<p>What is the difference between Master of Laws and a JD? This is probably a dumb question but I've only recently looked into law.</p>
<p>The LL.M. (Master of Laws) is an internationally recognized postgraduate law degree. It is usually obtained by completing a one-year full-time program. Law students and professionals frequently pursue the LL.M. to gain expertise in a specialized field of law, for example in the area of tax law or international law. Many law firms prefer job candidates with an LL.M. degree because it indicates that a lawyer has acquired advanced, specialized legal training, and is qualified to work in a multinational legal environment.</p>
<p>For your purposes coming out of undergrad, you will need a JD, which requires 3 years full time or 4 years part time at law school.</p>
<p>Not a dumb question at all. My husband went to law school for 3 years. Graduated with a JD. Then applied to another school to get his LL.M in taxation. That took one year.</p>
<p>It is not a dumb question because it seems odd that a “masters” degree is higher than a doctorate. This is a historical anomoly which relates to the fact that, originally, an American law degree was an undergraduate degree called an LLB–(bachelor of laws). Postgraduate degrees in law were a masters (LLM) and a doctorate (LLD). It is still this way in Europe and most other countries.</p>
<p>In the early 20th century, the better US law schools began to require an undergraduate degree as a prerequisite to admission to LLB programs. This trend became the norm and by the time of WWII, virtually all accredited law schools in America required at least 3 years of undergraduatge education before admission to law school. Since most law school applicants already had a BA or BS, lawyers started to complain about only getting another bachelor degree after 3 more years of study. After all, MD’s were awarded after 4 years of graduate study. This complaint was addressed starting in the 1960’s, when law schools gradually replaced the LLB with the JD (Juris Doctor). </p>
<p>LLM’s never changed–hence the confusion. To avoid confusing the JD with LLD (since they both essentially stand for doctor of law), Law Schools replaced the LLD with the SJD (Doctor of Juridical Science).</p>
<p>Hopefully, I didn’t just confuse you more:)</p>