Local and overseas experts lectured on the cuisine of the Pacific, the  right to food, and international law, at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on 28 June 2019.
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Presenters included New Zealand celebrity chef Robert Oliver, US law professor George Edwards, and Vanuatu native nutritionist and celebrity Votausi Reur-MacKenzie. They were joined by Leonid Vusilai, who with teammate Knox Taleo was named the Grand Prize Winner in Season I of the reality TV cooking competition, Pacific Island Food Revolution, which is Oliver’s brainchild.

The lecture was titled: Climate Change, the Right to Food, Cuisine of the Pacific, and International Human Rights Law: Challenges and Remedies in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

What is food?
Before tackling food-related problems related, and remedies, Oliver posed the question “What is Food?,” and lecture attendees shared their thoughts.
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To be “food”, must the item in question have positive nutritional value? Are dry noodles “food”, even if they principally carbohydrates and are void of protein, fats or other nutrients that promote good health? Is if food even if it is high in fat and salt, and could promote diseases such as high blood pressure (hypertension), strokes, heart disease, and other non-communicable diseases?
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No consensus was reached on the question of “what is food”? But it was generally agreed that food is what humans must consume to help them grow, sustain and repair their bodies. Food, which typically comes from plants or animals, provides energy for humans, permitting them to function physically, mentally, and otherwise.

​Climate change and food
It was noted that climate change in the region has caused decreased biodiversity, leaving fewer natural food options. An agricultural student in attendance remarked that climate change has affected crops. It is less expensive to grow some non-nutritious crops than it is to grow more nutritious cops, and that may contribute to less availability of more nutritious foods, and ultimately contribute to NCDs as people purchase more readily available less healthful alternatives.

A USP law professor who is a climate change expert was in attendance, and opined that though climate change is real, positive actions can help alleviate the its negative effects.

A geography student and others present also concurred that actions by humans can help reverse the ill impact of climate change, and that can help lead to increased food production.
 
Tinned food?
The USP law professor climate change expert, along with Oliver and Reur-MacKenzie, spoke about changing demand for items once tinned food became popular around 50 years ago. Tinned food has additives, some of which may not contribute to good health. But, tinned food is convenient because it can be stored for a long period without spoiling. What options are available for people of Vanuatu – who purchase tinned foods for convenience? What did in Vanuatu eat before the canning process became ubiquitous? Were people of Vanuatu healthier then? Can the people of Vanuatu revert to a pre-tinned food diet?

Everyone present agreed that traditional, healthy food in the Pacific has been pushed aside in local diets, replaced by low value sugary and processed foods – junk food. Less healthful items, such as dried noodles and tinned food, are being imported, displacing locally grown more healthful traditional food choices. Tinned food may be convenient and easy, but it may not be the best alternative for those wishing to prevent non-communicable diseases.
 
International law
Edwards noted that international law requires countries to ensure that people have access to adequate, appropriate food. Obligations flow from “hard law” treaties that countries sign and ratify, and expressly acknowledge as binding, as well as from “soft law”, as incorporated into non-binding aspirational declarations.

These instruments recognize the “right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food’ and also recognize the “fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger”.

Edwards distinguished between the “right to food” and the “right to be free from hunger”.

He said: “If a person eats cardboard, or dirt, their stomach may get full, and they may not be hungry, and it could be argued that their right to be free from hunger is satisfied. But the right to adequate food requires more than filling the stomach. The right to adequate food requires access to sufficient, nutritious food that will support a person as they seek a life of physical, psychological, social, and emotional well-being.”

​Some legal remedies exist for lack of access to affordable, adequate, appropriate food. Remedies may be under international law or domestic law of different countries.

​Mr. Oliver’s Proposed Remedy -- Pacific Island Food Revolution (PIFR)
Mr. Oliver’s antidote to nutrition deprivation problems in the Pacific is encapsulated in the Pacific Island Food Revolution, a 12-part reality TV cooking competition across the Pacific. As Mr. Oliver’s brainchild, the series is an agent for more healthful food consumption. The show uses edutainment to teach, in a graceful, non-demanding manner, about the benefits of returning to traditional Pacific cuisine. Mr. Oliver is executive director and show host.

The show involves 12 teams of two chefs each from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu who compete in their home countries for a chance to advance to the finals in Fiji. Their challenges highlight their culinary skills and educate viewers on what is possible using traditional foods.

Mr. Oliver wants people of the Pacific to return to healthful, traditional diets, with their right to food satisfied.

"These dishes that belong in Pacific heritage are extremely valuable and have all the kind of things societies need to sustain themselves. When food is fundamentally based in nature and heritage, you can't go wrong from a health perspective."

Diabetes and other NCDs can be decreased if Pacific Islanders return to traditional Pacific cuisine.

Pacific Island Food Revolution co-hosts are acclaimed chefs, TV personalities, royalty, an Olympian, and other distinguished members of the Pacific community.

They include The Princess Royal Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita from the Kingdom  of Tonga, chef Dora Rossi from Samoa, food entrepreneur Votausi Reur-Mackenzie from Vanuatu, and Dr Jone Hawea from Fiji. UNICEF Ambassador and Olympian Pita Taufatofa from Tonga, and financier  and health specialist from Tonga Fololeni Curr, were co-hosts for the finals.

The show is co-funded by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and  Trade (MFAT). It is supported with digital campaigns, including an online academy, digital storytelling and social media activities to bring about food awareness and encourage positive eating.

Show partners include the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF), Pacific Community, University of the South Pacific (USP), and Moffat Commercial Catering and Bakery Equipment.

The show is airing on over 20 stations across the Pacific Islands. See www.pacificislandfoodrevolution.com for details.

The Season 1 finales aired on 24 June 2019. The winners were Team Vanuatu – Mr. Leonid Vusilai and Mr. Knox Taleo.
 
Conclusion
The South Pacific has food problems. But, those problems can be solved.

International and local law provide remedies for those food problems. Other practical remedies also exist.

Professor Edwards and Mr. Oliver plan to continue discourse on the problems and remedies in presentations in the South Pacific. Their presentations previous to Vanuatu have included 3 presentations at three law faculties in Fiji in April 2019 – University of Fiji, Fiji National University, and University of the South Pacific Fiji Campus.

Professor Edwards expressed gratitude to the U.S. Embassy in Suva,  Fiji, and stated “I would like to give a special thanks to Ms. Violet Taukave, who is the Director of the American Center Suva at the U.S. Embassy Suva, for facilitating all the presentations in Suva, Fiji. I would also like to thank her for facilitating two presentations in Port Vila, Vanuatu, even though the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, houses the EducationUSA Advising Centre that traditionally covers Vanuatu.”

Edwards continued: “The U.S. Department of State EducationUSA Advising Centers in the South Pacific and in many other countries around the world have been extremely helpful in helping spread the word about international students coming to the U.S. to study law. I am happy to have been able to give presentations on this topic in various South Pacific countries, and happy to present on another important issue – the right to food.”
 
 
Biographies:
 
Robert Oliver is a New Zealand chef, award-winning author and television presenter. He is Ambassador for Le Cordon Bleu, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. His book Me’a Kai: The Food and Flavours of the South Pacific won Best Cookbook in the World 2010 in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. He followed this with Mea’ai Samoa: Recipe and Stories from the Heart of Polynesia, which won Best TV Chef Cookbook in the World 2013. He hosted TV series Real Pasifik, a finalist in the New York Film and TV Awards 2014 in Travel & Tourism. Real Pasifik plays in over 40 countries and is on its 75th re-run. He created Pacific Island Food Revolution and is its star celebrity host.
 
George Edwards is a professor of international law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law, and holds the endowed title of The CM Gray Professor of Law. He founded Indiana McKinney’s Program in International Human Rights Law, to which the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2011 granted Special Consultative Status, and his program is one of only 2,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (20 per country) accredited to the UN with that status.  He has been Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law (United Kingdom) and Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Law (Thailand), and was a Fulbright Professor in Peru, South America. He has lectured in dozens of countries at U.S. Embassies, Consulates and other institutions on various topics, including international students coming to the U.S. to study law. His books and law articles are widely disseminated in the U.S.A. and overseas. He and his students have been actively involved on international criminal law cases pending before United Nations war crimes tribunals, the U.S. Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and domestic courts of various other countries. He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and of the Harvard International & Comparative Law Journal. Professor Edwards is thankful to students from Indiana and Chulalongkorn who have assisted on this project, and to the staff and administration of both institutions for their support.
 
Votausi Reur-MacKenzie is known as “The Queen of Ni- Van Cuisine”. She studied as a nutritionist at Queensland University and had her “aha” moment when she realized that her own cultural cuisine ticked all the nutritional boxes she was learning about. She returned to Vanuatu and formed “Lapita Catering”, which produces food products from local crops, supplied by a network of over 1,000 farmers that she has cultivated over the years. A true Pacific trailblazer, Votausi sparkles on film: she truly lives what she preaches. Votausi hosted “Real Pasifik Vanuatu” with Robert Oliver.
 
