I´m a foreign lawyer, I´m planning to apply for USC or UCLA. I want to study LL.M. in California because I know that foreign lawyer can take the bar exam there.
Which university will you recommend to study?
How important could be the USC´s Alumni for my goal?
Wich university offer better scolarships?
Another consideration that I should take?
Thanks
you can attend law school in any US state and take the Bar in California.
Both USC and UCLA are excellent, but attend the highest-ranked school that you can afford, which might be Northwestern, or Michigan or Berkeley.
Merit scholarships are almost solely based on GPA+LSAT scores. (The higher the better.)
I don’t know about those schools, but at some law schools the LL.M. programs are specialized (i.e. in tax law). Make sure the schools offer a course of study that fits your interests.
Make sure you read the requirements for foreign lawyers who want to take the California bar exam. I’m sure there is more out there, but I did a quick search and saw this:https://llminfo.com/llm-for-foreign-lawyers/california-bar-exam-for-foreign-attorneys/
I would go to the highest-ranked school you can get admitted to, which could be in any state. Then take a bar review class for the California bar exam.
It looks like there are LL.M. programs specifically designed for foreign lawyers who want to get up to speed on U.S. law. You may want to focus on one of these, especially if your home country has a legal system very different from the U.S. system. This may mean that you won’t necessarily want to go to the highest-ranking program, if it isn’t designed for this situation. As noted, you will almost certainly also need to take a California bar review course.