Applying to law school and LL.M. programs can be a challenging task. The better informed you are, the easier the process will be. The websites, law school guides, LL.M. books, and study aids listed below can help you in this process. We will update and expand this list frequently – check back often!
Useful Websites
The BLI offers high-quality business law online courses and corporate law online courses. They are ideal for international students who’d like to prepare for an LL.M. in the US or UK. Contact us for before you sign up as we occasionally get voucher codes.
This website, maintained by Professor George Edwards (author of the LL.M. Roadmap book), offers helpful tips and information for students interested in pursuing an LL.M. in the United States.
LL.M. Credential Assembly Service
Many law schools require LL.M. applicants to use this service provided by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). It’s best to familiarize yourself with this early in the application process.
A well-known hub for prospective LL.M. students with a database of global LL.M. programs, informative articles, and lively discussion board.
Extensive information, compiled by LLMinfo.com, about scholarships available to international and American students hoping to pursue U.S. LL.M. programs, including sponsors, amounts, eligibility, and contact information.
This site lets you find and compare LL.M. programs worldwide. There are also news, feedback, discussions, and other helpful information to be found for future LL.M. applicants and candidates.
General Guides
U.S. News Ultimate Guide to Law Schools
Written by U.S. News & World Report staff (authors of the U.S. News Rankings) and Anne McGrath, this book combines law school data with helpful advice on how to get admitted. In particular, it discusses topics such how to craft successful essays and recommendation letters and contains information on bar passage rates, job prospects, and salary ranges of recent graduates. Some of the information may also be found on law schools’ websites, but at its low price the book is nevertheless a very useful and convenient resource.
LL.M. Roadmap: An International Student’s Guide to U.S. Law School Programs
This is an excellent LL.M. book for international students and lawyers interested in an graduate studies in the United States. As we have noted in a more comprehensive review of this book, LL.M. Roadmap is exceptionally thorough, clear, and well written. The book covers not only the substantive core areas of the LL.M. application and admissions process, but also discusses practical issues such as visa requirements, enrollment in courses, exam-taking, graduation, and post-LL.M. career paths.
How to Get Into the Top Law Schools
How to Get Into the Top Law Schools provides a comprehensive understanding of the entire law school process from choosing a law school, to getting an overview as to how law school works all the way to managing and financing a law school education. It is therefore more than simply an admissions guide but is more akin to a law school Sherpa.
Law School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience
This is a highly comprehensive book that provides a very good overview of the entire American law school process. While geared to J.D. students, it does provide details on study tips, law school etiquette, and the general curriculum which may be eye-opening for non-American LL.M. candidates and law school students.
ABA-LSAC Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools
This is a paperback collection of official American Bar Association (ABA) data and descriptive text on all accredited U.S. law schools. The Guide provides a wealth of information, including student to faculty ratios, living expenses, law school scholarships, and bar passage rates. The information is also available online (currently for free), but having the printed edition is much more convenient.
The Times Good University Guide is perhaps best known for its ranking of over 100 U.K. universities, including law schools. Among others, it contains detailed profiles and satisfaction scores for individual universities and covers employment prospects as well as how to find university accommodation. It also provides information on fee levels, financial aid, and scholarships.
Legal English for LL.M.
United States Legal Discourse: Legal English for Foreign LLMs
This helpful book is specifically geared toward foreign LL.M. students. It introduces them to U.S. style legal writing and helps them prepare for legal writing classes in law school. Readers will learn how to critically analyze primary and secondary legal sources in the same way U.S. lawyers would. In addition, the book explains how scholars, courts, and practitioners in the United States engage in effective common law analysis. There aren’t many LL.M. books and this is one you should have.
Personal Statements and Essays
Top Personal Statements for LL.M. Programs
Our own eBook featuring 10 winning LL.M. personal statement samples. Use these examples to learn more about the substance, style, and structure of successful LL.M personal statements for the leading law schools in the U.S. and U.K.
55 Successful Harvard Law School Application Essays
This book (subtitle: “What Worked for Them Can Help You Get Into the Law School of Your Choice”) is an inspirational book of sample personal statements submitted by real Harvard law school students or graduates. While the book does not provide any guidance on drafting actual personal statements, it does provide good examples of finished and highly convincing personal statements.
This book provides sample personal statements from actual successful applicants to law schools. While the sample essays do not necessarily directly aid the writing of your own personal statement, they do act as a helpful guide of what is expected. The book also provides interesting tidbits from law school admissions officers on the overall importance of personal statements to law school applications at different universities.
Graduate Admissions Essays: Write Your Way into the Graduate School of Your Choice
This book provides guidance on graduate school personal statements, and to a lesser extent, helps with recommendation letters. It also provides tips on researching graduate programs. Apart from being very well written and highly structured, the most beneficial aspects of the book are the sample personal statements provided. Brainstorming and writing exercises to begin drafting personal statements are also noteworthy.
TOEFL And Other Tests
Official Guide to the TOEFL Test With CD-ROM
ETS, the company behind the TOEFL Test, publishes this official TOEFL guide. The book’s great advantage is its reliability. It features authentic TOEFL questions and examples of texts written by actual test-takers, which gives students an accurate sense of the level of difficulty and what is expected of them. The answers to the questions are comprehensive and include helpful explanations. There is an accompanying CD-ROM with three authentic TOEFL iBT practice tests. Overall, this is a great choice for TOEFL preparation, although you might want to supplement it with additional study aids that contain more model tests.
Barron’s TOEFL iBT with Audio CDs and CD-ROM
This book is with good reason one of the most popular TOEFL Internet-Based Test study aids on the market. With its clear structure and writing style, it will help you familiarize yourself effectively with the TOEFL iBT and get ready to master the test’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing portions. It contains seven model TOEFL iBT tests complete with explanations and comes with access to video lessons, audio CDs, and a CD-ROM containing computerized versions of the book’s model tests plus a bonus TOEFL test with automatic scoring.
Test Study Guides is a useful website with reviews of various test prep materials, including for the TOEFL and LSAT (with an overview of the best LSAT books and best LSAT prep courses). For those interested in pursuing dual (or triple) LL.M. degrees, their top 10 lists of the best GMAT prep books, best GRE books, and best MCAT books might also be helpful. If everything else fails and you need some extra help, they even have an overview of the best study bibles at your disposal.