Leonid (“Leo”) Vusilai  and teammate Knox Taleo were the winners of the Vanuatu competition of the Pacific Island Food Revolution, and advanced to the Grand Finals held in Suva, Fiji. They were crowned winners of the Grand Finals in April 2019. Vusilai is a chef who works with non-governmental organizations to provide food and nutrition services in Vanuatu. He has stated  “Local food culture is important – it is our identity. He stated that his “greatest is ambition in life is someday I run my own little kitchen and showcase Vanuatu food culture to the whole world”

​George Edwards, a U.S. professor of international law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law, recognizes that food is critical to a person’s existence, and that international law provides that all people have a right to food. He noted that in the Pacific and elsewhere, “some people have no access to sufficient, appropriate food,” and are not afforded their right to food.
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Professor Edwards collaborated with celebrity chef Robert Oliver, of New Zealand, on a public lecture series on food deprivation in the South Pacific, and legal and practical remedies.

The lectures, held in Suva, Fiji, in April 2019, synced with the global launch of the reality TV cooking competition series Pacific Island Food Revolution, Mr. Oliver’s brainchild, which premiered before an audience of celebrities, royalty, government officials, diplomats and students at Suva’s Grand Pacific Hotel on 6 April.

​Biographies:
 
Robert Oliver is a New Zealand chef, award-winning author and television presenter. He is Ambassador for Le Cordon Bleu, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. His book Me’a Kai: The Food and Flavours of the South Pacific won Best Cookbook in the World 2010 in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. He followed this with Mea’ai Samoa: Recipe and Stories from the Heart of Polynesia, which won Best TV Chef Cookbook in the World 2013. He hosted TV series Real Pasifik, a finalist in the New York Film and TV Awards 2014 in Travel & Tourism. Real Pasifik plays in over 40 countries and is on its 75th re-run.
 
George Edwards is a professor of international law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law, and holds the endowed title of The CM Gray Professor of Law. He founded Indiana McKinney’s Program in International Human Rights Law, to which the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2011 granted Special Consultative Status, and his program is one of only 2,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) (20 per country) accredited to the UN with that status.  He has been Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law (United Kingdom) and Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Law (Thailand), and was a Fulbright Professor in Peru, South America. He has lectured in dozens of countries at U.S. Embassies, Consulates and other institutions on various topics, including international students coming to the U.S. to study law. His books and law articles are widely disseminated in the U.S.a and overseas. He and his students have been actively involved on international criminal law cases pending before United Nations war crimes tribunals, the U.S. Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and domestic courts of various other countries. He is a graduate of the Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and of the Harvard International & Comparative Law Journal. Professor Edwards is thankful to students from Indiana and Chulalongkorn who have assisted on this project, and to the staff and administration of both institutions for their support.
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Professor George Edwards completed a 5-day lecture tour in the South Pacific, hosted by the U.S. Department of State EducationUSA affiliated network. From 21 – 25 August, 2017 he delivered lectures and briefings at two U.S. Embassies, one U.S. Consulate and EducationUSA Advising Centers and American Corners, and a law faculty in three South Pacific countries -- Samoa, Fiji and Australia. Separate from his EducationUSA / U.S. Embassy engagements, he lectured at an additional South Pacific law faculty, visited the U.S. territory of American Samoa and met with an American Samoan prosecutor, and visited an Australian legal aid office where his Indiana law student is working as a human rights law intern.

​Professor Edwards’ South Pacific speaking tour follows his recent similar Central and North Asia EducationUSA tour earlier in August, in which he spoke at EducationUSA Advising Centers in Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar), Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek), and Kazakhstan (Almaty).

Professor Edwards stated, “My South Pacific speaking tour and my Central and North Asia speaking tour were similarly insightful and productive. Many local stakeholders in these regions expressed strong interest in studying law at many of our 200 U.S. ABA-accredited law school programs, and otherwise engaging with our many thousands of U.S. law school professors and students. Doors are now open a little further, to benefit students, faculty, law schools, and other law institutions in the U.S. and abroad. This public and people-to-people diplomacy promotes cultural awareness and mutual understanding, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights. I thank the U.S. Department of State and its affiliated EducationUSA network for facilitating these beneficial undertakings.”

Professor Edwards’ U.S. Consulate presentation focused on law school education in the U.S. generally, and did not highlight any specific U.S. school. He provided information on the many U.S. law schools that accept Australian students for law degree programs, tips on how Australian prospective students might choose among the numerous law schools, the application and admission process, life during the academic program, and students reaching their goals post-graduation.​

​​EducationUSA invited Mr. Scales to return to the U.S. Consulate during his Australian internship to record a video to be placed on the EducationUSA / Consulate website as a resource for Australians interested in studying law in the U.S. Future cooperation and projects include the possibility of podcasts, webinars, and other means for Professor Edwards to convey information to Australians seeking to study law in the U.S.

Monash University Faculty of Law – Melbourne
Also on Monday Professor Edwards delivered a 3 ½-hour lecture at the University of Monash Faculty of Law on the topic of the right to a fair trial under international and domestic law, using the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Military Commissions as a discussion vehicle. This presentation was part of an intensive law course titled “Australians Detained Abroad” taught by Professor Michael Dan Mori, U.S. Marines Lt. Col. (ret), who was defense counsel in the Guantanamo Bay case against Australian David Hicks, who in 2007 was the first person convicted by a U.S. military commission since World War II. ​ 

Professor Edwards discussed whether the right to a fair trial is a universal right, meaning the same thing in Melbourne as it does in Madrid, Mississippi, or Mumbai or Mozambique. He also discussed the elements of a fair trial, how one knows when a fair trial is being had (or know when the trial is not fair), who determines whether a trial is fair, and how fair trials can be assured.

Furthermore, Professor Edwards discussed the confluence, overlap and differences among international human rights law, international humanitarian law (law of war) and international criminal law, as they all relate to the right to a fair trial. He noted that defendants have fair trial rights and interests, but other stakeholders with rights and interests in a fair trial include not only defendants, but also include the prosecution, victims and their families, the judge, the media, the U.S. and international communities, the guard force, non-defendant detainees, witnesses, non-governmental organization (NGO) observers, and others.​

​The Monash Law Faculty presentation was unrelated to the EducationUSA / Embassy / Consulate presentations in Australia, Fiji and Samoa.

​To Apia, Samoa – Tuesday / Wednesday
After a long flight from Melbourne with a plane change in Fiji, Professor Edwards arrived at Apia, Samoa, where on Tuesday he confirmed arrangements for his Samoa presentation, at which he was hosted by the following U.S. Embassy officials who attended the presentation:  U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires C. “Tony” Greubel; EducationUSA Adviser Sharon Mona; Public Affairs Specialist Dee; and Mr. Myki. Professor Edwards’ presentation was titled:  U.S. Law School Education for Students from Samoa (Western Samoa). The presentation was held in an Embassy extension -- the America Corner in the Nelson Mandela Library -- directly across the street from the main Embassy building. The American Corner serves as the EducationUSA Advising Center, and Samoan students are able to use the facility for courses, internet access, and to access volumes of reading materials.

​To Pago Pago, American Samoa – Wednesday.
On Wednesday afternoon, following his Samoan Embassy EducationUSA presentation, Professor Edwards was driven to an airstrip 5 minutes from downtown Apia where he boarded a propeller jet for a 30-minute low-flying flight to Pago Pago, American Samoa, where Indiana McKinney law student Luke Purdy interned several years ago through the Program in International Human Rights Law that Professor Edwards founded. Professor Edwards met an American Samoan prosecutor, and they discussed, among other things, legal education and qualifications for the practice of law in American Samoa.

American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the U.S., as are Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Island.

​Flights to and from Apia and Pago Pago cease operating at 4:45 each afternoon, so the planes can avoid flying after the sun sets. Neither airstrip has lights; the pilots rely on visually spotting the runways.

Planes do not take off or land on these two airstrips if evening is approaching. If a plane is late flying into Apia, it is diverted to the main international airport in Samoa, which is an hour’s drive from Apia. There is no alternative airstrip on American Samoa for late planes to land after dark.

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To Nadi, Fiji – Thursday / Friday
Thursday morning began with Professor Edwards stopping by the U.S. Embassy – Samoa (Apia), de-briefing on his visit to Pago Pago, American Samoa the previous afternoon, and debriefing on the Embassy presentation the previous morning.

After saying farewell to U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires “Tony” Greubel and EducationUSA Adviser Sharon Mona, Professor Edwards embarked on the drive through the Samoa countryside to the main Apia airport, about 60 minutes away.
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Professor Edwards flew for over 2 hours from Apia, Samoa to Nadi, Fiji.

​At the Nadi, Fiji, airport Professor Edwards was picked up by a driver organized by the U.S. Embassy, Fiji, and driven for 3 ½ hours by car to Suva, Fiji, where Friday morning he gave a briefing at the U.S. Embassy. The briefing was conducted live with a videoconference conference component -- with U.S. officials in the room with him at the Suva Embassy, with connections to EducationUSA elsewhere in Fiji. Live and remote U.S. Embassy officials and others who attended included Ms. Shivanjani M. Naidu, Ms. Julianne Sutherland, Ms. Alena S. Vesikula-Vatuwaliwali, and Ms. Violet P. Taukave.

