What Career Options Are Open To LLM Graduates?

Career options for LLM students Choosing to study an LLM program is a difficult decision. Do you specialise? Should you study full time or take a little longer and study part time? Are you looking for a career change or to continue in the area you are in?

Doing a Master of Laws at a top law school can enhance your potential future earnings by creating excellent opportunities, but you'll find yourself in an ever-growing group of students as the numbers of LLM students increases annually.

However, don’t be disheartened as it is worth it, as an LLM is all about the future and the career paths that will open up to you – so let's take a look at how an LLM can help your career.

Specialist Advice

Perhaps it goes without saying, but if you're undertaking an LLM in a specialist area, you'll be able to offer advice in this area after you've completed the course. Some LLM subject areas lean towards different areas, so an LLM in Financial Law will lead to specialist knowledge in the Financial Industries enabling you to offer advice to all sorts of businesses and organisations. An LLM with a strong emphasis in Business or Corporate Law is going to lead to a career giving advice and working within businesses large and small. Other subjects, such as Human Rights Law, can lead to working within Human Rights Law or in countries like the UK it can lead to working as a barrister. In the US, an LLM can lead to excellent career prospects, including giving advice and helping judges make their decisions as a law clerk.

Charities, NGOs & Governments

Many LLM programs will open up contacts within international organisations, charities and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) around the world. This is partly through the course content and partly through the contacts you will meet while you network during the course. If you are undertaking an LLM based in a city such as New York or Geneva, then you are going to find you meet contacts from the UN. Similarly, if you undertake your LLM in London, Washington DC, Berlin or Paris, you are likely to meet people working for international charities based there and government contacts. Sometimes it not just what you learn while you do your LLM, but who you meet as well.

An Academic Career

Of course, undertaking further academic study can lead to a career in the academic study of the law. Some Master of Laws courses – such as the Harvard Law LLM – are directly aimed at lawyers who wish to pursue the academic study of the law. Alternatively, an LLM by Research might also lead to a job teaching or researching the law at university level.

Outside the Legal Profession

Some LLM students have undertaken their course not to work within the law but to better understand the law in how it relates to their current profession. There are LLMs in Health Care Law that doctors and other medical professionals can take to lead to a career managing hospitals and other health-related businesses or organisations.