We’re happy to announce another guest blogger, Kevin Barney. Kevin practices public finance law in Chicago. He served a mission in Colorado (’77-’79), received his undergraduate degree in classics from BYU (’82), his JD from the University of Illinois (’85) and an LLM from DePaul University (’90). He has published a couple of dozen articles, mostly on topics relating to LDS scripture, in such venues as the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Dialogue, The Ensign, FARMS Review and BYU Studies, and he is working on a book entitled Footnotes to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints, scheduled to be published by Covenant in 2006. He is active in the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and serves on the Board of Directors of FAIR.
Kevin is also a frequent commenter around here and his thoughts and comments are always interesting. Welcome aboard, Kevin Barney!
Kevin, we’re glad you are here.
(Stupid question: what’s an LLM?)
Julie,
An LLM is a Master of Laws degree. It’s usually a one-year program, often for a specialization (such as tax).
You get it after you get your J.D., which is a Doctor of Laws.
Yeah, we lawyers must not have been listening when they explained that the Doctor’s degree comes _after_ the Master’s degree . . .
And mine is in tax, as Kaimi suggested.
Kaimi stated “An LLM is a Master of Laws degree. It’s usually a one-year program, often for a specialization (such as tax).
You get it after you get your J.D., which is a Doctor of Laws.
Yeah, we lawyers must not have been listening when they explained that the Doctor’s degree comes _after_ the Master’s degree . . .”
Actually, the J.D. is a Juris Doctor degree, which once upon a time used to be an LL.B degree many years ago, but has since changed. For a brief, interesting (?) discussion of this, see http://www.arc.miami.edu/people/LLB%20to%20JD%20for%20school%20website.pdf. In law there is the J.D., the LLM, and also an SJD degree. Here are respective links to a brief overview of each: http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=JD; http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=LLM; http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=SJD
Guy Murray, a lowly and unimportant J.D., and also Esq.
Opps. The first link should be: http://www.arc.miami.edu/people/LLB%20to%20JD%20for%20school%20website.pdf
Sorry
Guy
Oh, an LLM is also commonly used by graduates of foreign law schools. I don’t know if an American degree is required to take the bar exam. I do know that there are a lot of LLM’s at Columbia, NYU, and elsewhere, who are foreign law grads getting a U.S. LLM and intending to practice law in the U.S.
So LLM isn’t Legal Lady Missionary?