National Law Journal, Big Law Firms Don't Care About Your LL.M., Recruiter Warns:
Does a graduate law degree increase a lawyer's value on the legal job market?
Not according to Steven John, a managing director at legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey & Africa. John delivered that unwelcome assessment to a roomful of law school administrators during the annual meeting of the AALS. … In fact, John said, advanced degrees in law — with the exception of LL.M.s for foreign-trained attorneys and tax LL.M.s — can actually hurt job candidates, because they may signal uncertainty about their career paths or attempts to avoid the reality of a difficult job search. Also suspect is when candidates study in areas that do not dovetail with their practice experience.
John said he asked his fellow recruiters at Major Lindsey whether they ever had a client specifically request candidates with advanced degrees — with the exception of tax LL.M.s — or whether a candidate ever secured a job because of an advanced degree. The answer to both questions was no. "The market has never demanded it," he said during a panel discussion. "Advanced degrees never come into the conversation." In fact, he added, some of his colleagues advise job seekers to leave LL.M.s off their resumes.
The programs were not without their defenders. Several panelists argued that they can help graduates get a leg up in the job market outside the large law firms that Major Lindsey serves. They also can help mid-career attorneys trying to break into new areas of law, or help attorneys enter new geographic markets, said New York Law School professor Marshall Tracht, who runs an LL.M. program in real estate law. …
Of course, law schools have a financial incentive to maintain advanced degree programs, since they help generate tuition revenue, said James Rosenblatt, dean of the Mississippi College School of Law. His school has launched an LL.M. program for international lawyers intended in part to "relieve some pressure as far as building the J.D. class."
(Hat Tip: Francine Lipman.)
