The LL.M. Roadmap website has published an article devoted to Human Rights of International Students in the U.S. This is part of an effort to help inform LL.M. students of their human rights as international students, and to help inform other stakeholders of their obligations to help ensure that all rights are protected. It is also a general call for greater protections when students leave their home countries to study abroad. The article covers the following topics:(a) Human rights that international LL.M. students are entitled to when they come to the U.S. to study; (b) Introduction to various local, national and international charters and principles adopted to protect these rights; (c) How some U.S. law schools violate the human rights of LL.M. students; (d) Selected charters and principles to protect the rights of international students; and (e) A call for a United Nations Declaration on the Rights of International Students. Operating cash cow LL.M. programs or diploma mill LL.M. programs deprives international students of their human rights. But there are many other ways in which schools, governments, private citizens, and even other students deprive international students of their rights. Learn about human rights denial, and about human rights protections! Please check out the article here.If you have further ideas about how to increase human rights protections of LL.M. students in the U.S., please submit a comment below! We are happy to hear from you!Thank you.LLM RoadmapPS: Please submit your comments below about human rights of international students. Do you have ideas about how U.S. law schools can better protect human rights of international students? Comments about protecting international students in the U.S. or in other countries? Any other insights or comments?
 Professor George Edwards, the LL.M. Roadmap author, will give presentations on U.S. legal education at U.S. Department of State affiliates on a visit to Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. Professor Edwards will lecture on opportunities for Georgian students to study law in the U.S., and provide information about Master of Laws (LL.M.) and other law degree programs at U.S. law schools. He will discuss the relationship between international legal education and peace, security, diplomacy and human rights. Professor Edwards will also speak about the possibility of a United Nations International Declaration on Rights of International Students that could address discrimination against and exploitation of students enrolled at educational institutions outside their home countries. He will be hosted by different entities in Georgia, including EducationUSA Advising Centers (US Department of State) and law faculties. He will visit the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, and the Embassy's American Corner. One presentation is scheduled to be at the Educational Advising Center Kvali, which is located on the grounds of the Tbilisi State University. More information about the Kvali Center (in English) can be found here. Information about other EducationUSA Advising Centers in Georgia can be found here. The Kvali Center presentation is described in the Flyer posted below. Notices about additional presentations in Georgia will be posted here.
Attendees at these presentations and meetings in Georgia are expected to include Georgian students who wish to study for an LL.M. degree in the U.S., law faculty members from Georgia, faculty advisers who advise students on study abroad, U.S. Embassy and other officials, LL.M. graduates, and Georgian judges and lawyers. Arrangements are being set for meetings with and presentation attendance by members of the European Law Students Association (ELSA) - Georgia and the local groups of ELSA Tblisi and ELSA Kutaisi.
 Non-US students joining an American LL.M. program can gain an edge as you transition to a new legal environment at a U.S. law school. A special 6-day LL.M. Preview course in New York will help prepare you for the rigors of your U.S. LL.M. program.LL.M. Preview offers you an overview of the U.S. Constitution and legal system, coaching in American law teaching methodology, and training in legal analysis and writing skills. Gain insight into what American law firms look for in foreign candidates, how to present your credentials, and how to build a professional network that can help you achieve your career goals. Learn post-LL.M. career strategies whether you want to work for a U.S. law firm, a multi-national corporation, a governmental ministry, a law faculty, an inter-governmental organization such as the United Nations, or other entity in the U.S. or elsewhere. Classroom simulations allow you to learn-by-doing in a safe, supportive environment. Learn effective LL.M. student survival and success strategies for you to use inside and outside your LL.M. classrooms, and receive many tips on LL.M. student empowerment. Learn from speakers associated with some of the most prestigious institutions and firms in the country including: The 6-day LL.M. Preview course is offered by BARBRI, the leading Bar Exam preparation company in the U.S. BARBRI as prepared over 1 million students to sit for the bar exam across the U.S. Dates for 2013 LL.M. Preview are 5 - 10 August in New York. For more information and to enroll in LL.M. Preview, please visit the LL.M. Preview website here.Or send an e-mail here: LLM@BarBri.comA program for the LL.M. Preview appears below. * Professor George Edwards, author of LL.M. Roadmap, will present on “LL.M. Student Survival & Empowerment”. This session will focus on, inter alia, ensuring that your law school meets your reasonable expectations regarding your academic, personal and career expectations. Professor Edwards has long advocated for rights of international LL.M. students in U.S. schools, and is exploring a proposed United Nations Declaration on the Rights of International Students. See, for example, the following: Below is a copy of the program of LL.M. Preview (5 - 10 August 2013, in New York)!
