Ms. Radhika Dhanotia has completed her LL.M. with a focus on International Law and Legal Studies (Honours) from the prestigious Cornell Law School. She pursued her undergraduate law degree at Jindal Global Law School, India.
1) According to you when is the right time to do an LL.M.? Please answer keeping in mind the employment opportunities in the U.S. market?
Pursing an LL.M is not just about being employed but also about gaining knowledge and expertise. There is no such thing as a right time to do an LL.M but, if an individual has worked for a few years after their first degree in Law, it does give an added advantage.
I believe ideally 2 – 3 years of work experience helps to streamline the area of law one wants to practice and gain specialization in. Having a few years of work experience gives students a perspective towards how they want to pursue their legal profession which is beneficial as then during their LL.M Program they can structure their course according to their needs.
Let me break the stigma that having an LL.M from a U.S University will automatically lead to bagging a job/internship in the U.S. The job market is extremely competitive and the Law Firm/ Corporate Houses prefer U.S. J.D. students over LL.M students.
While the financial investment that goes into completing an LL.M in the U.S is fairly high and you would want to end up landing a job right after law school but that ends up happening rarely. Many factors play a role here, one of the most important ones being the visa requirements to be able to work and practice law in the U.S. The F1 Visa allows students to have only 1 year of OPT during which your employer needs to sponsor your H-1B Visa Application. As a result, international students are favored less as compared to J.D. Students. While getting a job in the U.S is tough but make “Networking” your best friend and it can take you to places. Reaching out to alumni from your alma mater, asking questions, and showing the willingness to do what is necessary can help you in getting a job.
2) Any tips on the LL.M. application process for Cornell? How should one approach the Statement of Purpose?
The Statement of Purpose is the heart of any application. One should spend a considerable amount of time preparing their SoPs as that sometimes can be the deciding factor in your application.
The admissions committee does not know you personally, all they have is the application and the supporting documents to decide whether or not you deserve a place in their Degree Program. Therefore, the key to the application process is starting early. The application deadline for Cornell Law is usually Mid-December but they start with their application intake usually in August or September. If you apply early, it leads to receiving a decision by January next year. Many times the applications are assessed on a rolling basis, if by the time the admissions committee reaches your application for review and their program is already full, no matter how excellent your application is you’d be still put on the waitlist which reduces the chances of getting an admission. Therefore, start early and spend considerable time making your statement of purpose.
3) Did you receive any scholarship for your LL.M.? What are some of the most memorable aspects of your LL.M. journey?
While I did not receive any scholarship for my LL.M Program, I very dearly cherish all the time I had spent at Cornell Law. Ithaca is beautiful, the experience of living in upstate New York, the waterfalls, and the gorges that surround the Cornell Campus are mesmerizing. During my LL.M, I was privileged to serve as the LL.M Association Vice President. This experience allowed me to interact with my colleagues, professors, other law school students. We use to organize a social & interactive event every weekend. Given that the batch size is fairly small, the Cornell Law School community is very tight-knit, which means that basically by the end of your program you’ve made many new connections that stay with you and that is what I cherish the most.
4) How should one approach the New York State Bar Exam preparation? How much time should one dedicate to the preparation? Which bar prep course did you personally use and why?
The key to cracking the Bar is practice, practice, and more practice. The Bar happens over a duration of 2 days and covers a vast area of American Law. While it is difficult to prepare for the Bar during your degree program and therefore students usually start with their prep after the finals but starting early can be helpful. Utilizing the weekends to prepare for the Bar during the degree program helps in gaining a better grip over the subjects which later can help you move through the vast Bar prep course material quickly leaving more time for practice.
I had taken the bar prep course with BARBRI. They are the oldest bar prep course provider in the U.S. and based on the feedback from my colleagues I decided that BARBRI would be a good option for me. There are other Bar Prep course providers as well such as Themis and Kaplan and students usually make the choice based on what works best for them. My advice for Bar prep would be to dedicate all the free time you can get to gain a better understanding of the subjects and practice.
5) If a person didn’t appear for the New York Bar right after his/her LL.M., can he/she go back to the US to appear just for the bar exam? If yes, any idea on the type of visa which you will require for this?
Although it is not mandatory to appear for the Bar right after graduation, a lot of students prefer to take the Bar during the summer right after graduation. Of course, one can always appear for the exam later, if one decides to go back and appear for the Bar at a later time you can do so by gaining an entry into the U.S on a B1/B2 Visa.
(The above statement does not constitute legal advice on visa-related matters. Please consult a professional on visa matters instead of depending on the above statement.)
6) Any advice to the individuals who are planning to pursue their LL.M. from the US?
My advice would be to have a clear idea about why you want to pursue an LL.M. A lot of students think that an LL.M is like a magic wand, once you have it, you will automatically succeed in your legal profession. This is a very wrong conception. The LL.M Program is tough, be it from an Ivy League university such as Cornell or any state university law school in the U.S. Having clarity about why you want to pursue the LL.M could be a great way to start. Is it just to gain a specialization? Is it to get a job and settle down in the U.S.? Or is it for some other reason?
Keep in mind your goal, select a university not just based on rankings but based on whether or not it meets your requirement. Do research on the programs that are being offered and the professors who teach at the university of your liking, see how they will help to get ahead and above everything, don’t forget to make the most of the LL.M not only academically but also socially and culturally.