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(Message started by: x1200firestarter_pass on Apr 29^th, 2007, 9:24am)

Title: just what do u think about LLB?
Post by x1200firestarter_pass on Apr 29^th, 2007, 9:24am

i'm baffled!

so you guys in the forum have said JD outside USA causes derision. Then why everyone keep doing JD, why not LLB?

Title: Re: just what do u think about LLB?
Post by patentsusa on Apr 29^th, 2007, 11:10am

I'm not sure who said that or exactly what you are comparing. In my mind, a JD in the US is equivalent to an LLB in the U.S., and is roughly equivalent to an LLB in Canada, the UK, or any other country that requires a four year undergrad first.

In the U.S., you need a full four year bachelor's degree before attending three years of law school to get your JD. I believe in other countries, such as Mexico, it is possible to get a law degree much quicker, without a full four years of undergrad before it. Such a law degree is not equivalent to a U.S. JD in my mind, and likely would not be equivalent in the minds of employers.

It is possible to obtain an LLM in the U.S. after a JD but most people are able to get pretty good jobs with a JD and engineering undergrad. Some people will take an LLM if they weren't able to obtain a job or in order to show an interest in a particular area of law that they aren't able to show with experience.

I think there is a difference when it comes to teaching law. In some schools, maybe more so outside the U.S., there is so much competition for teaching positions that schools require more than a first law degree to teach.

Not many Americans are looking for law jobs outside the U.S. and have a pretty easy time finding jobs with a JD. If there was any difference in the U.S. between a JD and an LLB, you would see people preferring one over the other. I don't think there is any such difference, though.

Being ABA accredited is the important thing. There are some non-accredited law schools in California.