Top reasons to earn an LLM in IP
Lars S. Smith, one of the first LL.M. graduates from Pierce Law is the Samuel J. Stallings Professor of Law at the University of Louisville's Louis D. Brandeis School of Law.
Following on the unprecedented success of the first Master of Intellectual Property degree in the world, that credentialed many of the top lawyers, corporate professionals, government leaders and academics, Pierce Law offers the degree for those from around the globe who have earned the Juris Doctor or Bachelor of Laws degrees. Hundreds of Pierce LL.M. graduates experience financial, career and personal success by earning the mark of distinction of the Master of Laws degree. Only a very small percentage of the world's lawyers distinguish themselves with a proven academic record of subject expertise.
The Great Debate: to what extent does an LL.M. in IP give you a competitive advantage or greater earning power?
While it would be opportune to prove that earning an LL.M is a value added credential to get you a job with a better salary. While this is certainly true in some settings, at other times the benefit of an LL.M. is less clear. Every candidate is looked at as a package - what can they offer an employer. All being equal, a candidate with an LL.M. can have a competitive advantage. Sometimes it becomes impossible to distinguish such factors. Can advanced science degrees trump an LL.M.? Can prior experience as a patent examiner trump an LL.M.? Can a J.D. from a top tier law school trump an LL.M.? The number of scenarios is almost endless.
Online Discussion Groups and Social Networking Services
The question "Is an IP LL.M. Worth It" is a hot topic on many discussion groups. Advocates for pro and con get get "hot and heavy". One recent graduate
concluded:
In a year where many law school grads find it difficult to find a job, regardless of area of law, I was blessed with the opportunity to work as an associate in the IP field. There is not a doubt in my mind that this opportunity would never have presented itself had I not attained the LL.M.
There are several excellent Web resources that discuss how an LL.M. degree can be worth some extra courses and some extra expenses.
National Jurist
One megasite familiar to many law students is National Jurist LL.M. News that has some helpful resources to navigate your way to a decision:
Find out how an LL.M. degree can give you the skills you need to set yourself apart in the eyes of employers
Three LL.M. grads discuss how their master of law degree benefited them both personally and professionally.
Whether you are just finishing law school, or a few years into your practice, an LL.M. degree can be a good choice.
- Get a job in a specialized area like IP;
- Keep your job by updating or expanding your knowledge base;
- Get a different job if you want to transition into one area in another like IP;
- Get a raise with possible better job opportunities and increased pay;
- Get published as many LL.M. programs offer opportunities to produce papers of publishable quality. For example, Pierce Law offers IP courses that require such papers and Clinics such as the Amicus Clinic and the International Tech Transfer clinics with resulting published work prodcuts;
- Make contacts as your LL.M. professors and classmates will be future colleagues and resources;
- Get globalized - Pierce Law offers many foreign, comparative and international IP courses. Pierce also offers hot topics such as traditional knowledge, global IP portfolio management, IP and international development, tech transfer, mining patent data and more;
- Learning what you didn't have time for in law school or because your law school does not offer a broad and deep IP curriculum like Pierce Law;
- It's fun to increase your intellectual development and become a subject specialist;
- It's impressive as within the legal community an LL.M. is still a "rare community". Plus for a few it triggers "degree envy." Just as some covet an advanced science degree in the IP field, others wish they had the LL.M. as a credential to prove thier IP prowess.
LLMDegree.com
How valuable is an LL.M. degree?
Many law school graduates are looking to distinguish themselves from the pack.
LL.M. Guide
Another very popular site full of useful content is the LL.M. Guide This site has information on almost every LL.M. around the global and worth mining for intelligence on IP programs. The site contains discussions on the benefits of earning an LL.M. degree as well as chats from students considering programs.LL.M. Zone
Likewise, the LL.M. Zone discusses the question what can an LLM Degree do for you. For example, Deans Powers and Huebner at Santa Clara present an excellent discussion:
You are an attorney. Whether you have been practicing for several years or just graduated from law school, there are several reasons why taking that extra year to obtain an LLM might be a good move for you.
The benefits can far outweigh the personal costs, depending upon your reasons for pursuing the advanced degree. The typical demographics for LLM degree programs are those attorneys who are: (1) pursuing an academic career, for which an LLM degree is useful; (2) practicing in a field of specialization, such as tax, in which most practitioners have the advanced degree; (3) retooling their skills to practice in a field of law outside their existing practice; (4) seeking to update their knowledge of their field of law; and (5) relocating to a new geographic area. Each of these groups of individuals have their own motivations for considering an advanced degree, and certain benefits flow more for one group than for another.
In general, those law graduates who have their ambitions set on teaching law benefit from spending the extra post-graduate year focusing on a field of law in depth. While law schools provide a solid base legal education and, more frequently, the opportunity to undertake a specialization, the additional year of study provides an opportunity to do research and significant writing in the field.
It is not uncommon for attorneys to experience a transitional period for personal or professional reasons. While this can be a period of growth, pursuing an LLM degree helps focus the attorneys on a field into which they can more confidently step. In this way, an LLM degree can help attorneys retool, explore career opportunities, and gather additional legal knowledge. Retooling, as a term of art, means that an attorney with one set of skills (e.g., general litigation skills) wants to either apply those skills to another field (e.g., intellectual property litigation) or wants to begin developing a new set of skills (e.g., moving from litigation to corporate transactions). The year spent on the LLM can help these attorneys move forward with their practice change.
One significant benefit of participating in an LLM degree program is the opportunity to network with other attorneys and within the legal community of the university. For every attorney in an advanced degree program, the ability to meet other attorneys with a common goal is invaluable. Whether you are relocating, retooling, or reevaluating your current practice, the ability to meet similar-minded attorneys through an LLM degree program can be one of the best decisions of your career.
