Duke vs Georgetown vs Ucla - Environmental law

Graduate School Law School
1

Hi everyone,

I’ve been accepted by these unis and am struggling to decide between the three.
My interest as an italian trainee lawyer is in pursuing an LLM degree specialization in Environmental Law and Energy.

  1. Duke: small sized llm group, more individualized attention to each student
  2. Duke llms seem to be more successful in NY Bar Exam.
  3. Georgetown: more networking opportunities due to the DC location
  4. Duke seems to win out in terms of campus life, but I’m wondering to what extent I would be missing out on what the city of Washington has to contribute to my career.
  5. Is Duke's location a unfavourable point?
  6. For what I have heard, Ucla is a less attractive destination despite they offer a strong program in environmental law and they granted me a substantial scholarship.

These are some of the information I gathered and would very much love to hear the opinion of others on these three schools and what I have discussed above.
I am mainly wondering which one has a better international reputation, especially in the field of environmental law.

Best

2

Washington DC is the best location for one interested in regulatory law.

3

whichever is cheaper.

Environmental Law isn’t really a thing, just a couple of electives/clinics offered at US law schools. Check out each school’s curriculum for an LLM and see which would allow you to take more Enviro classes.

As far as international Rep, it probably depends on whether Europe or Asia. GULC is probably marginally higher in Europe and UCLA in Asia. But again, Enviro Law is really not a thing so there is no reputable ranking per se of that speciality.

4

What is the cost for each LLM program after scholarships ?

5

the cost is around 60k; there are no significant price variations between one university and another

6

I thought that you were offered “a substantial scholarship” from UCLA. If so, then UCLA may be a wise option.

P.S. While US LLM law school programs are important for graduates of foreign (non-US) law schools in order to be eligible to sit for the bar exam in about 5 states, in the US LLM programs are only known in the area of tax law.

An LLM in environmental law from UCLA, Duke, or Georgetown will be treated the same by US employers. All 3 are highly respected law schools.

There are about 200 ABA accredited law schools in the US. Most of the 200 law schools do not have a national reputation, but Duke, Georgetown, & UCLA are all held in high regard nationally.

P.S. UCLA is located in an attractive area of Los Angeles.

7

Yes I did receive a scholarship, but I prefer not to talk specifically about money as it is not one of the main criteria upon which I am deciding.

I am looking to gather all the info possible to make the right decision, in terms of quality of the program/university and future prospects.

Thanks again for your suggestions.