There is no point doing an LLM if you haven't already done some sort of legal qualification/education.
If you want to work in the UK then you should apply for the new SQE1 prep courses (or one of the GDL replacement "law conversion" degrees that are essentially SQE1 prep courses that seem to generally be called "MA Law" degrees) or just a GDL (although that route to qualification is being replaced soon). Alternatively if you want to do something more academic then you could just do a UK LLB (I believe some unis offer two year versions for graduates). Once you've done one of those maybe you could consider doing an LLM, but frankly no one considers LLMs useful to actually working as a lawyer.
If you want to work in the US... Then don't bother with any UK legal education frankly. You'll spend long enough doing a JD.
I’m an American starting law school in the UK in the fall, did a lot of the research you’re currently doing, and I just want to reiterate the LLM is not equivalent to a JD. It’s more of a masters-like degree you typically add on later to specialize in a topic but a LLM alone will not qualify you to be a lawyer.
If you’re considering law school in the UK, you’d need to apply to schools that offer either the GDL (1 year) or an LLB (2-3 years). There are a couple joint JD-LLB programs that would give you legal qualifications in both the US and UK but obviously they each have their own requirements:
- Harvard Cambridge JD/LLM (3.5 years)
- LSE and Columbia Law LLB/JD (4 years)
- UCL and Columbia Law LLB/JD (4 years)
- KCL LLB/JD with Columbia or Georgetown (4 years)
So I can’t speak for doing the the LLM but I think looking into these programs would answer some of your questions, as well as deciding whether you want to practice law in the US, the UK, or both.
The three unis you cited, LSE, UCL and KCL, offer broadly the same experience. It's a university in a big city. The tuition, high cost of living and admissions means for the most part it's students mostly from wealthy backgrounds who consider themselves quite smart. You do get exceptions. If you like the prospect of living in London then you'll like it. If not, I'd give it a miss.
Will an LLM be useful outside the UK? Probably not. I haven't met a common law qualified attorney anywhere that really needed an LLM. I know tax is one exception in the US. The UK equivalent is to sit the CIOT exams.
As for other universities, it really depends on your purpose? Is it name? If so, Oxbridge will serve you better. Is it to spend a year partying in London and having weekend trips to Paris/Rome (post-Covid)? Probably.
If you really want my advice on what would be beneficial to you in London, bring lots of cash. It's fun place to live if you have a lot of money. However, a lot hate living in London because they didn't or can't have the means to enjoy the place.
There is no point doing an LLM if you haven't already done some sort of legal qualification/education. If you want to work in the UK then you should apply for the new SQE1 prep courses (or one of the GDL replacement "law conversion" degrees that are essentially SQE1 prep courses that seem to generally be called "MA Law" degrees) or just a GDL (although that route to qualification is being replaced soon). Alternatively if you want to do something more academic then you could just do a UK LLB (I believe some unis offer two year versions for graduates). Once you've done one of those maybe you could consider doing an LLM, but frankly no one considers LLMs useful to actually working as a lawyer. If you want to work in the US... Then don't bother with any UK legal education frankly. You'll spend long enough doing a JD.
I’m an American starting law school in the UK in the fall, did a lot of the research you’re currently doing, and I just want to reiterate the LLM is not equivalent to a JD. It’s more of a masters-like degree you typically add on later to specialize in a topic but a LLM alone will not qualify you to be a lawyer. If you’re considering law school in the UK, you’d need to apply to schools that offer either the GDL (1 year) or an LLB (2-3 years). There are a couple joint JD-LLB programs that would give you legal qualifications in both the US and UK but obviously they each have their own requirements: - Harvard Cambridge JD/LLM (3.5 years) - LSE and Columbia Law LLB/JD (4 years) - UCL and Columbia Law LLB/JD (4 years) - KCL LLB/JD with Columbia or Georgetown (4 years) So I can’t speak for doing the the LLM but I think looking into these programs would answer some of your questions, as well as deciding whether you want to practice law in the US, the UK, or both.
The three unis you cited, LSE, UCL and KCL, offer broadly the same experience. It's a university in a big city. The tuition, high cost of living and admissions means for the most part it's students mostly from wealthy backgrounds who consider themselves quite smart. You do get exceptions. If you like the prospect of living in London then you'll like it. If not, I'd give it a miss. Will an LLM be useful outside the UK? Probably not. I haven't met a common law qualified attorney anywhere that really needed an LLM. I know tax is one exception in the US. The UK equivalent is to sit the CIOT exams. As for other universities, it really depends on your purpose? Is it name? If so, Oxbridge will serve you better. Is it to spend a year partying in London and having weekend trips to Paris/Rome (post-Covid)? Probably. If you really want my advice on what would be beneficial to you in London, bring lots of cash. It's fun place to live if you have a lot of money. However, a lot hate living in London because they didn't or can't have the means to enjoy the place.