Beyond Non-JD | by Joshua Alter

After 12 years inside U.S. higher education at 3 U.S. law schools (pictured below, earlier this year!), I’ll make the move outside in January 2025. Excited to wrap up the Fall 2024 semester over the coming weeks. A huge thank you to the Beyond Non-JD community. I’m amazed at how much this page has grown and just how much positive momentum we’ve built together. Progress can be hard to measure each day, but I feel much better about LL.M. visibility and international student support than I did 4 years ago. Many things won’t change. I’ll still teach students abroad preparing for U.S. LL.M. and J.D. programs. I’ll still write and speak on topics related to U.S. legal education for international students. And I’ll still highlight the need for changing how the U.S. legal education industry views LL.M. students. But a few will. I’m excited to spend more time focused on global legal education and get to learn more about other jurisdictions. And to get back to working intensively with individual students. I’ll be about 12 time zones ahead, and look forward to reconnecting with colleagues in East Asia. And working on a few new projects that I’ll be able to share more about in early 2025. Joshua Alter Beyond Non-JD | by Joshua Alter

Who pays the most for residential LL.M. programs in the U.S.? From what I've seen, two distinct groups of people. My December focus on Beyond Non-JD will cover LL.M. scholarships! Your insights, as always, help so much!

In 2020: "I wish every LL.M. student knew as much as LEALSers do about how U.S. LL.M. programs operate before they apply." In 2024: We're closing in on 2,000 readers on Beyond Non-JD | by Joshua Alter! At some point, I hope the ABA confronts the uncomfortable reality about the place of "Non-J.D.s" in U.S. law schools. The number of Non-J.D.s grew over the last decade, both in terms of raw numbers and percentage of the overall student population in U.S. law schools.

Welcome to all the new readers! For those frustrated with the J.D. v. LL.M. distinction, I recommend reading one of my first posts on the blog. All the way back in 2021. Beyond Non-JD is directly related to this gap between J.D. students and all others who attend U.S. law schools. As Non-J.D. numbers grew as percentages of U.S. law schools and in terms of raw numbers, this has become even more important.

My November piece for the The National Jurist will take you into the complex world of Optional Practical Training (OPT) for LL.M. graduates. Unlike STEM OPT, the legal market and timeline are tighter and the J.D. degree is the coin of the realm when it comes to most legal hiring (hooray tax law exception!). Standing out for high paying legal jobs often requires pre-LL.M. work experience, great networking skills, and some luck/timing. LL.M. hiring is more complex across the board, but F-1 LL.M. students face a countdown clock to secure employment where the stakes are so high. Thanks to three great LL.M. graduates who secured OPTs for speaking with me for this piece! I'm excited to highlight your experiences and inspire others to follow in your footsteps. One is currently on OPT, one finished OPT to return to practice in their home jurisdiction, and one completed an OPT and is now working in a third jurisdiction. And thanks to Michelle Weyenberg and the entire team at Crittenden Research for reaching out to ask me to write for the International Jurist in 2022. I've loved our collaborations and I'm excited to take them to new heights in 2025!

The #1 question I get from LL.M. and prospective LL.M. students is about the job search in the United States. Thanks to Beyond Non-JD | by Joshua Alter readers for your responses yesterday to a poll inspired by Mauro Ribeiro. For current LL.M. students: this is the reason you hear so much about networking. LL.M. grads who secured post-LL.M. work in the U.S.: you're welcome to add your own results here: https://lnkd.in/gN-YP7Cy. A lot more thoughts inspired by this poll. And probably a panel session on post-LL.M. work in the U.S. with a few LL.M. grads. Finally, look out for my piece on LL.M. graduates and OPT in the The National Jurist next month.

For LLM grads working in the US after your LLMs: what was the primary way you got your (first) job?

RSVP form so that you receive the Zoom link! https://lnkd.in/gQigHgY5

A question after learning even more about different U.S. law school CPT tracks/paths/programs! My October article on CPT is here: https://lnkd.in/gidR5vCq.

What has changed since this 2018 article? The three biggest things, to me, when it comes to LL.M.s/foreign-educated lawyers and bar exams: (1) Texas has become a major player in the foreign-educated lawyer bar exam space. Between their path for LL.M. students and their courtesy seating for UBE transfers, I expect Texas to continue to be right behind New York and California when it comes to LL.M.s and bar exams. (2) D.C. as a go-to exam for foreign-educated lawyers outside fully residential LL.M. programs. U.S. LL.M. programs can be divided into different groups. One that I've spent more time paying attention over recent years: those that are not fully residential inside the United States. (3) LL.M. students are more visible when it comes to bar exams. That's a good thing for LL.M. students seeking resources from their schools for bar exam support. LL.M. students have a better understanding of the processes, the costs, and the hurdles they'll face. With more of a spotlight on LL.M. pass rates, I expect a win-win for LL.M. graduates and U.S. law schools!