This degree is intended primarily for international students who hold a first degree in law (JD or LLB or equivalent) from a non-U.S. law school and who wish to establish eligibility to take a state bar examination in the United States, where permitted by state bar authorities. The degree will give students from foreign jurisdictions a thorough understanding of the fundamental principles of U.S. law and the American legal system, as well as an appreciation for law practice in the United States. The academic program is designed to enable students who earn the degree to satisfy the American law school course requirements of the Bar Admissions Committees of Louisiana and New York. These two U.S. states are among those whose rules permit foreign lawyers to sit for their bar exam subject to, inter alia, completion of certain coursework in American Law. Students seeking to take the bar examinations in these two states, or any other state, must still meet all other eligibility requirements of the state in which they seek to take the bar examination, and are therefore urged to review those requirements at the earliest possible time.
Degree Requirements
The American LLM requires, in addition to the general degree requirements, completion of at least 14 hours of coursework in the following subjects: Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law, Corporations or Business Enterprises, Evidence, Intellectual Property, Federal Civil Procedure, Taxation, Uniform Commercial Code, Torts, or (if planning to take the Louisiana bar exam) Louisiana Civil Procedure or Louisiana Obligations Law. Students seeking this degree are also required to take either Common Law Property or Civil Law Property. Remaining hours of coursework for the degree may be selected from any other courses open to graduate students at Tulane Law School.
Summer Abroad Option
Students who enroll in an LLM program have the option to participate in a Tulane Summer Abroad program prior to the start of their fall program. Students will earn 3 credits towards their LLM degree and receive waived tuition. Students are responsible for all travel and housing costs.
