Legal specialties offer more than meets the eye.
The LL.M. was once a rather narrow graduate degree, pursued by a small number of attorneys seeking to further their knowledge in a specific field. But times have changed, and the degree has grown in popularity as the legal profession continues to evolve.
As specialization has become more important, law schools have responded with graduate degrees that cover a host of specialties. And the options have grown — from 110 in 2000 to more than 300 programs.
From admiralty law to tribal law, graduate programs cover a wide variety of subjects. In addition, many law schools offer a general LL.M. in which students can structure their own programs. And with more than 100 of the nation’s 199 ABA-accredited law schools offering LL.M. degrees, the options are practically endless.
Most attorneys pursue an LL.M. to improve their job prospects and enhance their careers. Some enroll simply out of intellectual curiosity, but that is rare.
In some practice areas such as taxation law, an advanced law degree is preferred. In other words, it’s hard to get a job in that field without an LL.M. Other practice areas with strong specializations include environmental law, health law, intellectual property and international law.
So how should you choose an LL.M. program?
Attorneys suggest that prospective students look at a school’s faculty. You will spend more time with a smaller number of professors than you did as a J.D. student.
How many curricular offerings are there in your field of study? Are there hands-on practice opportunities? Externships and clinics can help develop your skills.
Does the career placement office support LL.M. students? A dedicated career counselor can help you land a job in your specialty.
We asked law schools these questions and more to determine the programs that offer the most services and curricular offerings. We recognize the leaders on our honor roll.
Here’s how we computed our honor roll: For academics, we look at the number of courses offered (15%) and the number of professors (15%). Career opportunities consist of networking opportunities (8%), recruitment programs (8%), and whether there is a dedicated career counselor (14%). Practical training includes whether there is a live client opportunity (7%) and externships (4%). Student offerings include number of LL.M. students (7%), journal participation (4%), moot court participation (4%) and student group options (4%). We reserve 10% for other. Honorees needed to score a 78 out of 100 to be recognized.
Our honor roll is designed to be one tool to help you determine where to apply. But it doesn’t mean that other LL.M. programs aren’t up to snuff. Some of offer prestige and others are solid programs, even if they don’t offer the full breadth of services that honor roll programs provide.
We invite you to delve into the details for every program on our website (www.NationalJurist.com) and assess each school individually.
The 300-plus LL.M. programs cover more than 80 practice areas.
BUSINESS LAW
Business Law is perhaps one of the widest ranging practice areas. It includes everything from business formation and contract drafting to taxes and bankruptcy.
While some areas of business may be sensitive to reports about recessions or geopolitical complexities, mergers and acquisitions aren’t slowing down. In fact, any time there are changes in the economy, M&A is hot.
The expanding regulatory landscape has created new opportunities in legal compliance, particularly for those with experience or interest in areas that range from securities, banking and tax law to immigration, environmental and health law.
While some compliance jobs can be found in the private sector, others are in the public sphere, including government lobbyists and administrative law judges.
Business Law Honor Roll
Arizona State University Business Law
Boston University Banking and Financial Law
Indiana McKinney Corporate and Commercial Law
LMU Loyola Law School International Business Law
McGeorge School of Law Transnational Business Practice
Northeastern University International Business Law
UCLA School of Law Business Law; Bankruptcy; Securities Regulation
University of Denver International Business Transactions
University of Texas Business Law
Wayne State University Corporate and Finance Law
Widener Delaware Law School Corporate Law and Finance
CYBER & TECHNOLOGY LAW
The FinTech industry — the intersection of finance and technology — is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country. The focus of FinTech is the use of technology in financial investment and management.
Areas covered include cryptocurrency, mobile banking, crowdfunding, cybersecurity, online privacy and automated investing.
Cybersecurity law is a booming area. A recent search of LinkedIn revealed more than 2,000 available positions.
Government jobs, such as regulatory work with the SEC, FTC and DOJ, will police these new startups for potential predatory practices and antitrust implications.
While the advertisements for FinTech law jobs may sound old-school — they look for “banking and finance professionals” —
solving complex intellectual puzzles about how the global financial system works can be pretty exciting.
Cyber Honor Roll
Chicago-Kent College of Law Legal Innovation & Technology
LMU Loyola Law School Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Suffolk University Global Law & Technology
University of Texas Cybersecurity Law
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Careers in environmental law run in two directions. One group of lawyers represents individuals whose land has been contaminated by environmental toxins or citizens suing on behalf of public bodies of land or water. The other group represents businesses, corporations or landowners who might be responsible for the pollution or who need to move through a labyrinthine process.
For either group, environmental law entails a lot of statutory and regulatory work that involves interpretation of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). A deep affinity for acronyms is a bonus for lawyers in this area.
Paralleling the growth of environmental law jobs is the increase in government jobs with regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the DOJ’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior and so on.
Environmental & Energy Honor Roll
Florida State University Environmental Law
McGeorge School of Law Water and Environmental Resources Law
UCLA School of Law Environmental Law
University of Colorado Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law
University of Houston Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Law
University of Texas Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law
Vermont Law Environmental Law; Energy Law
HEALTH LAW
Health care is a critical component of the economy. Health care law involves the vast issues of its many stakeholders: patients, patient advocates, health care providers (doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, nurse practitioners, etc.) and health care entities (ranging from hospitals and hospital systems to nursing homes, clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, etc.)
