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2005-2006 Law Catalog [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]
LL.M. Program
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Hofstra University School of Law offers an LL.M. degree with three concentrations – Family Law, American Legal Studies for foreign law graduates and International Law for American and foreign law graduates.
All LL.M. candidates must complete 24 credit hours of courses from the Hofstra Law School curriculum. Normally, these credits are earned over two semesters (one academic year). American Legal Studies and International Law students may also earn credits in the Summer Law Programs in Sorrento, Italy, Sydney, Australia, and Nice, France, held in June-July of each year and in the winter law program in Curaçao, the Dutch Antilles, in December-January of each year. With permission, candidates may complete LL.M. degree requirements on a part-time basis. This permits completion of the LL.M. over four semesters, or three semesters and summer sessions, with an average course load of six credits each semester. To earn an LL.M. degree, students must achieve a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 out of a possible 4.0
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LL.M. Concentration in Family Law
Hofstra Law School established the LL.M. Program in Family Law in response to contemporary family law practice’s increased demand for specialization and need for an interdisciplinary focus for resolving family issues. Our program meets the needs of all students, whether they seek to concentrate on matrimonial issues – marital dissolution, child custody, and property distribution; child protection issues – child abuse and neglect and the child welfare system; or one of the growing areas of subspecialty – international family law, legislative reform, or representing gay and lesbian families.
Hofstra’s LL.M. Program in Family Law builds on the Law School’s excellent national reputation for dynamic family law programs. Our family law faculty is one of the largest in the nation, with expertise spanning the breadth of the field. The program is organized in conjunction with The Center for Children Families and the Law, an institute of the Law School dedicated to education, community service and research to benefit children and families involved in the legal system. LL.M. students also have the opportunity to participate in our Child and Family Advocacy Clinic, where students serve as law guardians, under close faculty supervision, in child protection cases.
This program is driven by the reality that 21st century family courts incorporate a wide variety of dispute resolution procedures and are populated by professionals from multiple disciplines. Our curriculum involves professionals and students form the fields of psychology, social work, and family counseling. Concentration in American Legal Studies
The concentration in American Legal Studies should appeal to foreign law graduates who wish to obtain legal training in U.S. law and practice in order to compete more effectively with U.S. law firms operating in foreign countries. Foreign law graduates seeking U.S. law training in order to make themselves more attractive to U.S. law firms will also benefit from this degree program. Every LL.M. student who has successfully completed 20 credits may be eligible for admission to practice law in New York after passing the New York State Bar Examination.
The Law School’s extensive selection of courses in American Litigation and Advocacy should be of particular interest to foreign law graduates who want comprehensive exposure to American approaches to litigation theory and techniques in a variety of lecture, simulation and practice settings. The Law School is the Northeast region’s base for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and the Hofstra faculty has extensive expertise in American litigation and advocacy.
LL.M. candidates who concentrate in American Legal Studies must:
- take a mini-course on U.S. Legal Methods and Systems at the start of their first semester of study;
- complete the spring semester legal writing course taken by J.D. students; and
- complete an analytic writing requirement in the form of a seminar paper or independent study that meets the standard for J.D. writing requirements.
LL.M. candidates are free to select their remaining courses from any courses offered in the Law School curriculum, but must obtain approval from their faculty adviser before registering for classes each semester. Concentration in International Law
The concentration in International Law allows LL.M. candidates to take advantage of Hofstra’s substantial and growing International Law curriculum and its intellectually diverse international law faculty. The International Law concentration is designed to serve the needs of candidates with either foreign or U.S. degrees in law. LL.M. candidates concentrating in international law are strongly encouraged to take up to six credits of independent research under the direct supervision of a faculty member.
The remaining 12 credits are selected with faculty advice and administrative approval. Students in the International Law concentration normally are permitted to use six credits of the remaining 12 elective credits for concentrated written research under the active supervision of a faculty member. To earn credit for these six hours, students must produce a written product of publishable quality in international law. All students who elect this writing option meet together regularly to discuss their topics and progress on their papers. If recommended by the faculty member supervising the research, papers may be submitted to the Hofstra Law Review, the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal, the Hofstra Journal International Business and Law, or the Family Court Review. for possible publication. Students may choose to have an additional or alternative writing experience by taking a seminar that has a paper component or by doing an independent study.
Students pursuing an LL.M. with a concentration in International Law must fulfill a minimum of 12 credit hours from the following courses:
- International Sale of Goods
- International Arbitration Law
Admissions
For U.S. law graduates, a candidate must hold a first degree in law from an ABA-approved
law school. An LL.M. candidate who is a foreign law graduate must hold a first
degree in law from an accredited or comparably recognized foreign law school or
law faculty. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) must be taken by
all applicants for whom English is not their native language, with a minimum required
score of 580 on the paper-based test or 237 on the computer-based test. Information
about the TOEFL can be obtained by contacting the Educational Testing Service,
P.O. Box 6155, Princeton, NJ 08541-6155, USA. Tel: (609) 921-9000, Web: http://www.toefl.org/.
Each application is individually assessed. All LL.M. applicants must demonstrate
ability in prior law studies and in practice, if applicable. Admission decisions
are based on a variety of factors, including law school record, recommendations,
professional accomplishments and areas of interest. Financial aid from the Law
School may be available for admitted students, depending on citizenship status.
Sources of student funding can be found at the LL.M. Web site: hofstra.edu/law/llm.html. Tuition
Tuition for the LL.M. degree is the same as two semesters’ tuition for the J.D. degree, whether completed on a full-time or part-time basis. The current tuition for the J.D. degree is $16,267 for each semester of study. For part-time LL.M. students, tuition is $8,134 for each semester. In addition, there a re University, Activities, Technology and Health Center fees of $313 per semester for domestic students and $569 per semester for international students ($197 per semester for domestic part-time students and $453 per semester for international part-time students). The University reserves the right to change its tuition and fees at any time, and it is likely that tuition will increase for the academic year. The registration period begins in May for the fall semester and during December for the spring semester. Applications
Hofstra Law School begins accepting applications for the fall semester from the
first day of October prior to the September in which the applicant seeks to be
admitted. Applications for the spring semester are accepted from the first day
of February prior to the January in which the applicant seeks to be admitted.
Applications are processed on a modified rolling admissions basis. Therefore,
it is advisable to complete the application and related materials as early as
possible. The deadline for filing applications is June 1 for the fall and November
1 for the spring semester. The Law School Office of Admissions is open Monday
through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except holidays. For more information, including
tuition and fees, tours, and an academic calendar, please contact the Office of
Admissions at (516) 463-5916. |
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