Curt Wimberly, a student in Georgetown University Law Center’s J.D. and LL.M. in taxation joint degree program, knew he was interested in tax law from the start of his legal education.
After taking some tax-related courses as a J.D. student, he was confident that applying to the joint program would be a worthwhile option: It would allow him to gain the legal knowledge that any lawyer needs to succeed while also focusing on a specific subject area.
“To be able to pursue both degrees and have access to the entire tax curriculum at Georgetown is why I chose to do that originally,” says Wimberly, who had previously worked in an accounting firm and is now in his final semester at Georgetown.
For U.S. law students looking to pursue careers in highly specialized fields like tax law, a joint J.D. -LL.M. degree program might be the way to go. Meanwhile, international students may also pursue an LL.M. , or Master of Laws degree, for different reasons, such as to better understand U.S. law practice and enter global firms or companies, says Justin Swinsick, associate director of graduate admissions at Georgetown Law, which offers five joint J.D.-LL.M. degree options.
U.S. students contemplating this route should ask themselves and program officials these five questions.
1. Will adding an LL.M. help you achieve your career goals? Experts say students should consult an academic adviser to determine whether adding an LL.M. to their J.D. is worth the cost depending on their goals, especially as legal experts’ opinions about the value of doing so in many disciplines can vary.
[Discover how, though controversial, LL.M.’s can lead to specialized legal jobs.]
Still, there may be compelling reasons to pursue the degree, and Swinsick recommends that students search for individuals with the types of jobs they would be interested in down the line and ask whether they think the joint degree is a good idea.
“I think that kind of firsthand advice from somebody is really, really helpful for a student in determining if a program is going to put them in that position,” Swinsick says.
2. What are the joint program’s enrollment options and procedures? Many joint degree students from the U.S. choose that option after already starting their J.D. education, experts say.
Interested students, therefore, should check out their enrollment options and a school’s application procedures for the second degree. Many programs allow students to apply to the LL.M. component during their second or third year of law school.
For example, J.D. students and alumni at the New York University School of Law can add a part-time or full-time LL.M. in taxation. Many part-time LL.M. students, therefore, have time to also work at law firms and other venues, says John Stephens, director of the graduate tax program at the school.
[Understand how law schools work to make students more employable.]
He points to a scenario that might arise for these students: “If the law firm or I want to start work quicker, will I be able to do that, and if so, what would that look like? How long would I have to finish the program?”
3. Are you willing to possibly spend extra time on a joint degree? At some schools, a full-time joint J.D. -LL.M. degree can add an extra semester of education — as opposed to a full year, which would likely be the case if pursued separately — though this varies across institutions. Experts say interested students should ensure that they are willing to invest their time and money in the joint degree.
At Georgetown, the joint degree programs — with LL.M.s offered in areas such as taxation, national security law and environmental law — typically last seven semesters, which is generally less time than it would take to earn the two degrees individually, but longer than the J.D. alone.
However, students at the Washington University School of Law have options of either a six- or seven-semester joint J.D. -Tax LL.M. program, depending on when they apply.
4. What are you looking for in terms of faculty? Patricia Brown, director of the graduate program in taxation at the University of Miami School of Law, says students should understand what type of faculty would be teaching them in a given program. This might involve a combination of adjunct professors with expertise in particular industries in addition to regular professors.
“Look at what the professors are writing about,” Brown says. “If they’re writing about something that sounds exciting, you probably would be interested in talking to that professor.”
5. How do student services work in the joint degree program? It’s important for students to understand how student services, such as career advising, operate in a joint degree program.
[Check out three nonlegal careers for law school graduates.]
Swinsick suggests students consider whether services are the same across the two programs. “Do they have specialized people that just work with LL.M. students, or is it just the J.D. career services that focus mostly on the J.D. students?” he says.
This is important, he says, so students “don’t find themselves in a circumstance where they may be isolated and not have the support they thought they were going to get because they’re now in a different cohort.”
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5 Questions for Future Lawyers to Ask About J.D.-LL.M. Degrees originally appeared on usnews.com
