FIU LL.M. planned for 2010

By: Arielle Capuano

S ituated in Miami with an eye toward internationalism, it seems only natural for the Florida International University College of Law to attract a significant amount of foreign students. In fact, this is what FIU CoL proposed to do; and in the fall of 2006, CoL faculty approved the creation of an LL.M. program.

An LL.M. is a Master of Laws degree. A specialized LL.M. focuses on a particular technical area of the law such as tax, banking, or international trade, while a general LL.M. is an internationally recognized graduate degree that teaches foreign students the basic legal principles of a host country. For foreign students, it is a great benefit to be exposed to an American legal education for a year, learning law and theories they may have never been exposed to in their native countries, such as torts.

Professor Esquirol

When FIU CoL gets its LL.M. program off the ground, it will be in good company with other Universities that also offer general LL.M.s, such as Harvard and Columbia. Professor Jorge L. Esquirol, Director of the International and Comparative Law Programs, ran the LL.M. program at Harvard and understands this program's significance as “a big step in the development of our international law school.”

After a foreign student earns the first law degree in his or her country, he spends a year taking upper level law courses at one of dozens of American Universities that offers an LL.M. degree. Generally, the foreign student takes introductory courses to American law and learns legal research and writing in a course designed for him.

The foreign student then takes 24 to 26 credits from the upper level curriculum based on what meets his interests. Some students may choose to take a first year course to get a feel for the infamous Socratic method and to learn how to read a common law case, state the relevant facts, and holding. Some students even take international law courses.

Pedro Vargas, an LL.M. student at Whittier Law School, moved to Costa Mesa, California from Sevilla, Spain to pursue his interest in international relations and international law. As a native Spanish speaker, studying a foreign country's law in English is a challenge. “It was a little complicated at first, but we have an introductory course about the American legal system which made it easier,” said Vargas.

After students earn their LL.M.s, they are eligible for coveted jobs at international law firms in the U.S. or at American law firms in their home countries. Many foreign lawyers can also sit for the bar in some states, such as New York. Vargas is not sure what the future holds after he receives his LL.M., but will likely bring his knowledge of American law back home, opting not to sit for the bar or practice in the United States.

Professor Mirow

As appealing as FIU CoL's LL.M. program sounds, it may not be realized for some time. In August 2008, Professor Matthew C. Mirow, who holds two foreign law degrees, will commence his duties in the newly created position of Director of Graduate Legal Studies, reporting directly to Dean Leonard Strickman. He looks forward to planning the academic and administrative details of FIU CoL's LL.M. and other graduate law degrees that may come in the future. He is especially pleased to work with the faculty and administration on these new projects.

The LL.M. will initially be offered to lawyers from other countries, with an emphasis on Latin American and Caribbean lawyers. While the program still needs to be approved by the University, the CoL should be able to offer about half a dozen candidates a seat in the program for the 2010 academic year.

There remains much to be done to recruit students and deal with logistical considerations such as acquiring visas and garnering funding, as the high cost of American schools may burden many foreign students. The pricing structure has yet to be determined, but will likely be comparable to other public school programs. The establishment of a general LL.M. program is a part of our College of Law's internationalization and will benefit international and domestic students alike, exposing the foreign students to the American legal system and providing domestic students with a more global perspective.