 ​Ms. Violet P. Taukave escorted Professor Edwards to the University of Fiji School of Law where he presented to faculty and staff on the topic of Guantanamo Bay:  Fair Trial Past & Present. He was hosted by University of Fiji School of Law Dean & Professor of Law Shaista Shameem, with whom he discussed the possibility of faculty and staff exchanges between Indiana McKinney and the Fiji Law School, contributions to the new Unifiji Law Review, and possibilities for remote and live teaching at the Fiji campus. He spoke about opportunities for Fiji law professors, staff and students to go on exchanges and otherwise cooperate with various other U.S. law schools, and the possibilities for law professors, staff and students from U.S. law schools to go on exchanges to Fiji. Ms. Violet P. Taukave spoke briefly about U.S. government resources that could possibly be available for such undertakings involving U.S. law schools and the Fiji faculty.

Following the faculty / staff presentation, Professor Edwards delivered a lecture to the student body, and to faculty and staff, on the topic of U.S. Legal Education – Prospects, Opportunities and Challenges for Students from Fiji. Ms. Violet P. Taukave discussed with the students resources available at the U.S. Embassy, including the EducationUSA Advising Center, where student from Fiji may go to learn more about studying in the U.S. She spoke about the library reading materials, computers, training courses and other resources available at the U.S. Embassy for students from Fiji to use. She also spoke briefly about student visas for students from Fiji, and about scholarships that might be available, including the Fulbright.

Professor Edwards also met Fiji / former Wall Street lawyer Ms. Adrienne Ali, who is opening a civil and human rights non-governmental organization in Suva in October 2017, and discussed, among other things, Indiana McKinney law student interns working at this new organization in 2018.

​Following his University of Fiji presentations, a driver organized by the Embassy drove Professor Edwards from Suva, Fiji for 3 ½ hours back to Nadi, Fiji, the first leg of his return trip to the United States.

​WEstjustice – near Melbourne
Just before the official 5-day speaking tour began, within hours after touching down in Melbourne, Australia from the U.S., Professor Edwards visited WEstjustice, a legal aid center hosting Indiana McKinney law student Mr. Joseph Scales as a human rights law intern. While at WEstjustice’s Footscray office, Professor Edwards met Mr. Scales’ supervisors and other WEstjustice staff. Professor Edwards also met Ms. Fionna McLeod, Chief Executive of the Law Society of Australia, which is the national body representing 16 state and territory legal professional bodies as well as Law Firms Australia 

​Conclusion – Comments by Professor Edwards
Professor Edwards spoke about his 5-day South Pacific speaking tour, saying, “I am excited about the possibility of more U.S. law schools and law professors collaborating with the South Pacific EducationUSA Advising Centers and U.S. Embassies and Consulates I visited in Samoa, Australia and Fiji.  We on both sides of the Pacific can learn from exchanges with each other, whether the exchanges involve U.S. law students and professors traveling to the South Pacific, or South Pacific students and professors traveling to the U.S. We all also benefit from electronic and other cooperation that does not involve physical travel.”

​Professor Edwards said, “This 5-day South Pacific speaking tour was an excellent opportunity to cement valuable relationships, making it easier for law students and legal professionals on both sides of the Pacific to collaborate. I hope that many law schools in the U.S. will cooperate with the EducationUSA Advising Centers in the South Pacific, and with the Embassies and Consulates that house and support these Centers. Likewise, I hope that more law faculties and students from the South Pacific take advantage of resources available at and through our many U.S. law schools.”

Professor Edwards said, “This 5-day South Pacific speaking tour promoted public diplomacy and people-to people diplomacy, which both in turn promoted cultural awareness and mutual understanding, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and human rights. Those of us on both sides of the Pacific benefitted from this rich and valuable exchange.”

​Professor Edwards said, “In Fiji I visited my 39th EducationUSA Advising Center”, speaking of the U.S. State Department network with 450 Centers in almost 200 countries around the globe. He said, “Students, parents, university administrators, Center staff and others I speak to at EducationUSA Advising Centers always seem eager to learn about local students going to the U.S. to study law. International students want to study many different areas of law in the U.S., and consider many U.S. law schools that offer Master of Laws (LL.M.) and other suitable law degrees. I happily provide as much information as possible to students wishing to attend any of the many dozens of U.S. law schools whose doors are open to international students.”

​Professor Edwards said, “My South Pacific visit was short, but it was very productive. I encountered a broad network of law professionals, including law students, and discussed substantive international law, international legal education, and information sharing and cooperation. I learned a great deal from EducationUSA Advisors, academics, government officials, law students, and the private bar.”

​Professor Edwards said, “The U.S. Department of State deserves great credit for having on staff high quality officials who promote the diplomacy associated with international education, such as Mr. Antony Koliha, the Director of the State Department’s Office of Global Educational Programs, and Dr. Alfred (Fred) Boll, Branch Chief, EducationUSA, Office of Global Educational Programs, both based at State’s Washington, D.C. headquarters. Their commitment and stewardship, along with that of hundreds of EducationUSA Advisors (including dozens I have met in the field around the globe), help make the EducationUSA network as highly valuable and effective as it is.”

Robin Lerner, who is U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Private Sector Exchange, addressed an audience of law school professors and administrators attending the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) held in New York City.
      On Thursday, 7 January 2015, DAS Lerner was the featured speaker on a panel sponsored by the AALS International Legal Exchange Section, with co-panelists Associate Dean for International Affairs Jeffrey Thomas (University of Missouri School of Law at Kansas City), Dean Fernando Villarreal Gonda (Faculty of Law of the University of Monterrey, Mexico), and Dean Haluk Kabaalioglu (Yeditepe University School of Law in Istanbul, Turkey). The panel was chaired by George Edwards, who is the C.M. Gray Professor of Law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lerner
DAS Lerner oversees the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program (J1-EVP), in the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). The J-1 EVP annually brings 300,000 foreign citizens to the US to study, build skills, and teach.
      In her remarks, DAS Lerner explained different types of diplomacy – government to government, government to people, and people to people – and emphasized how important it is for U.S. and overseas law schools to internationalize their campuses and curricula, and to be involved in exchange programs – sending and receiving law students, faculty and staff.
      DAS Lerner emphasized the J-1 EVP, and how this State Department initiative is a mechanism for law schools and their universities to create their own inbound international programs. She stressed the importance of sending law students overseas as interns to gain practical work experience in an international setting, how foreign governments increasingly seek to create special bilateral internship and other exchange mechanisms with the US, how foreign governments use the J-1 EVP to accomplish exchange goals, and how sponsors can become involved in those efforts through their participation in the EVP.
      DAS Lerner discussed the U.S.-Mexico bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on internships and the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative.
      Her powerpoint presentation identified numerous important statistics, and mentioned various ECA-funded programs and the State Department’s new study abroad office.
      DAS Lerner holds a Juris Doctor degree (JD), is a member of the California bar, and before becoming Deputy Assistant Secretary of State was staff counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (chaired by then Senator John Kerry), where she handled human rights, refugees, migration, trafficking in persons, gender equity, international exchange and public diplomacy. Earlier, she was posted to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and the Regional Office in Kirkuk, where she worked on a range of issues, including trafficking in persons and congressional affairs. She was a legal and human rights advisor to the Organization of Security in Europe (OSCE) Missions in Croatia and Kosovo, handling minority and property issues, human trafficking and women’s legal rights issues, and was an OSCE long-term election supervisor in Bosnia and Croatia. She also worked as a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Mississippi.

Associate Dean Jeffrey Thomas -- Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.
Associate Dean for International Affairs Jeffrey Thomas from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, addressed technical aspects of law school international partnerships.
      He discussed partnership documentation, partnership agreement terms, personnel, university relations and approvals, exchange structures, creative ideas for exchanges, and joint research. He distributed sample Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).
      Associate Dean Thomas has been a member of the UMKC law faculty since 1993, teaching insurance law, terrorism and insurance, law and culture, introduction to American law and U.S. legal skills, and other subjects. He also administers the school’s LL.M. program for international students, and has negotiated many partnership agreements between his school and overseas institutions.
      He is a J.D. graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where he was Executive Editor of the California Law Review.

 Fernando Villarreal Gonda – Monterrey, Mexico
Fernando Villarreal Gonda, who is Dean of the Facultad Libre de Derecho de Monterrey, Mexico, discussed different types of International Partnership Agreements. He emphasized “diversification”, as he contends that partnerships must benefit the full range of stakeholders. He discussed challenges in maintaining partnership arrangements, with those challenges coming in various shapes and sizes.
      As a representative of a non-U.S. law school, he focused on outbound perspectives (outbound to the U.S.), but he also discussed reciprocity – with students from the U.S. and elsewhere traveling to Mexico to study.
      Dean Fernando holds degrees from Harvard Law School (LL.M.), the University of Monterrey, and the University Panthéon Sorbonne (Paris I). He is founding professor of the Free Law School of Monterrey, and teaches Private International Law and electives such as Customs and Trade Arbitration Law and Dispute Resolution. He is a practicing lawyer of 20 years standing, and has served as negotiator on numerous treaty and other inter-governmental consultations, and worked, for example, as Head of Dispute Resolution of the Undersecretariat for International Trade Negotiations in SECOFI, and as negotiator of the Dispute Resolution Chapter and the Model Rules of Procedure and the Code of Conduct for Panelists of the FTAs. He was involved in negotiating the Protocol on Dispute Settlement of the 1980 Montevideo Treaty, drafting reforms of the Commercial Code regarding arbitration, and negotiating the Intellectual Property Chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). ​

