Trial Advocacy for International Students (LL.M.)

电车无码-Kent College of Law offers an LL.M. degree in trial advocacy for full-time international students who want to focus on persuasive and effective courtroom litigation skills and advocacy.

The LL.M. in Trial Advocacy for International Students program at 电车无码-Kent College of Law invites foreign attorneys and law students with divergent trial practice backgrounds to gain exposure to the U.S. adversarial trial system鈥攁 system somewhat similar to newly revised 鈥渙ral trials鈥 being adopted by many other countries.

电车无码-Kent鈥檚 reputation in trial advocacy鈥攁s well as its physical location in 电车无码鈥攑rovides a distinctive master鈥檚 degree in trial advocacy in a world-class setting. Students gain hands-on litigation experience through an externship with a government agency, such as the Cook County State鈥檚 Attorney鈥檚 Office, Illinois Attorney General鈥檚 Office, or Cook County Public Defender鈥檚 Office; or a dispute resolution/mediation practice; or a criminal or civil litigation practice.

Program Overview

This unique program invites foreign attorneys and law students with divergent trial practice backgrounds to gain exposure to the U.S. adversarial trial system鈥攁 system somewhat similar to newly revised 鈥渙ral trials鈥 being adopted by many other countries.

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the LL.M. Program in Trial Advocacy for International Students can be found in a wide variety of jobs, including:

  • Attorney
  • Litigator
  • Foreign local counsel to multinational clients
  • Legal officer for an international or nongovernmental organization
  • In-house counsel
  • General counsel
  • Judge
  • Prosecutor
  • Public defender
  • Law firm associate or partner
  • Solo practitioner
  • Legal consultant/adviser to foreign clients on U.S. litigation
  • Legislator
  • Mediator
  • Arbitrator
  • Expert witness
  • Litigation technology consultant/entrepreneur

The 24-credit-hour course of study required to complete the degree includes 17 credit hours of core curriculum courses with an additional seven credit hours dedicated to a specialized externship.

Students are required to take Trial Advocacy 1, Trial Advocacy 2, Litigation Ethics and Professionalism, Evidence and the Art of Advocacy, Litigation Technology, and Introduction to American Legal Systems. Students complete the remaining seven credit hours through an externship with a governmental agency, a dispute resolution/mediation practice, and/or a civil litigation practice.

This program is open only to foreign-trained lawyers and law students.

English language competency is essential in order to participate meaningfully in the advocacy programs and most especially in the externship; otherwise, students may be limited in what they can do within their externships.