 International educators at a conference in St. Louis, Missouri evaluated the need for a global charter to protect international students’ human rights. Panelists discussed how academic institutions may short-change international students, and discussed increasing levels of discrimination against and exploitation of students enrolled in schools outside their home countries. They examined health, safety, security and well-being deprivations encountered by these students. They explored possible domestic and international remedies for these wide-ranging human rights violations. Panelists examined the Australian Government Principles to Promote and Protect the Human Rights of International Students, and the International Student Mobility Charter of the European Association for International Education (EAIE). A call to action was made for countries, international education associations, and others to design and adopt similar localized principles and guidelines to protect international students. A call to action was also made for a universal charter, through the United Nations, to protect international students. It could be named the United Nations Declaration on International Students’ Rights, and could be used as a model and guide for similar instruments to be promulgated by the European Union, the Organization of Amaerican States, the African Union, and other inter-governmental organizations. Panelists suggested that educational institutions around the globe adopt international students’ rights protection instruments, disseminate them widely to stakeholders, and support enforcement measures to help ensure that international students’ internationally recognized human rights are protected at all levels. Widespread adoption of these instruments would cement recognition that international students’ rights are human rights, and should be protected throughout the world.
 An upcoming 1-day event will benefit Master of Laws (LL.M.) program directors and administrators seeking to improve academic and other services they provide to international students who join their U.S. law schools. On Tuesday, 28 May 2013, a colloquium titled “Global Engagement and Legal Education: A Tipping Point” will be held in St. Louis, Missouri, as part of the annual conference of NAFSA Association for International Educators. The international legal education colloquium will run from 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
This is the second such NAFSA international legal education colloquium, with the first being held in Houston, Texas in 2012.
Highlights of the 2013 NAFSA colloquium include (as provided on the NAFSA website): - Join deans, faculty members, and senior international officers from U.S. and overseas law schools
- Meet and discuss strategies to incorporate global perspectives into legal education.
- Discuss practical strategies and techniques to develop a comprehensive approach to internationalizing the law school
- Focus on domestic curriculum, skills, high-quality international experiences.
- Small group discussions to allow participants to learn the nuts and bolts of various successful models in internationalization efforts in law schools.
For more information about who should attend the Colloquium and what participants are expected to gain, please see below:
 Lady Justice - Blindfolded to show impartiality. On 3 May 2013, the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) adopted its Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices for LLM Programs. According to the LSAC, the Statement of Good Practices is meant to focus on principles to guide LL.M. program admission and financial aid activities. The Statement is intended "to promote fairness and the highest standards of professional conduct for all participants". It focuses on LL.M. programs in the U.S., most of which are primarily for international students who have earned their first law degrees outside the U.S. The Statement is not a set of "legislative" guidelines that are binding on schools or programs. The LSAC recognizes that not all admission or financial aid rules apply to all situations at all U.S. law schools. The LSAC Board of Trustees formally adopted the Statement on 3 May 2013. The LLMRoadMap Blog will soon have further entries discussing the Statement and how its principles may or may not be implemented by LL.M. programs at U.S. law schools. At first glance, the Statement appears to adopt important considerations for U.S. law schools and LL.M. programs to incorporate into their practices. Congratulations to LSAC for developing LL.M. admission and financial aid guidelines. A copy of the Statement can be found below .Also below is a list of members of the Subcommittee that generated the Statement.