​Dean Haluk Kabaalioglu -- Istanbul, Turkey
Since 2002, Haluk Kabaalioglu has been Dean and Professor of Professor of Commercial Law and the Jean Monnet Professor of EU Law of Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey.
      Dean Haluk spoke about a famous letter from Alfred Einstein's to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, how many German Jewish professors took refuge in Turkey and taught at Ankara and Istanbul universities in the 1930s and 1940s, and how overseas professors contributed to the development of law in Turkey by, for example, drafting the Turkish Commercial Code.
      Dean Haluk spoke about the early 1960s cooperation with Istanbul University Law Faculty and Columbia University, with notable Columbia professor taking residence in Turkey, including Professors Allan Farnsworth, Richard Gardner, Hans Smit, Walter Gellhorn, William Cary, and others.
      Dean Haluk also spoke of more recent exchange programs, including through Erasmus through which Yeditepe has 86 agreements, that benefit Yeditepe and other European law faculties. And, he spoke about how a Yeditepe Law and Washington College of Law collaboration, EU law summer schools, the Penn State summer program on US Law and Advocacy at Yeditepe,  joint LL.M. programs Loyola New Orleans, and cooperation with Chinese and Russian universities.
      Dean Haluk is himself a product of international legal exchanges. Though he was born in Turkey, he spent his high school years in Huntington Beach, California. He holds graduate degrees Columbia (LL.M.) and Brussels (LL.M.). He spent a year at the University of Pennsylvania’s Law School’s Center to Study Financial Institutions & Securities Markets, was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Virginia School of Law, was a "Doctoral Scholar"  at The Hague Academy of International Law, and a Jean Monnet Fellow at European University Institute in Florence. His undergraduate and PhD degrees are from Istanbul University.
      ​Dean Haluk is past president of the European Law Faculties Association (ELFA), and has lectured at over 60 different universities abroad.

George Edwards -- Indiana University McKinney School of Law, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.
Professor Edwards introduced the panel, highlighting the role of various stakeholders involved in international legal education, in the public and private sectors, in the U.S. and overseas. He drew linkages among the backgrounds of the other panelists, highlighting tensions, challenges, synergies, and surprises on the panel's agenda. Professor Edwards drew upon his many years involved in international legal education, including his visits to and presentations at approximately 3 dozen U.S. State Department affiliated EducationUSA Advising Centers, in as many countries. These Advising Centers, which number about 450 in almost 200 countries, are located at U.S. Embassies, U.S. Consulates, Fulbright Offices, Bi-National Commission Offices and other locations, and are used by local students in those countries who wish to study in the U.S. Professor Edwards' presentations at these Centers have focused on how overseas students can study law  in the U.S.
      George Edwards is Special Assistant to the Dean for Inter-Governmental and Non-Governmental Programs and the C.M. Gray Professor of Law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law. He is founding Faculty Director of the Indiana law school’s Program in International Human Rights Law, that has organized over 200 internship placements in 56 countries on 6 continents, with students working 10 – 12 weeks at non-governmental organizations, governments, or inter-governmental organizations on a range of international human rights law issues. He founded the school’s Military Commission Observation Project that has sent dozens of IU McKinney Affiliates( faculty, staff, law students and graduates) to monitor hearings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (live, in-courtroom hearings) and Ft. Meade, Maryland (live video-links into the Guantanamo Bay courtroom). (For more information about out project, click here and to read IU Affiliates' blog posts from Guantanamo click here.
      Before joining the Indiana faculty, Professor Edwards worked at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law’s Centre for International and Comparative Law, and taught at City University of Hong Kong and for the Hong Kong Law Society. Before that, he worked as a lawyer at the Wall Street firm of Cravath, Swaine and Moore, and as a law clerk to Judge Cedarbaum of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.
      Professor Edwards holds a Juris Doctor degree (J.D.) from Harvard Law School, where he was an Editor of the Harvard Law Review and Associate Editor of the Harvard International Law Journal. While a student at Harvard, Professor Edwards spent one summer working for a law firm in Bangkok, Thailand, and also worked as an intern in Ethiopia and Sudan on famine related issues, and for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, Switzerland.
       Professor Edwards is the author of LL.M. Roadmap: An International Student’s Guide to U.S. Law School Programs, that offers guidance to anyone interested in overseas students coming to the U.S. to study law. The LL.M. Roadmap book and online portal – www.LLMRoadMap.com – have been well-received around the globe. Over 100 U.S. State Department affiliated EducationUSA Advising Centers around the world own copies of LL.M. Roadmap,.
      Professor Edwards is also principle author of the Guantanamo Bay Fair Trial Manual for U.S. Military Commissions, and author of the forthcoming book The Guantanamo Bay Reader.

Conclusion
The AALS International Legal Exchange Section panel was well-received by the audience, who had more question and comments than the panelists had time to address. Hearty one-on-one and group discussion were held following the panel, spilling over into the lunch hour.
      The panel was very well attended, particularly given that a sizable number of panel hosts (members of the Executive Committee of the AALS Section on International Legal Exchange) attended a Field Trip to the United Nations rather than attend this panel. Also, attendee numbers were down for the panel since the AALS had scheduled a second panel at the same hour on related topics (partnerships with Asian law schools).
      Fortunately, the panel was recorded with a link to the sound being available through the AALS website – www.AALS.org. You are welcome to visit the AALS website and listen to the podcast of our panel!

Dakar, Senegal was Professor George Edwards’ first stop on his July 2015 4-nation African visit to present on U.S. legal education for African students. After Senegal, the author of LL.M. Roadmap traveled to South Africa (Cape Town), Kingdom of Swaziland (Mbabane), and Mozambique (Maputo). 

Professor Edwards had meetings / presentations at 3 U.S. Embassies and 1 U.S. Consulate in Africa, sharing information with EducationUSA Advisers who are responsible for providing information to local students about studying in the U.S. He also met students, law teachers, advisors, judges, and other legal professionals.

US Embassy - Dakar, Senegal
At the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Professor Edwards presented an extensive powerpoint to Mr. Adama Dieng, who is the EducationUSA Advisor based at the Embassy. During this presentation, they meticulously discussed the pros and cons of doing a law degree in the U.S., how to get admitted and be successful in a U.S. law school program, and how to get appropriate and sufficient funding for the U.S. educational experience. Mr. Dieng operates the Embassy’s EducationUSA Advising Center that Senegalese students may visit to learn about study opportunities in the U.S., and he shares information such as this with student advisees.

When Professor Edwards walked into the Embassy, he was met by Mr. Dieng who was carrying a copy of Professor Edwards' book LL.M. Roadmap: An International Student's Guide to U.S. Law School Programs. Professor Edwards said "I was thrilled that Mr. Dieng had a copy of LL.M. Roadmap in the Embassy's EducationUSA Advising Center Library. That is further demonstration of the seriousness nature of the interest of Senegal students in studying law in the U.S., and the serious nature of the resources that Mr. Dieng makes available to students. It's flattering that the Embassy bought my book. But what is more important is that information sources are being made available to students from Senegal who want to study law in the U.S.".

While at the Embassy, Professor Edwards also met Ms. Fatou Kine Kiakhate, who is the Embassy’s Exchange Program Specialist. Furthermore, he met Robert Post, the Embassy’s Public Affairs Officer.

Video Conferencing about U.S. legal study
Professor Edwards agreed to participate in video-conferences (DVCs) with students, law professors, career counsellors, and others interested in the study of law in the U.S.  Professor Edwards said “I can be in a classroom in Indiana and present to students in Senegal. My students and staff in Indiana can join us on our end, just as advisors, professor and even parents can join the video conversation on the Senegal side. I look forward to our video conferences about how students from Senegal can study law in the U.S.”

Conclusion
Professor Edwards said “I have not met too many Senegalese law students in the U.S. I believe that there are many opportunities for more students from Senegal to come to the U.S. for a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree program. Mr. Dieng and others I met at the Embassy in Dakar are a testament to the many resources available to students from Senegal who have an interest in U.S. study.”

Thanks to Mr. Adama Dieng from the U.S. Embassy - Dakar for providing this opportunity to share. Thanks also to Ms. Clara Priester & Ms. Nancy Keteku, both of whom have responsibilities for EducationUSA in different African countries.  Thanks also to Mr. Post and Ms. Kiakhate from the U.S. Embassy - Dakar.

Professor George Edwards, who authored LL.M. Roadmap, traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to talk about legal education in the U.S. for South African students.

Professor Edwards presented an extensive powerpoint to Ms. Alice A.K. King, EducationUSA Advisor at the U.S. Consulate in Cape Town. Ms. King operates at the Consulate’s EducationUSA Advising Center that South African students may visit to learn about study opportunities in the U.S.

Co-presenting at EducationUSA was Ms. Joane Theodule, who is a Juris Doctor students at Indiana University McKinney School of Law. Under the direction of Professor Edwards, Ms. Theodule is working as an intern for a group based at the University of Cape Town Faculty of Law (with Dr. Kelley Moult), which is a faculty to be led by incoming Dean Penelope (Penny) Andrews.

Ms. Theodule was born in Haiti and studied in the U.S. as an international students. She was able to share experiences similar to those of South African students who wish to study in the U.S., a country in which they were not born.

Professor George Edwards, the author of LL.M. Roadmap, traveled to Mbabane, Kingdom of Swaziland to talk about legal education in the U.S. for students from Swaziland.

