National Jurist - November 2008 - (Page 32) example, Allen & Overy will be recruiting French LL.M. students for the Allen & Overy Paris office.” Ficot-Kuzuhara will soon be a licensed attorney in Paris, and is currently working at Allen & Overy Luxembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. And although she has spent most of her career so far outside her home jurisdiction, her experiences provide perspective of French or Luxembourg recruiters — hence it is somehow narrow in scope. She says she’s not in a position to say if an American LL.M. degree is indispensable for herself personally. But she does know of other graduates who have successfully used their LL.M. degree to advance their careers at firms in their home county. In France, she said, being an LL.M. graduate is only important and indeed “virtually indispensable” if you wish to work for a magic circle law firm such as Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Linklaters, Cleary Gottlieb, White & Case, among others. In addition to an LL.M. degree, a person also needs to be a business school graduate or have some kind of background in finance or accounting. The reason is these firms need people who are fluent in English, at ease with legal Master of Laws (LL.M.) Select courses from a highly-regarded law curriculum, experience personalized attention, and benefit from the resources and diversity offered by one of the largest universities in the United States. The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law One-Year Program For Foreign Lawyers email: MoritzLLM@osu.edu moritzlaw.osu.edu/programs/llm drafting in English, knowledgeable about certain concepts relating to contract law, civil procedure and company law, FicotKuzuhara said. “An American legal writing class is really where a foreign student can make a difference,” she said. “These firms need trainees who are able to understand and juggle American or English law concepts.” However, they do not ask their trainees to have the same level of expertise in American/English law as American law graduates. Otherwise, she said, they would be recruiting JD graduates, not LL.M. graduates of course. They simply need people who are able to explain to a client how the French legal system works using concepts that clients are familiar with. For example: • Flag to clients the differences between the French and the American systems • Understand precisely questions raised by clients, as clients most likely ask questions using concepts they are familiar with. “It all comes down to being an effective communicator,” Ficot-Kuzuhara said. “I believe that this is what magic circle law firms are looking for. In addition, having an LL.M. degree shows that you have had some kind of international exposure in the past and that you know how to deal with foreigners.” But she said if a person is looking to work in a small law firm or in-house, such as a bank or investment firm, then an LL.M. degree may not be as significant. It would be attractive to the employer, but not so much a requirement. “I can write legal English probably much better than I would have had,” Ficot-Kuzuhara said. “I am not lost when a client uses an American or English law concept, and I understand clients’ questions, as the words or concepts they are using are familiar to me.” ■ There are more than 100 programs that are primarily for U.S. students, but are also open to foreign students. For an expanded listing, go to www.NationalJurist.com. Also check out the LL.M. Guide starting on page 38, which includes program specifically for foreign law students. 32 THE NATIONAL JURIST November 2008 http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/programs/llm http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/programs/llm http://www.law.unimaas.nl http://www.NationalJurist.com http://www.law.unimaas.nl
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