressed by my degree from Leiden than someone else’s degree from Amsterdam. So, don’t make a decision solely based on one ranking or another, especially in the EU.

Finally, location does matter for most law students. You may want to apply for internships (or “vacation schemes” as they are called in the UK) and attend career events. New York City and the City of London obviously offer more opportunities outside law school than let’s say Freiburg or Bristol, if you even know where these cities are.

Tip 1: Do Research

I’ve already mentioned that you should know what curriculum a law school offers. But by research I mean much more than that. Look at the class profile. Will you be attending classes with LLB students, with JD students, or only with fellow LLM students? In the latter case, the classroom will have a more international outlook as is the case at King’s. Having classes with JD students may be the better option if you want to break into the US legal market.

Go stalk alumni profiles on LinkedIn and see where they end up after the LLM. The same holds for law firm websites if you want to enter legal practice; and university websites for academia. Do you want to end up in the same positions?

If you happen to know alumni or academics at your previous institution that have a connection with the university you want to attend, you can ask them for their honest experiences. Otherwise there are always the student experience blogs on LLM-GUIDE.com.

All this gives a sense of what kind of students an admissions team has accepted in the past.

Tip 2: Be Specific

When completing an application, you should be as specific as possible. In personal statements, you can highlight academics and modules you’re interested in. You can indicate a possible field of law or even a topic for your dissertation. You can briefly mention what extracurricular opportunities at the law school you want to partake in and what you can bring to the law school community.

This is not only relevant for your personal statement, but also your cv. For example, your personal statement may say “I’m passionate about competition law, because…”. Then, your cv should reflect this with relevant and specific experience, such as a bachelor’s dissertation in competition law, assisting on competition law research, or an internship in the field of competition law. Even a high mark in an introductory competition law module and a short blog post on competition law are things you should definitely include.

Tip 3: Show Enthusiasm!

When crafting the elements of your application, you should connect the substantive information about the LLM program and your qualifications with personal enthusiasm. You could ask your referees to keep enthusiasm in mind in addition to the usual experience components.

With personal enthusiasm I mean more than specific experience. I mean intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation causes behavior that is driven by internal rewards rather than external rewards. This kind of motivation stems from the activity itself rather than compensation, such as money or recognition. It is very hard to convey in written text without sounding cliché.

For example, when I want to convey intrinsic motivation for the study of financial law, I like to mention how I have been fascinated by the financial markets ever since I bought company shares when I was young. I like to discuss how I still invest some spare cash for fun and how different people on my academic road have influenced my passion for financial regulation.

Bonus tip: Apply early. Most competitive programs send out offers on a rolling basis. This means that, if you apply late, chances are the program has already met its capacity. Gaining one of the last places may be more difficult. This being said, I applied on 7 December and received an offer on 10 February.

Above is a stunning picture of where the law school is supposed to be. I wouldn’t know, because I still haven’t stepped a foot inside. In the meantime, you’ll have to do with my pictures of the National Gallery, Hyde Park, and Covent Garden, which is how I’ve been spending my time.

I understand that for many students the financial picture of pursuing an LLM can be influential or even decisive. It certainly was relevant for me. So, I’ll break down the cost of an LLM year in London in my next post.

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