Health care lawyers practice every kind of law. For example, a health care corporate lawyer may counsel clients about a potential merger or acquisition of another health practice. Health care litigators may provide their expertise in certificate of need hearings or malpractice trials. Regulatory health lawyers may assist with reimbursement issues related to telehealth, the use of which has grown exponentially during the pandemic.
Lawyers who focus on health policy can advise clients on issues ranging from assisted reproductive technologies to end-of-life decision-making.
Health Honor Roll
Arizona State University Health Law and Policy
DePaul University Health Law
Indiana McKinney Health Law Policy & Bioethics
Loyola University Chicago Health Law
Northeastern University Health Policy & Law
Saint Louis University Health Law
University of Houston Health Law
HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Immigration lawyers in the private sector often work in small or specialty boutique firms, but there are also in-house opportunities with global business entities and large universities.
In the public sector, immigration lawyers work for government agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Some nonprofits, such as the National Immigration Law Center and the ACLU, also hire immigration lawyers.
There’s certainly a need for more lawyers to assist immigrants seeking to enter or remain in the U.S.
Human Rights Honor Roll
Northeastern University Human Rights & Economic Development
UCLA School of Law Human Rights
University of Texas Human Rights and Comparative Constitutional Law
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW
Whenever you binge-watch a show on Netflix or download an app, you benefit from someone’s intellectual property.
Who would spend the time or money needed to create shows or develop apps if anyone could copy them? Who would invest billions of dollars in research and development to create treatments and vaccines to combat a highly contagious virus if competitors could simply copy the technologies and compete against them?
Encouraging invention and creation for the benefit of society is what IP law is all about.
Intellectual property lawyers help clients obtain patents for their inventions or registration for their trademarks and copyrights. They represent clients in licensing rights, as well as enforcing them through litigation of infringement claims. They also counsel clients about the intellectual property rights of others in order to help clients avoid allegations of infringement or to help clients challenge the validity of a competitor’s patents or registrations.
Intellectual Property Honor Roll
Boston University Intellectual Property and Information Law
DePaul University Intellectual Property Law
Indiana McKinney Intellectual Property Law
LMU Loyola Law School Intellectual Property Law
Northeastern University Intellectual Property & Innovation
University of Colorado Intellectual Property, Technology, and Telecommunications Law
University of Houston Intellectual Property & Information Law
INTERNATIONAL LAW
Increases in technology and globalization, along with the stark realization from the pandemic that we are more interconnected than we once thought, have increased opportunities in this already hot area of practice.
International lawyers generally help businesses navigate global transactions and markets, international disputes, and trade. In doing so, the lawyers need to be familiar with not only the laws in different countries but also the customs and practices.
Many international lawyers work in firms that have departments specializing in international trade or finance. They are usually in cities which are major financial hubs. Other international lawyers work in-house, counseling global companies, or in government agencies with an international focus.
International Law Honor Roll
Arizona State University International Law
DePaul University International Law
Loyola University Chicago International Law
Stetson University International Law
UCLA School of Law International & Comparative Law
University of Colorado International Law & Human Rights
University of Miami International Law
University of Michigan International & Comparative Law
University of Texas Latin American & International Law
TAXATION LAW
Tax lawyers assure us that tax law can be “genuinely funny.” While we may find that questionable, there is no question that tax law is hot.
Tax lawyers help evaluate how changes in the tax law affect individuals and businesses. Given the changes to the tax code under the Trump administration and the shifting policies in the Biden administration, tax lawyers are in high demand.
The pandemic has certainly caused many people to consider their mortality, which has led them to think about how to structure their finances and estates and how to give gifts to their children or parents.
Taxation Honor Roll
Boston University Taxation
LMU Loyola Law School Taxation
Northwestern Law Taxation
UCLA School of Law Taxation
University of Florida Taxation; International Taxation
University of Houston Taxation
Wayne State University Taxation
GENERAL & OTHER LL.M. PROGRAMS
There are 38 law schools that offer a General LL.M. program. While each is different, many are designed to allow students to tailor their own course of study.
Honor Roll for General Programs
Arizona State University
Boston College
Northeastern University
Notre Dame Law School
Penn State Dickinson Law
UC Davis School of Law
UCLA School of Law
University of Michigan
Widener Delaware Law School
Honor Roll for Other Specialties (alphabetical by specialty)
Biotechnology and Genomics Arizona State University
Civil Litigation & Advocacy LMU Loyola Law School
Compliance & Enterprise Risk Management Loyola University Chicago
Criminal Justice LMU Loyola Law School
Criminal Law Arizona State University
Critical Race Studies UCLA School of Law
Entertainment & New Media Law LMU Loyola Law School
Entertainment & Media Law Southwestern Law School
Entertainment and Sports Law and Policy UCLA School of Law
Entrepreneurship and Business Law University of Colorado
Entrepreneurship Law and Strategy Arizona State University
Estate Planning University of Miami
Immigration & Naturalization Texas Southern University
Indian Gaming Arizona State University
Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy University of Arizona
Tribal Policy, Law and Government Arizona State University
Tribal Self-Governance Arizona State University
International Arbitration University of Miami
International Rule of Law and Security Arizona State University
Labor and Employment Law Wayne State University
Law and Philosophy UCLA School of Law
Law and Sexuality UCLA School of Law
Law and Sustainability Arizona State University
Maritime Law University of Miami
Patent Practice Arizona State University
Public Interest Law and Policy UCLA School of Law
Science and Technology Law Arizona State University
