UNC School of Law’s fourth class of LL.M. students started this fall, and Beverly Sizemore, director of international and LL.M. programs at UNC, said the number of applications rose significantly this year.
“The strength of our applicants has continued to grow,” Sizemore says. “We have high standards, and our standards have been met and exceeded.”
UNC Law keeps the program small — from six to 10 students per year — and students appreciate the individual attention it affords them.
Cornelia Kibler, a current LL.M. student from Germany, says, “There is always someone there to support us at any minute of the day.”
The seven students in this year’s class have their law degrees from Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea, Indonesia, Germany and Wales. In years past, students have hailed from China, Thailand, India, Russia, Taiwan and Libya. All have at least an LL.B. from their home country. Some have remained in the U.S. at the end of the LL.M. program to obtain an American J.D. or to work for multinational firms. Many have returned to their home countries to practice, either in government or for a private company or law firm.
Xuan Li 3L, a graduate of UNC’s inaugural LL.M. class, has returned to UNC School of Law to earn her J.D. UNC law professors respect international students, she says, and faculty and staff have helped her move toward her career goals. Over the summer she worked in the bankruptcy court in Raleigh, a position she learned about through an externship program.
The LL.M. students deepen the law school experience for UNC’s J.D. students. American students gain a perspective on legal systems in different cultures. Interactions between American and international students form connections and add context to discussions of legal issues.
“Individuals practicing law are increasingly dealing with aspects of law that go outside the boundaries of a state or nation and have to be viewed in a global way,” Sizemore says.
Kibler especially appreciated learning about issues that are important in the U.S. and comparing them with priorities in Germany.
“The LL.M. program has broadened me even beyond my law career,” she says.
This article was originally published in the Fall-Winter 2014 issue of Carolina Law. Learn more at http://www.law.unc.edu/academics/degreeprograms/llm/.
-December 9, 2014