International LLM Students
The Career & Professional Development Center has outstanding resources for international students. Duke also has a dedicated staff member with significant professional law experience who devotes time to LLM students in their job search. Many LLM graduates find positions with U.S. law firms, especially in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
Duke LLM students participate in a New York City job fair, where legal employers from around the world conduct interviews for positions both in the U.S. and overseas. In addition to the strong support from the Career & Professional Development Center, students at Duke benefit substantially from the willingness of alumni, both in the U.S. and abroad, and from Law School faculty to offer advice and assistance.
Legal positions available to LLM graduates who wish to work in the U.S. vary from year to year and tend to reflect external conditions, such as the extent of trade with the student's home country or the state of the global economy. LLM students are more likely to find jobs when they have had a few years of professional experience before studying in the United States.
A significant group of LLM graduates remain at Duke for a period of time after graduation in order to prepare to take the New York or California State Bar Examination. Students who elect to return to their home countries after graduation frequently identify positions in overseas offices of American law firms or at firms and organizations serving American clients involved in international work.
Resources
In addition to the professional development programs that are offered to JD students, we organize a variety of programs exclusively for LLM students to assist them in identifying and pusuing their goals:
- Panel discussion with LLM alumni on job search
- Resume/cover letter workshop
- Mock interview
- Networking reception
- Individual career counseling
- International student interview program