Professor Edwards began his stay in Mbabane with a lengthy discussion at the U.S. Embassy with Ambassador Makila James, who represents the U.S. in Swaziland. Ambassador James spoke about a wide range of joint programs and projects between the U.S. and Swaziland, about the reciprocal benefits from the two countries working together, and about the general positive relationship that the two countries enjoy with each other.

Ambassador James is a career diplomat, having served at the main U.S. State Department in Washington, DC, and in many countries including Nigeria, Jamaica and Zimbabwe. She is also a trained lawyer with a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School in New York. Ambassador James’ commitment to the people of the Kingdom of Swaziland, and her many accomplishments over her three years on post, are strongly evidenced by words of praise heard throughout the Kingdom.

Joining Professor Edwards’ discussions with Ambassador James was Mr. Ntsika Fakudze, who is the Director of Legal Affairs for the Office of the King in Swaziland. Mr. Fakudze received his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Indiana University McKinney School of Law, under the direction of Professor Edwards.

Also participating was Mrs. Marjorie Balarin, from EducationUSA, which is a U.S. State Department affiliate, based at the Embassy in Swaziland. Mrs. Balarin is responsible for the Fulbright and other programs that offer students scholarships to study in the U.S., and that facilitates exchanges of students, scholars, professors and others from the U.S. to Swaziland and from Swaziland to the U.S. More information about EducationUSA and Fulbright (including scholarships) can be found here.

Educational Fair

After the U.S. Embassy meeting, Mrs. Balarin, Mr. Fakudze, and Professor Edwards traveled to the Royal Swazi Convention Center to participate in an Educational and Career Fair. Students from throughout Swaziland came to the fair to learn about opportunities to study in different places, including the U.S.

Both Mr. Fakudze and Professor Edwards have received prestigious Fulbright grants from the U.S. government, and thus they were able to speak about the Fulbright applicaiton process, who is eligible, and where the students can travel and study under a Fulbright. 

Mr. Fakudze was able to speak with local students about what it is like for a Swazi student to study in the U.S. He shared information about choosing the best schools for each student, the application process, how to get accepted, how to get funding for their study, how to be successful during the academic year, how to decide what their career goals might be, and how to get the job of their dreams.

Many hundreds of students participated in this fair. Also participating as a speaker was a famous Swazi Hip Hop Artist (see photo below) and other notable persons from the greater Swazi community.

Mrs. Balarin, Mr. Fakudze, and Professor Edwards were all mentioned in a newspaper article published the day after the Educational Fair. (see photos below)

LL.M. Roadmap author George Edwards presented at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique on how students from Mozambique can study law in the U.S.

The Embassy audience was full, with law students, lawyers, and other legal professionals, including at least one Judge from a Mozambique court. There was a lively, engaged discussion about choosing the best U.S. law school for each student, how to get admitted, finding scholarship funding, and getting a great job after their degree.

Professor Edwards explained how students can study in a degree program, such as the Master of Laws (LL.M.), the Juris Doctor (J.D.), the Doctor of Juridical Sciences (S.J.D.), and the Master of Jurisprudence (M.J.). Over 160 They can also come to the U.S. in non-degree, shorter term programs, where they can gain significant experience and exposure that would assist the students when they return to Mozambique after their U.S. experience.

The title of the presentation was n “Studying Law in the U.S.A.:  A Student from Mozambique’s Guide to U.S. Law School Programs”.

Distinguished Co-Presenter from the Kingdom of Swaziland
Professor Edwards co-presented with Mr. Ntsika Fakudze, who is Director of Legal Affairs for the Office of the King in the neighboring country, the Kingdom of Swaziland. Mr. Fakudze is a Master of Laws graduate of the Indiana University McKinney LL.M., and a recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Scholar to study in the U.S.

Professor Edwards said “It was great to spend time with Mr. Ntsika Fakudze, an Indiana McKinney LL.M. graduates, who has a successful career as lawyer to the King’s Office in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Earlier in the week, Mr. Fakudze and I co-presented in Swaziland, had a substantial meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Swaziland Makila James, and represented the U.S. Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy at a special Education Fair held in Mbabane, Swaziland. Mr. Fakudze then drove me across the border to Maputo, Mozambique, where he and I were able to carry our message about U.S. legal education to another group of legal professionals.”

The U.S. Host
The host for the presentation in Maputo was Mr. Brock McCormack, a U.S. Embassy – Mozambique official. 

Professor Edwards said “Special thanks to U.S. Embassy official Mr. Brock McCormack, who worked tirelessly to arrange this U.S. legal education presentation. He gathered a substantial group from the local legal community to participate, which made for a lively discussion during the presentation. As a lawyer himself, Mr. McCormack had special insights into the subject matter.”

Conclusion
Professor Edwards said “The law students and legal practitioners I met in Mozambique are inspiring. They are determined to further their formal legal education, and to work hard to achieve their goals. I believe that the U.S. and Mozambique would benefit if more students from Mozambique come to the U.S. for LL.M. and other law degrees.”

Professor George Edwards, who is the author of LL.M. Roadmap,  was invited to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, to discuss implementation of international human rights law in Japan and in the U.S.

Professor Edwards consulted with Ms. Katia Bennett, who is the U.S. Embassy’s First Secretary, Political Affairs. Ms. Bennett carries the Embassy’s human rights portfolio covering a wide range of issues such as trafficking in persons, rights of disabled persons, discrimination against LGTB (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) including LGTB youth, and other issues, including issues incorporated into the U.S. Department of States Country Human Rights Report on Japan. Congress mandates that the State Department complete a human rights report on each country of the globe each year.

Additional issues covered in the most recently published U.S. Human Rights Report on Japan include lack of due process for prisoners at the pre-trial stage in criminal proceedings, conditions of incarceration at prisons and detention centers, abuses of persons on death row, discrimination against ethnic minorities, exploitation of children including child pornography, domestic violence and sexual harassment against women, exploitation of foreign trainee workers, and the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.

After returning to the U.S., Professor Edwards drafted a memorandum to the First Secretary outlining human rights proposals, particularly involving Japanese officials and others who may travel to the U.S. for further human rights briefings.

Instrumental in organizing the session was Ms. Rosie Edmond (EducationUSA Regional Education Advising Coordinator – REAC), who is also based at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Professor George Edwards engaged in reciprocal consultative briefings with U.S. Embassy – Japan and Fulbright / EducationUSA in Tokyo on Thursday, 18 December 2014.  The

The briefings were held at the U.S. – Japan Educational Commission (Fulbright Japan), which also houses an EducationUSA Advising Center, supported by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

Professor Edwards, who the National Jurist identified as the “world’s leading expert” in U.S. law programs for international students, introduced the U.S. officials to wide-ranging topics related to Japanese students joining Master of Laws (LL.M.) and other law degree programs at U.S. law schools.

Briefing by Professor Edwards
Professor Edwards spoke about why Japanese students are interested in coming to the U.S. to study law, factors to consider when choosing a U.S. law school, how to get admitted and pay for the program, success in the classroom, and reaching career and personal goals after graduating from a U.S. law school degree program. He also briefed on his belief that international legal education promotes peace, security, fundamental freedoms and human rights.

Professor noted that recently enrollment in U.S. law schools has declined dramatically because the job market for law graduates in the U.S. has dropped off. Law graduates are having difficulty in finding employment, and students no longer wish to take out large loans to pay for high tuition if they cannot earn enough after graduating.

Professor Edwards said “It is a buyer’s market for international students seeking a U.S. legal education.  U.S. law schools are actively recruiting non-U.S. students to help fill a gap caused by declining U.S. students.”

Professor Edwards discussed his new book LL.M. Roadmap Career Guide: An International Student’s Job Hunt After Earning a U.S. Law Degree, which is scheduled to be published in 2015.

Professor Edwards said “Virtually all international students joining U.S. law degree programs have employment aspirations for after they graduate. Law schools are obligated to help international students and graduates reach their career goals.”

Briefing by U.S. Embassy / Fulbright
The U.S. Embassy was represented in the talks by Ms. Rei Yakazami, Educational Outreach Coordinator / Country Coordinator – Japan, Public Affairs Section. The Japan-U.S. Educational Commission (Fulbright Japan) was represented by Ms. Chizuru Sasada (Senior Adviser) and Ms. Atsuko Ichikawa (Adviser).

The officials briefed on current trends on Japanese students joining U.S. educational programs, opportunities for U.S. students and professors to engage in short or longer term study or lecture opportunities in the U.S., recruiting strategies for U.S. law schools seeking to enroll Japanese students, and other international education work of the Embassy and Fulbright Japan.

They discussed plans launched by MEXT (Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) to support Japanese students going abroad for study. The plans include “Super Global Universities”, supported through 2013.

Instrumental in organizing the session was Ms. Rosie Edmond (EducationUSA Regional Education Advising Coordinator – REAC), who is also based at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Facts and Conclusion
For many years, Japan sent more students to the U.S. each year than any other country, but various factors led to Japan falling to seventh place, behind countries such as Saudi Arabia, Korea, China and India. In 2013 Japan sent over 21,000 students to the U.S.  Most of these students are at the undergraduate level, but over 20% are at the graduate level. No accurate statistics are available on how many of these students were enrolled at U.S. law schools in law degree programs.

