Making the most of your LLM year

By: Gmeleen Tomboc

1. Make sure everything is in order back home
Since you might be in the US for one year, make sure everything in your home country is in
order. Inform your bank or credit card company that you will be studying in the US, to
minimize the risk of them freezing your account (which usually happens when you use your
card in an unfamiliar location). Set up online banking or another way to access your bank
accounts even when youre away from home (e.g., giving a power of attorney to a family
member or a trusted friend) so you can get your money in the event of an emergency.
2. Start getting ready
Check carefully if your school will require you to undergo a medical check-up or to take
certain vaccines. Some vaccines must be administered via several shots over a few months, so
you want to have enough time to do these. Health and dental care may be more expensive in
the US (especially if you are enjoying health insurance in your home country or company), so
try to have as many procedures done before you leave (e.g., tooth fillings).
3. Furnishings and Books
Because youll only be in the US for one year, do not buy too much furniture (or try to rent
furniture instead). It might be difficult to dispose of them when you have to leave. If you live
in a tropical country and plan to go back there, do not go overboard and buy winter coats in
all shapes and sizes.
Law books usually get outdated after a few years, so unless you want to build your own
library, it is usually a better idea to just rent books than to buy them.
4. Cross-enroll in one or two non-law courses
Why not enroll in one or two classes offered by other schools in your university? For
example, a course in people management or marketing offered by the business school may
help you understand better how your law firm is run. Or maybe a course in international
relations over at the school of public policy can provide a forum for you to air your opinions
and hear others opinions on current world events. I know an LLM student who audited (i.e.,
attended without credit) an undergraduate course in Chinese literature, simply because he was
curious about it.
5. Make friends
It goes without saying that you should make friends with your LLM classmates so you can
have people to hang out and study with. Its much more fun to study in the library during
finals week when you have a fun group of people to talk to during coffee breaks. By now, a
Facebook group might already have been established for your LLM class, so you can start
chatting with your future classmates even before you arrive in the US.
A typical LLM student in his 30s and who has worked in a law firm for a few years might
find it a bit difficult to relate to 20 year old J Ds who are fresh out of college. However, as
more US J Ds are looking outside the US for work, you might find that there are J Ds who are
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very keen about your home country. Your school might even organize J D-LLM mixers.
J oining a journal or a club is another good way to meet J Ds, as with living in a dorm on
campus (if you dont mind the lack of privacy). Some LLMs even join moot court
competitions!
More than trying to know as many people as possible though, the LLM year is a great time to
make friends (not the Youre my Facebook friend type, but the Do you need help with
moving your things? type). You need not be friends with everyone; you might find that a
deep friendship with three or four people might be more satisfying and easy to handle.
That being said, there is a tendency among LLMs to gravitate towards other LLMs from their
home country or LLMs who speak the same language. Being away from home, its natural to
be homesick and to long for someone who speaks J apanese or whatever your mother tongue
is, but you lose out on discovering other cultures if you hang out mainly with people from the
same background as you.
6. Cultivate relationships with one or two faculty members
This might be your professor in your favorite class, your thesis adviser, or a professor with
the same background as you. Most professors hold office hours occasionally during the
semester to answer questions from students. Even if you feel that you do not need coaching,
try to have some one-on-one time with your professor so he will remember you. You might
want to ask for his opinion on a recent event related to your course, or you can share your
thoughts if there are significant differences between the laws in the US and your home
country. A faculty member will have a wide network in the legal world and can alert you of
job opportunities or introduce you to other alumni who may be in a position to help you in the
future.
7. School Activities
The law school or the universitys international office will likely have planned out many
activities for international students. Your school may have a host program where they match
you with a local family who can serve as your foster parent in case you have questions about
life in the US. Other activities might include a Halloween party, Super Bowl viewing party or
Thanksgiving dinner. There might even be one or two balls organized by the school, so bring
a formal dress or a good suit. Check if your school will host an international night where
students are encouraged to dress up in national costume so you can come prepared.
8. Career Services and J ob Fair
The career services office has numerous books on everything from where to look for a job to
non-legal careers for lawyers. You will probably have access to a career counselor who can
help you polish your resume and even conduct a mock job interview.
