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In the United States, law is not offered
as an undergraduate field of study. Students
complete a four-year bachelor's degree before
applying to law schools. At the undergraduate
level, future law students may major in
any subject. "Prelaw" concentrations
exist at some institutions, but the majority
of students who enter law schools have earned
a degree in some area of the humanities,
social sciences, or behavioral sciences.
U.S. law schools seek analytic thinking
and writing skills rather than preexisting
knowledge of law.
First professional degree programs in law
award the Juris Doctor (J.D.). The Association
of American Law Schools has recommended
that international students complete the
equivalent of the J.D. degree in their home
country because of the unique nature of
each country's legal system. J.D. programs
in the United States are too focused on
preparation for U.S. legal practice to be
of use to students whose careers will be
based in other countries.
For international lawyers who already have
a sound knowledge of their own country's
legal system and whose work involves the
United States, however, a J.D. program may
prove an appropriate course of study. It
can allow such practitioners to further
sharpen their legal skills and to acquire
a broad knowledge of the U.S. system. For
those interested in practicing law in the
United States, a J.D. degree from a law
school accredited by the American Bar Association
(ABA) is the standard prerequisite in every
U.S. jurisdiction.
A student in an accredited J.D. program
must complete at least eighty-four semester
hours of study, the equivalent of three
academic years. These years provide a generalist
education, designed to teach legal thinking
rather than details of legal code.
In their first year, all students take
classes in property law, contracts, and
torts (personal injury law). Other courses
may vary somewhat from school to school--some
combination of criminal law, constitutional
law (study of the U.S. Constitution), civil
procedure, and introduction to legal systems
are usually taught.
For the second and third year, the curriculum
may also be closely defined, or students
may be permitted to choose electives, depending
on the law school. All schools are required
to offer instruction in legal ethics.
Courses are taught using the case method.
Students read a series of assigned cases.
In class, the professor calls on students,
often at random, to answer questions on
the cases and defend the reasoning behind
their answers. Reading assignments are heavy.
Grades are often based only on semester-
or year-end examinations.
The amount of material covered in a J.D.
program does not allow for concentration
in a particular area of interest. To find
opportunities for in-depth specialization
or comparative legal study, foreign-trained
lawyers should look to U.S. graduate law
programs.
Many of the 200 law schools approved by
the American Bar Association for their J.D.
programs also offer graduate degree programs.
Most law schools will consider admitting
graduate applicants who have earned the
equivalent of a J.D. in countries other
than the United States, though some programs
with a specific focus on U.S. systems (such
as taxation law programs) may not, and many
others require knowledge of a system that
is based in English common law.
Many law schools offer programs designed
specifically for foreign-educated lawyers,
often including those from noncommon law
backgrounds. These include programs awarding
such degrees as the Master of Comparative
Law (M.C.L.), Master of Comparative Jurisprudence
(M.C.J.), Master of Arts in Legal Institutions
(M.L.I.), or the Master of Law (LL.M.) in
international law or comparative law as
well as some general LL.M. and individually
designed LL.M. programs. Intended to familiarize
international lawyers with U.S. law and
legal institutions, such programs generally
last one academic year. They often require
a thesis and generally combine one or two
special introductory courses in U.S. law
with classes chosen by the student from
among from the law school's regularly offered
J.D. courses.
LL.M. programs in specific areas are designed
for lawyers interested in becoming specialists
in that area. The curriculum is likely to
be more structured than in the general LL.M.,
M.C.L., M.C.J., and M.L.I. programs, with
more courses required in the area of specialization.
Programs generally last one academic year
or three semesters and require a thesis.
A few of the areas of LL.M. specialization
available in U.S. law schools include energy
law, environmental law, banking and finance
law, intellectual property law, and maritime
law.
Some schools offer individually designed
or general LL.M. programs in which students
tailor course work to meet their own needs.
Those who want to become specialists in
a particular area of law should look at
these programs as well as those announcing
that they offer the particular specialization
desired. Examination of faculty backgrounds
and correspondence with the program should
help determine whether the institution can
meet the student's particular needs.
Doctoral programs in law are offered by
only a few law schools and are generally
intended to prepare graduates for academic
careers. They most commonly award the Doctor
of Juridicial Science (S.J.D.) or Doctor
of the Science of Law (J.S.D.)—there is
no difference between the courses of study
required for these two degree titles.
It is difficult for a foreign-educated
lawyer to gain direct admission to a U.S.
doctoral law program. Some schools admit
only those students who have already completed
that particular school's master's program
in law. All are likely to expect the equivalent
of a master's degree in law to have been
completed somewhere. Exceptionally strong
academic and professional work are required.
The minimum residence requirement for doctoral
programs in law is usually one academic
year. The remainder of the program involves
independent research toward the dissertation,
which may take one to three more years.
Most programs also require an oral examination.
Because doctoral programs focus on independent
research, the student generally determines
the specialization that will be pursued.
Again, faculty interests are important to
examine in determining the appropriateness
of a particular program.
A number of U.S. law schools and other
legal training providers offer short-term
training intended for or likely to be of
interest to foreign-educated lawyers.
Short-term training programs are generally
offered during the summer and last a few
weeks. Some programs offer a wide selection
of courses that participants can choose
among according to their interests. Others
focus on a general introduction to U.S.
law, on English for legal purposes, or on
other subjects such as intellectual property
law or environmental law.
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