Professor Edwards, who is the author of LL.M. Roadmap: An International Students Guide to U.S. Law School Programs (www.LLMRoadMap.com) has given presentations or briefings at EducationUSA Advising Centers at U.S. Embassies or Consulates, Fulbright Commissions or other offices in over two dozen countries. Edwards is a The CM Gray Professor of Law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law.

A new book will assist LL.M. students and graduates who wish to find employment during their LL.M. year at a U.S. law school or after they graduate. This book, authored by Professor George Edwards, is the only comprehensive guide to job-hunting in the LL.M. market.

The LL.M. Roadmap Career Guide: An International Student's Jthob Hunt After their U.S. Law Degree, recognizes that all LL.M. students have career aspirations. LL.M. students or graduates may wish to work

• at a U.S. law firm
  
• as in-house counsel for a multinational corporation
  
• as a law professor in U.S. or overseas
  
• for a human rights non-governmental organization (NGO)
  
• for an inter-governmental organization such as the UN
  
• at a law firm in their home country
  
• or even at a non-law job, in the U.S.,  home or a third country

The LL.M. Roadmap Career Guide covers many employment-related topics relevant to international students at U.S. law schools, to graduates, and to applicants. Topics shed light on how to navigate the job market. 

The Career Guide  will be of interest to LL.M. program administrators, law school career offices, and international & non-international students & graduates (J.D., LL.M., S.J.D.). Law schools are obligated to assist their LL.M. students and graduates, and the  Career Guide  will help schools fulfill their obligations.

Career Guide topics include:

Job Hunt Strategies

• Steps to take before you enroll in your LL.M. program
  
• What you can do while you are enrolled
  
• How to get & change jobs after you graduate
  

Presenting Oneself to Prospective Employers

• LL.M. Resumes—How a 1-Page Summary Document Can Help You Get a 
• LL.M. Cover Letters—Capturing Prospective Employers’ Attention
• Lots of Samples -- Resumes, Cover Letters, Publication Lists, Reference Sheet 

Dozens of Tips!

• Taking & passing a U.S. Bar Exam
• Dress for success & etiquette tips
• How to ace a law job interview
  
• How to draft e-mails to prospective employers
  
• How to negotiate after you get a job offer!
  

Other tools to help you reach your career goals

• Resources Guide
• Bibliography
  
• Glossary of terms you need to know when dealing with the job hunt

[Eds.--The following article was published by the National Jurist on 19 November 2014].

George Edwards, a law professor at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law is the world's leading expert when it comes to U.S. graduate law degrees for foreign-trained lawyers. He is also author of LL.M. Roadmap: An International Student’s Guide to U.S. Law School Programs. We recently sat down with him for a Q&A on why LL.M programs are so popular and why international students come to the U.S.

Q. Is the LL.M. degree a very popular degree in the U.S.? What is the enrollment like?

A. Yes, the LL.M. degree is very popular in the U.S. In the last decade or two, many U.S. law schools have created new LL.M. programs for international students, that is, for students who earned their first law degree outside the U.S. Many U.S. schools with long-existing LL.M. programs have sought to increase the number of international students enrolled in those programs. And indeed more international students are seeking LL.M. degrees from U.S. schools.

Today, about 6,000 students are enrolled in U.S. programs at over 150 U.S. law schools. Despite increased costs of attending these programs, students still come to the U.S. for these degrees.

Q. Why has there been an increase in the quantity of U.S. schools offering the LL.M. in the U.S. and increased enrollment?

A.  I would like to think that U.S. law schools are creating LL.M. programs or expanding existing programs primarily for altruistic reasons. Maybe U.S. law schools understand how bringing international students to the U.S. for law study promotes peace, security, the rule of law and human rights not only in the U.S., but also overseas. The school recognize that when LL.M. graduates return to their home countries and become judges, professors, government officials, and otherwise have an opportunity to share some of the values, multi-cultural learning and living experiences, inter-cultural sensitivities they acquired living in U.S. local communities and going to school with great legal minds from the U.S. and great legal minds of LL.M. classmates from around the globe.

The reality is that law schools are businesses, and to stay afloat they must generate revenue to pay law school expenses, such as faculty salaries. Law school revenues primarily come from tuition revenues, and revenues are down due to fewer U.S. students enrolling in the degree programs for the basis U.S. law degree, the Juris Doctor (J.D.). The U.S. economy has been down along with the demand for U.S. lawyers. Tuition has increased. Student loan debt has increased, with prospective students avoiding law school to avoid debt.

U.S. law schools have been seeking ways to make up for lost revenue. One way is to create or expand enrollment for international LL.M. students who may not have the same worries that are driving JD enrollment downwards.

The desire to increase law school revenue has triggered a proliferation of new LL.M. programs and triggered the expansion of existing LL.M. programs.

 Q. Why do most international students come to the U.S. to join those LL.M. programs?

A.  The overarching reasons that international students give for wanting to receive an LL.M. are:

First, to make you more marketable to U.S. clients in your home country, & to clients from your country in U.S. In the globalized business marketplace, there is a demand for lawyers well-versed in the both sides of international deals. For example, if you are a Brazilian lawyer with a U.S. LL.M. you can service U.S. clients doing business in Brazil, and serve Brazilian clients doing business in the U.S.

Second, to help you get a better job or to do your current job better, using the expertise you will gain during your LL.M. year.

Third, as an economic investment in your career, whether in practicing law, judicial work, teaching, or even in a non-law area. After you complete your LL.M. you may not reap immediate results, for example of a new job or a promotion where you currently work. But in the long-term your U.S. law degree will likely benefit your career.

Fourth, to take a break from your current job, to gain some direction, or just because. Some international students are young in their careers when they come to the U.S. for an LL.M., and may have little or no work experience in law, may not even be admitted to practice law in their home countries, and may lack direction on what they want to do with their career.  Others may be mid-career, and just want a break from the office or courtroom.

_______

The Fulbright Commission of Ecuador hosted a presentation by Professor George Edwards, who is the author of LL.M. Roadmap: An International Student’s Guide to U.S. Law School Programs. The Fulbright Commission and EducationUSA (a U.S. State Department program) are housed in the same facility in Quito where the presentation took place.

Professor Edwards’ 3 July 2014 presentation was titled “Law Study in the U.S.A. for Ecuadorian Students?: A Guide to U.S. Master of Laws (LL.M.) & Other Law Degree Programs”.

Professor Edwards highlighted significant information for Ecuadorian students who want to study law at a law school in the U.S.

He addressed how students should choose the best U.S. law school and LL.M. program for each student, the possibility of considering school or LL.M. program "ranking" in making decisions to apply to or attend specific schools, tips on specializing in specific law areas, the LL.M. application process and getting admitted, English language requirements, U.S. law school teaching methods, sitting for a bar exam in the U.S. after students receive their LL.M. degree, and fulfilling career aspirations after graduation.

Professor Edwards also discussed scholarships and grants available to help students defray the high costs of obtaining a U.S. law school degree.

The Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Ecuador, Susana Cabeza de Vaca, introduced Professor Edwards to the audience of students, recent graduates, practicing lawyers, and Center staff. She also took the lead in facilitating the discussion, raising important issues for consideration by anyone interested in receiving a law degree from a U.S. law school.

Ms. Ana Villavicencio, Fulbright Senior Adviser, shared additional information that Ecuadorian students need to know as they explore the possibility of studying law in the U.S.

Professor Edwards said “I was very impressed by how engaged the Ecuadorian students were in our discussions about U.S. law study. The students expressed interest in a wide range of substantive areas of law, including environmental law, competition law, corporate law, international and comparative law, and international human rights law. They seem to be determined to achieve the attainable goal of receiving a U.S. law degree.”

Several students asked about taking a bar exam in the U.S. and working in the U.S. for one or more years post-LL.M. degree. Professor Edwards explained that international students who come to the U.S. to receive an LL.M. degree have no automatic right to sit for a bar exam, and have no automatic right to work in the U.S. post-LL.M. degree even if they pass a state’s bar exam.

Professor Edwards said “If you think that there is even a slim chance that you might want to sit for a U.S. bar exam after you receive your LL.M. degree from a U.S. law school, please choose an LL.M. program that will help ensure your eligibility to sit for the bar exam that interests you. It is never too early to investigate U.S. bar and work issues. Ask these questions, and have them answered, at the very latest before you accept a U.S. law school’s offer to enroll. Do not wait until you arrive in the U.S. and matriculate to inquire about bar or work eligibility.” 

Furthermore, Professor Edwards said “The LL.M. Roadmap website has information about the New York and California Bar exams. The website will also direct you to resources that will inform you about bar exam prospect in other states, how to get a job post-degree, and about permission to remain in the U.S. for one year in Optional Practical Training – OPT”.

Bar and Job information can be found at this LL.M. Roadmap link:  http://www.llmroadmap.com/llm-jobs.html.

_______

Professor George Edwards, who is the author of LL.M. Roadmap, traveled to Panama City, Panama to discuss non-U.S. students coming to the U.S. to study for a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree.  On 30 June 2014, Professor Edwards presented at the University of Panama Faculty of Law and Political Sciences (Faculty of Law), and at the Advising Center of EducationUSA, which is a U.S. Department of State program.

Professor Edwards highlighted important information that Panamanian students should know if they want to study law at a law school in the U.S.