Your school might participate in a job fair for LLMs in New York (usually in J anuary). Even
if you are not planning to go to interviews, come along with your LLM classmates. While
they are interviewing, you can go around New York City and watch a show or two on
Broadway. Theres usually a party for LLMs somewhere in New York during the job fair
weekend (the last party drew around 500 LLMs from around the US!), so it is a great way to
socialize with classmates and meet LLMs from other schools.
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9. Network
Even if youre planning to go back to your firm to work, an LLM offers an opportunity to
significantly broaden your professional network. These contacts can help you later if you
need to get legal advice outside of your home jurisdiction, look for a new job, or even just
understand how law firms in other countries work. A lot of international students are
uncomfortable with the idea of small talk or asking a near-stranger for coffee or advice, but
networking is an essential skill that can spell the difference between having and not having a
job. Your law school might organize workshops on the dos and donts of networking, so
make sure to attend this.
From time to time, your school might invite alumni and representatives from law firms to
give talks on certain topics. If you are highly interested in a topic, spend a few minutes after
the talk telling the speaker how much you appreciated his talk and asking intelligent
questions. However, if the speaker is particularly interesting, there will also be many students
who want to talk to the speaker, so you might have to wait a long time for your turn. One
trick may be to come early and sit at the front, so you will be the first to reach the speaker
after his talk ends.
The networking doesnt end with graduation, for you will then become part of your schools
alumni organization. Check out the alumni database and reach out to alumni from your
country (even if its just to say hello you never know when you might need to ask them
something!).
Bar associations or other organizations (e.g., a J apanese society in your city) might also be a
good way to build contacts. Before arriving in Boston, many Filipino LLMs had told me that
this particular Filipino lawyer working in Boston was very helpful to them. Even if we had
not yet met, I sent him a message on Facebook introducing myself and enumerating our
mutual friends. Eventually, we met up in Boston during my first weekend in the US. He was
a great source of information on Boston student life, and we are still in touch to this day.
10. Research
If you have the option to write an LLM thesis, or can choose between taking final exams or
writing a paper for a class, I highly suggest writing a paper. Major law schools in the US are
equipped with books and journals from all over the world, with access to LexisNexis or
Westlaw. You will also have access to libraries of other colleges in the university, and your
library might even help you borrow a book from another university across the country. In
some universities, if you are in dire need of a book, they can even buy it for you! All these
make it easier to do research, something which you may never have the opportunity to do
again.
11. Travel
The LLM year offers many opportunities to travel (something which may be difficult when
you go back to the working life). There is usually a few days off before the first day of fall
classes, and before the commencement ceremonies in the spring. You also get a few days of
vacation in Thanksgiving, and were not even talking about winter break and spring break
yet. Whether you want to travel with your classmates, friends or by yourself, theres no better
time to explore the US. A few people even stay behind for one or two months after
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commencement to take road trips across the US before going back to work in their home
countries.
12. New York or California bar
Even if you are already qualified in your country and dont have to take these bar exams, the
summer after the LLM year is probably the best time to do this. After all that studying, you
will have become used to reading and writing legal English, and will have developed (or
resurrected) good study habits. Studying and taking the bar will require only two months, so
if you have ever thought about taking these exams, this is the best time to do it. Plus, its
more fun to study for the bar exams when youre with your LLM friends. You never know
when you might need NY or California bar qualification, and even if you will never ever
need it, it is certainly a nice qualification to have on your resume.
With all of the above, it might seem that you might not have enough time during the LLM
year. Unfortunately, this is very true, as almost every LLM graduate can tell you one or two
things that they wished they had done. The LLM year is a good opportunity for you to throw
yourself into US life and enjoy everything that this experience has to offer. Of course, you
should keep yourself updated on your friends and family back home, but probably not to the
point where you spend most of your waking hours on Skype with them. Not everyone may
agree, but as one of my LLM classmates said, You have only this year to enjoy with your
LLM classmates and friends in law school, but you have the rest of your life with your family
and friends back home.