 Image from www.onlinecollege.org
 LL.M. graduates from U.S. law schools may sit for the Bar Exam in some U.S. states, but not all. Most graduates who sit for a Bar Exam prepare by taking a commercial Bar Exam Preparation (Bar Prep) course. Click here for information about various Bar Prep courses and other Bar Prep resources. There are many other commercial services available for LL.M. students and graduates, and the list in this posting is not an endorsement for (or against!) any of these services. Ask other LL.M. graduates, professors, and others for advice on choosing the Bar Prep course that suits your needs! Some U.S. law schools offer LL.M. students special Bar Preparation classes and other resources. Before you enroll in your LL.M. program, ask your school if its LL.M. program will help you prepare for a U.S. Bar Exam, and how it will help you. If you want to sit for the Bar in New York, California, or other states, please carefully explore all requirements! Each state has different Bar Exam rules! Some states let you sit for the Bar Exam only if your school's LL.M. program meets very specific standards. If your school does not meet those standards, than you cannot sit for the Bar Exam. If you want to sit for a Bar Exam, you should explore requirements before you choose your LL.M. program. A great place to check each state's requirements is the Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements 2013, which is prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Good luck! PS: Please be certain to click here for more information!
 Amr Jaghoub gives LLM Address at Minnesota Each year in May and June, LL.M. programs from around the U.S. graduate their students who have worked over the last year to earn their U.S. Master of Laws degrees. Each year U.S. law schools enroll approximately 6,000 LL.M. students, and many of those student will earn their degrees in May or june.
http://www.law.umn.edu/news/2012-llm-class-commencement-address.htmlThe "Graduation" or "Commencement" season is always a very joyful period...but only after many weeks and months of challenging classes, exams, theses, and other academic projects!At the 150 U.S. law schools that have LL.M. programs for international students, LL.M. graduates participate in graduation ceremonies alongside recipients of other law degrees, including the J.D., S.J.D. / J.S.D., J.M. / M.J., or PhD in Law. There are often Graduation parties, receptions, lunches, and other activities to celebrate. LL.M. graduates don academic robes, and join in the celebration, that always have a solemn side, but also a fun side. Often the graduating LL.M. class will choose one member of the class to give an address to all classmates, family, friends, faculty, and others who attend. The chosen LL.M. graduate will usually only have several minutes to convey an important message to all who gather for the very important occasion. Pictured above is Amr Jaghoub of Qatar who delivered the LL.M. Address at the University of Minnesota in 2012.
Pictured below is a mug that is a souvenir from the Harvard Law School LL.M. class of 2013.
If you enroll in a U.S. LL.M. program in the fall / autumn 2013, you too can graduate in May or June 2014!
 LL.M. Mug from Harvard's LL.M. Class of 2013
 Japan has announced scholarships for students to do short courses in the U.S. This could be an excellent opportunity for Japanese law students and lawyers to come to the U.S. for Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, or for other law study programs at U.S. law schools. Firm details of the program have not yet been provided. But, the scheme appears to be geared towards helping Japanese graduates become more competitive internationally. The New York Times reports that the Japanese education minister, Hakubun Shimomura, announced this scholarship scheme while in Washington, DC recently. The 5 May 2013 New York Times article was written by Miki Tanikawa, and is pasted below. LL.M. Roadmap contains information about non-degree opportunities for international students in the U.S. Thus, a foreign lawyer, law professor, judge or other student could come to the U.S. for short periods to learn about law and gain practical experience. Some short term courses or opportunities can last just a few days or a week, or can last one or more months, but be less than the 10 months needed for most residential LL.M. programs in the U.S. For LL.M. Roadmap information about short term law study in the U.S., click here. For the New York Times article about the Japan scheme for short term law study in the U.S., click here (and see below).
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