He addressed how students should choose the best U.S. law school and LL.M. program for each student, the possibility of considering school or LL.M. program "ranking" in making decisions to apply to or attend specific schools, tips on specializing in specific law areas, the LL.M. application process and getting admitted, English language requirements, U.S. law school teaching methods, sitting for a bar exam in the U.S. after students receive their LL.M. degree, and fulfilling career aspirations after graduation.

Professor Edwards also discussed scholarships and grants available to help students defray the high costs of obtaining a U.S. law school degree.

EducationUSA – U.S. State Department Program  -- Panama
At the EducationUSA Advising Centre, Professor Edwards was hosted by Mr. Paul Alba, who is the resident EducationUSA Adviser. Mr. Alba, who is a former intern at the U.S. Embassy - Panama, was joined by Ms. Allison O’Brien who is a student at Cardozo Law School (New York). Ms. O’Brien is a current U.S. Embassy – Panama intern.

EducationUSA is responsible for providing information to Panamanian students who wish to study in the U.S. Each of its 450 Advising Centers in almost 200 countries offers services to students at any level and in any field. Anyone in Panama with interest may visit the EducationUSA Advising Center located in that city. Unlike some EducationUSA Advising Centers that are located at a

U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate, the Center in Panama City is located in the facilities of the Center for English Language Immersion (CELI). CELI is a partnership between Universidad Latin and the U.S. Embassy - Panama. Professor Edwards also met with Axela Zelaya de Corror, who is CELI’s Executive Director.

Mr. Alba noted that many Panamanians are interested in studying law in the U.S. He said he would like to share U.S. law school and LL.M. program information with Panamanians widely, and that he wants “to give U.S. law school program presentations to students at different law faculties in Panama”. 

Professor Edwards said “I am happy that Mr. Alba and the Fulbright Commission and EducationUSA Panama have taken the lead to promote U.S. legal education for Panamanian students. Mr. Alba, law faculty members, students and others with interest are welcome to contact me for further information about studying law in the U.S. 

University of Panama Faculty of Law
At the University of Panama Faculty of Law, Professor Edwards was hosted by the Dean, Dr. Gilberto Boutin. Dean Boutin led a U.S. legal education round-table discussion with faculty, staff, and students. Professor Edwards again presented about U.S. law school opportunities for Panamanians, and fielded many questions about the application process, success in a U.S. law school, scholarship opportunities, and work post-degree. He was joined by co-presenters Mr. Alba and Ms. O’Brien.

Dean Boutin expressed full support for his students traveling to the U.S. for advanced law degrees. He also expressed strong interests in the Faculty of Law establishing further links with institutes and programs at U.S. law faculties. It is hoped that a U.S. law professor could travel to the Faculty of Law in Panama to help prepare students for their LL.M. program in the U.S. by instructing on, for example, legal English.

Professor Edwards was asked about international human rights law, pro bono, and public interest work at U.S. law schools. He spoke about recent work that he and his Indiana students have done involving the U.S. Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and he spoke about his recent trip to Guantanamo Bay. He also spoke about work he and his students performed on behalf of the defense of Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of the former Yugoslavia who was on trial at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for genocide and other international crimes, and spoke about work they performed related to an ongoing extradition proceedings of an alleged war criminal from Australia to Croatia.

Professor Edwards explained that Panamanian students can benefit greatly if they join a U.S. law school program that affords the students an opportunity to get involved in experiential learning opportunities, such as working on real-life, pending criminal or other law cases.

Dr. Virginia Arango Durling, who is a law professor at the University of Panama, commented on the importance of international human rights law, which is an area of law in which she has expertise. She is widely published in the field, with many of her publications and teaching materials being available on her website:  Pensamiento Juridico Panemano. She too recognizes the importance of experiential learning. 

Professor Edwards said “The students I met at the University of Panama were all leaders in their student body, and they all possess skills important for studying law in a different legal system and in a country other than their own. They would benefitfrom the classroom experience in the U.S., and would also benefit from legal education that happens outside the classroom, in the form of experiential learning.”

One Panamanian student explained that she is now convinced that attaining a law degree in the U.S. is an achievable goal for students from her law school class.

Conclusion

In both Panama presentations, Professor Edwards recognized the value of students receiving an overseas law degree.

He said “When you are studying at a U.S. law school, you will acquire knowledge and skills that will be useful in your legal careers, wherever you choose to work. You will share with your U.S. law school colleagues your Panama experience, and you will bring back to Panama what you have learned in the U.S., inside and outside the law school classroom”.

Professor Edwards hopes to return to Panama for additional presentations. He said “It was exciting to learn of Panamanians’ high level of interest in U.S. law study. I look forward to returning to Panama for further discussions. If any Panamanians have further questions, they should feel free to contact me. They can also check our website, www.LLMRoadMap.com.”

Professor Edwards is The C.M. Gray Professor of Law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law, and the law school’s Special Assistant to the Dean for Inter-Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations. He is also Faculty Director (Founding) of the law school’s Program in International Human Rights Law.

Professor Edwards is also the author of LL.M. Roadmap: An International Student’s Guide to U.S. Law School Programs (624 pages). He is also the creator of the book’s website:  www.LLMRoadMap.com.

For additional information, you may reach Professor Edwards at LLMRoadMap@yahoo.com. 

For information about EducationUSA or Fulbright in Panama, please contact:

Paul Alba
Adviser – Director 
EducationUSA Panama City
U.S. Department of State Network 
Office: +507 380-2200/2202
panamacity@educationusa,info

http://www.educationusa.info

https://www.facebook.com/EducationUSAPTY

_______

International LL.M. students in U.S. law schools may be surprised to encounter a deeply entrenched hierarchy of faculty and staff members, each of whom possesses one or more job “titles” or "designations", and each of whom has different yet apparently overlapping job responsibilities.

It can be quite confusing!

Also, since each law school is different, a person with a particular title at one law school may have different responsibilities than a person with the same title at another law school.

Still confused?

You may ask, "Why should you as an LL.M. student care about faculty / staff titles or designations"? "Why do you need to know who is who"? "Does it really matter"?

With titles and designations come responsibilities.  Each faculty or staff member has certain responsibilities vis-a-vis international students, particularly LL.M. students.

If you have a question or a problem, you need to ask the person with the appropriate title who is responsible for the issue(s) important to you. 

To give you an example, there may be many people at a law school who have the word “Dean” in their title or designation. How do you know which “Dean” to reach out to? 

Do you know the different between and among “Dean”, “Special Assistant to the Dean”, “Vice-Dean”, “Associate Dean”, “Executive Associate Dean”, & “Assistant Dean”?

These are things you need to know!

Click "Read More" below for tips on Who is Who at U.S. law schools....

BARBRI's LL.M. Preview will help you prepare to enter your LL.M. program in the 2014 autumn semester. 

During the weeks and months before your LL.M. classes begin, BARBRI's special LL.M. Preview gives you tools you need for success in your LL.M. classroom. It will help as you adjust to your new degree program, and as you prepare yourself for taking a bar exam or getting a job post-LL.M.

Get a head start before classes begin!

At LL.M. Preview, you will learn basics in U.S. law school learning styles, the Socratic Method, and the U.S. legal system, and learn fundamentals in key areas of U.S. law and practice.

You will  learn tips on how best to present yourself to the employment marketplace as you prepare to apply for internships or part-time jobs while you are enrolled in your LL.M., or as you prepare for full-time legal positions in the U.S. or elsewhere post-LL.M. You will learn about U.S.-style resume and cover letter writing,  so you can arrive at your LL.M. program a step ahead in your quest for internships, part-time jobs, or post-LL.M. employment.

At LL.M. Preview you will gain insights into qualification for U.S. legal practice, including bar exams in states that permit LL.M. graduates to join their bars and practice law.

LL.M. Preview is offered live in Los Angeles and New York in August 2014. Components of LL.M. Preview will also be available online, so you can begin preparing for your LL.M. before you leave your home country! 

At LL.M. Preview, you will meet LL.M. students from many different U.S. law schools in different parts of the country. You can establish strong friendships and professional bonds with LL.M. colleagues that will serve you well as you tackle issues at your different law schools, and as you complete your degrees and return to homelands, go elsewhere, or stay in the U.S.

Jump start your LL.M. degree program. Arrive at your LL.M. program fully prepared!


Check here for additional information about and to sign up for BARBRI LL.M. Preview.


PS:  Your BARBRI LL.M. Preview instructors will be from well-known law schools and LL.M. programs from around the country. Instructors will also include individuals closely associated with national and global LL.M. undertakings, such as the author of LL.M. Roadmap.

30 U.S. jurisdictions permit non-U.S.-trained lawyers to join the bar
The Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements, published by the ABA and the National Conference of Bar Examiners, identifies 30 U.S. jurisdictions that permit non-U.S.-trained law graduates to become members of their bar. These include 27 states, the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For ease, I refer to these 30 as “U.S. jurisdictions” or “states”.

Some of these jurisdictions require non-U.S.-Trained lawyers to sit for that jurisdiction's bar exam. Some permit these lawyers to join without taking the particular jurisdiction's bar exam. It is suggested that you carefully review the requirements for each jurisdiction in which you have an interest. Check early. Make certain that you can satisfy the jurisdiction's requirements in a time frame that suits you. You are advised to check the requirements early, and often, as requirements may change.

General bar admission requirements -- Exam or No Exam Required?
There are two basic paths to bar admission in the U.S. (and neither of these paths is “easy”!):

a.       Admission by examination. This involves satisfying certain eligibility requirements, registering, then sitting for the state’s bar exam. Non-U.S.-trained lawyers typically take this examination route. 

b.       Admission not by examination. A state may grant a “waiver” so a candidate does not have to sit for the particular state’s bar exam. This is rare for non-U.S.-trained lawyers. The Comprehensive Guide indicates that U.S. jurisdictions that permit

A reporter recently asked me what’s the “easiest” U.S. bar exam for non-U.S. trained lawyers who receive a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from a U.S. law school.

My answer was easy:  I said “It depends”.

I said that 30 U.S. jurisdictions permit non-U.S.-trained LL.M. graduates to sit for their bar examination. Some let them join the bar without sitting for the exam. But each of these states has a different set of requirements.

A general information source for U.S. bar admission requirements is the Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements 2014, published by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBEX) and the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. For details about each jurisdiction’s requirements, you should contact the bar admissions authority of that particular jurisdiction. Contact information is published in the Comprehensive Guide.

The Comprehensive Guide identifies 30 U.S. jurisdictions that permit non-U.S.-Trained law graduates to become members of their bar. Explore the rules of each jurisdiction carefully to determine whether you qualify. Then, pick and choose among the ones for 

The most important thing for you to know about LL.M. recommendation letters is that LL.M. admissions committees rely heavily on these letters when they decide whom to admit into their LL.M. programs. 

Some LL.M. programs receive many hundreds of LL.M. applications of very highly qualified students from around the world. Recommendation letters, written by credible and knowledgeable referees, play a large role in admission committee decisions.

So, you are cautioned to take great care in soliciting recommendation letters that will help you convince LL.M. admission committees to admit you.

You may be an excellent applicant, with excellent academic credentials, broad practical legal experience, superb English language skills, numerous other professional and personal accomplishments, and a dynamic personality. However, unless your referees can address those and similar qualities in your recommendation letters, you may lose out on a spot in the LL.M. program you choose.

Here are 7 things to remember about LL.M. recommendation letters:

1.      Remember why LL.M. admissions committees want recommendation letters.

LL.M. admission committees want to get to know you, the applicant, as a person. Your test scores, marks / grades, and degrees provide substantial objective information. But, that does not paint a full picture of you.  You will likely not have a chance for a personal interview. Your personal statements are helpful, but they are written by you.

Thus LL.M. programs typically require you to submit at least 2 recommendation letters written by “referees”. These letters help cement an image for the school about who you are. They help the admission committees learn as much about you as possible, from people who know you, your accomplishments, and your potential.

2.      Do not pick the "wrong" referees to write your letters.

The best recommendation letters come from referees who personally know you, and who are familiar with your intellectual abilities, your work and other accomplishments, and your actual personality.
 
Your referees should have confidence in you. They should be able to inform the LL.M. admission committee, with relative specificity, that you will likely succeed in the LL.M. program.

Good recommendation letters can be written by current or former professors, employers, work colleagues, or even clients. All of these people should be in good positions to know you and your work well.  People in these categories would have been exposed

Professor George E. Edwards, the author of LL.M. Roadmap, was named a Member of the Advisory Committee of the Universal Rights Group (URG), which is a small, independent international human rights law think tank based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Universal Rights Group is dedicated to analyzing and strengthening global human rights policy-making and policy-implementation. Based in Geneva, which is the European Headquarters of the United Nations, the Universal Rights Group is the only think tank in the world focused exclusively on human rights.

The Universal Rights Group provides rigorous yet accessible, timely and policy-relevant research, analysis and recommendations. The URG provides a forum for discussion and debate on important human rights issues, and offers a window into the work of mechanisms within the United Nations Human Rights Council and other U.N. bodies. The URG promotes transparency, accountability, awareness and effectiveness. The URG seeks to make the international human rights system more accessible to, and bring it into closer orbit with, policy-makers and other stakeholders—including the victims of human rights violations and human rights defenders—at regional, national and local levels.

Professor Edwards’ Human Rights Background and Experience
Professor Edwards’ decades of teaching, research and practical accomplishments in international human rights law are consistent with the work of the Universal Rights Group.

In 1997, Professor founded the Program in International Human Rights Law (PIHRL) at Indiana University McKinney School of Law. The PIHRL offers human rights courses, and also assists governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental  

A panel of law professors and other education professionals discussed how U.S. law schools help educate non-U.S. law teachers. They discussed degree and no-degree programs at U.S. law schools, and funding opportunities to support the increasing number of people interested in teaching law.

The panel was held in New York at Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) on 3 January 2014. 

Panel moderator was George Edwards, who is The C.M. Gray Professor of Law at Indiana University McKinney School of Law, and founding Faculty Director of that school’s Master of Laws (LL.M.) Track in International Human Rights Law. Professor Edwards noted that:

“Some law teachers at non-U.S. law schools may come to the U.S. to earn law degrees to help them further their teaching career at home, or help prepare them to teach at a U.S. law school. Some non-U.S. students seeking their initial law teaching job may join a U.S. LL.M. or S.J.D. program to prepare them to join the academy. Today’s panelists will offer suggestions and guidance on a full range of opportunities. We will also learn about funding opportunities for non-U.S. students, to help them cover expenses for these U.S. law school programs. U.S. law schools are expensive. And we want to provide as much information as possible about scholarships, fellowships and other funding.”

The Panel sponsor was the AALS Section on U.S. Graduate Programs for Non-U.S. Lawyers. The Section recognizes that thousands of law teachers from around the world come to the U.S. for advanced legal training, and that increasingly U.S.

law schools are tailoring programs to accommodate these law teachers. The Panel was organized by that Section, led by outgoing Chair Mark Shulman of New York University and the Section’s Executive Committee. Professor Edwards was elected as Chair of the Section through 2015.

Panelists & Remarks
Panelists included law school graduate program administrators, U.S. law school professors, a non-U.S. law school teacher who has had law training in the U.S., a university-wide official, and an administrator of the U.S. State Department Fulbright program that provides scholarships for law professors to come to the U.S. and for U.S. law professors to go overseas. The audience was full, and a rigorous question / answer discussion period was engaged in.

All LL.M. program websites in the U.S. list “deadlines” for applicants to submit their LL.M. applications. However, there are different “types” of deadlines. And different schools treat “deadlines” in different ways.

Below are some tips, secrets and surprises on LL.M. application deadlines. Follow them to help ensure that you meet the deadline of the U.S. law school(s) you want to attend!

Also, click here to find the LL.M. application deadlines for 148 different U.S. Law Schools in over 40 U.S. States, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. 

                               8 Tips, Secrets & Surprises for LL.M. Application Deadline

1.       The LL.M. deadline is part of the “formal component” of your LL.M. Application.

All LL.M. applications have two components: (a) a formal component; and (b) an informal component.

On the formal side, your LL.M. application will contain proof of your academic success such as transcripts, diplomas, certificates, list of honors, record of work experience and extra-curricular activities, recommendation letters, personal statements and essays, CV or resume, English language proficiency test scores, and possibly a phone or in-person interview.

An important part of the formal side of the application is the deadline – you must formally submit your application by the deadline identified by the school. Your accomplishments and merit will not be persuasive if your application is not received in a timely fashion.

The informal side of your LL.M. application consists of impressions the admission committee may gather from the courteous or non-courteous manner in which you communicate with them, your application’s tidiness or sloppiness, your perceived ability or inability to follow directions, and your general attitude, as perceived by the admission committee and others at the law school with whom you come into contact during the application process. The admission committee might form an impression, favorable or otherwise, based on the timing of your application – Did you meet the deadline? Did you beat the deadline? Did you miss the deadline? Does it appear as though your application is sloppy because you rushed to meet the deadline?

Please respect and follow all LL.M. applications deadlines! Begin preparing your application early enough so you do not have to rush to submit by the deadline.

2.       Identify and understand the different types of LL.M. Application Deadlines

There are multiple types of LL.M. application deadlines, including: (a) Fixed deadline; (b) Rolling admission deadline; (c) Early admission deadline; (d) Flexible deadline; (e) International v. U.S. student deadline; (f) Part-Time deadline; and (g) Full-Time Deadline.

a.       Fixed LL.M. Application deadline. 

Schools with a “fixed deadline” set a date on which all applications must be submitted. The school will not consider for admission any applicant who submits an application post-deadline. If you miss the deadline, you are out of luck for that year! However you

The chart below offers a Timeline and Steps for your LL.M. degree at a U.S. law school. It details pre-application information gathering, submitting high quality LL.M. applications per the deadlines, being successful in school, graduating with your LL.M. degree, and personal and career success after.

The Timeline and Steps are general in nature. Most overseas students joining U.S. law school programs will follow most of these steps. However, your own path to success may differ slightly from the paths of other students. 

Each LL.M. student has his or her own goals, motivations, strengths, needs and expectations. No one school is ideal for all students. Students necessarily will be spread out among the 150 U.S. law schools in the U.S. that offer LL.M. programs.

The goal is for you to make important decisions about what your goals are, sort out how to achieve your goals, and then follow your path towards achieving those goals.

The Timeline and Steps below will help guide you on your path to success! Indeed, the Timeline and Steps are your Roadmap to LL.M. success!

Good luck!