UConn School of Law

Introduction

UConn School of Law offers an exceptional value in legal education, founded in an outstanding faculty, small classes, and a flexible approach that allows students to customize their studies and their careers. The extremely advantageous student-faculty ratio creates a welcoming and collaborative learning environment, giving students access to leading scholars who drive the evolution of legal thought throughout the nation and the world.

Students at UConn Law are trained in practical skills through the pioneering clinical programs and centers, gaining hands-on experience in a campus setting that is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. In an atmosphere that fosters a spirit of collaboration and cooperation, students explore legal theory alongside practical training, creating a strong foundation for success in practice.

While studying at UConn Law, students have access to the nearby state capitol, numerous courts and agencies, and the offices of Hartford’s law firms, corporations, and insurance companies. These organizations provide ready access for externship and internship opportunities for the motivated student.

Founded in 1921, the School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. UCONN School of Law is accredited by the American Bar Association Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, 321 North Clark Street, 21st Floor, Chicago, IL 60654-7598; phone: 312.988.6738.

LLM Programs/Areas of Specialization

• Courses
• Applying for Admission
• Tuition and Financial Aid
• The Law Library and Research Collection
• FAQs

LLM in Energy and Environmental Law

UConn Law’s LLM in Energy and Environmental Law offers students an exciting way to engage with the combined world of energy law and environmental law. Our program provides excellent course offerings from Environmental Law, Energy Law, Land Use Law, International Environmental Law, and others to such offerings as Climate Law, Renewable Energy Law, Zoning Practicum, Historic Preservation Law, and many more. Beyond the classroom, our LLM students can become active with real-world policy. Our students have the opportunity to apply to work on environmental policy in Connecticut State government or to work in public utility companies or law firms. Through our semester-in-DC program, students can also look to fill our offerings through federal agencies, such as the EPA or Department of Energy. LLM students can also work with our CEEL faculty toward developing publishable articles. Excellent coursework, real-world engagement, and scholarly development in a field that combines both energy and environmental policy are what distinguish this new offering.

For further inquiries or information on visiting our campus, please contact us at

Phone: 1.860.570.5284
Email: llm@uconn.edu

LLM in Human Rights and Social Justice

Building on its faculty expertise in human rights and social justice, UConn School of Law has launched one of the very few graduate programs that integrate the international and domestic dimensions of social justice lawyering into a cohesive whole. The LLM in Human Rights and Social Justice offers students with a prior law degree the opportunity to engage in an in-depth study of the international human rights and US civil rights movements. Tapping into a growing trend in the business, nonprofit, and public policy worlds to integrate international and domestic human rights, the program will provide students with a rigorous grounding in the norms and methods of the human rights and civil rights movements as well as the specialized credentials and skills needed to gain entry to these fields.

Students will have the opportunity to study with faculty not only at the School of Law but also at the Human Rights Institute on the main campus, a leading innovator in interdisciplinary human rights research and teaching. The LLM in Human Rights and Social Justice will prepare graduates for the global business environment, for social policy work, and to meet the pressing need for access to justice for the poor and middle class in America and worldwide.

For further inquiries or information on visiting our campus, please contact us at

Phone: 1.860.570.5284
Email: llm@uconn.edu

LLM Program in Insurance Law

Our LLM in Insurance Law program enjoys the distinction of being the oldest and most sophisticated insurance law program in the country. We offer our students the deepest curriculum in insurance and financial services law of any law school in the United States, taught by recognized experts in the field. We also provide opportunities for externships at major insurance companies, including Aetna, Chubb, The Hartford, and Mass Mutual, as well as area law firms and the Connecticut Department of Insurance.

By design, our LLM program is highly flexible to fit the needs of working professionals. UConn Law offers a wide selection of courses at night to accommodate students’ busy work schedules. Students can earn their LLM degrees either full time or part time, and lawyers with JD degrees from accredited US law schools can complete the LLM program via the distance learning option. Meanwhile, JD students are invited to work toward their LLM by applying for our joint JD/LLM degree.

We prepare our LLM graduates to work in a variety of settings: private law firms, regulatory agencies, insurance companies, investment banks, hedge funds, commercial banks, health care organizations, corporate law departments, and academic and nonprofit institutions. Our students come from all corners of the United States and the world, including Azerbaijan, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Eritrea, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, Russia, and Saudi Arabia and they have gone on to become leading lawyers all over the world as regulators, professors, law firm partners, and in-house counsel at insurance companies and major financial services firms.

For further inquiries or information on visiting our campus, please contact us at

Phone: 1.860.570.5284
Email: llm@uconn.edu

LLM Program in US Legal Studies

The LLM in US Legal Studies program at UConn School of Law is open to a select number of international students from around the world. The School of Law provides a broad curriculum in American law, the US legal system, international law, and comparative law. Through close consultation with the faculty, LLM students design a course of study that suits each student’s professional interests. As part of their LLM degree, students may also obtain an optional certificate of specialization in one of seven areas:

1. Corporate and Regulatory Compliance
2. Energy and Environmental Law
3. Financial Services Regulation
4. Foundational Certificates in US Law
5. Human Rights Certificate
6. Intellectual Property
7. Tax Law

The program in US Legal Studies is also one of the most affordable LLM programs in the United States. The small size of the LLM class ensures personalized attention to each international student and easy access to a nationally recognized faculty in a supportive and intellectually challenging environment. It also facilitates the candidates’ integration in the greater law school community.

For further inquiries or information on visiting our campus, please view the LLM in US Legal Studies Brochure (PDF) or contact us at

Phone: 1.860.570.5284
Email: llm@uconn.edu

Housing

There are a variety of living accommodations within a reasonable distance from the school, many within an easy walk. Students find a choice of rural, suburban, or urban living in all price ranges. The law school does not maintain student housing in the Greater Hartford area, but the Office of Graduate and Exchange Programs maintains a housing list of available rentals in the area. The list is compiled from the information provided by area residents. The school does not view the rentals nor screen, interview, or approve the landlords.

Students who already have housing, but are in search of roommates or a person to sublet an apartment, can advertise to the law school community in three ways:

• Housing List: Students may join a Google Group to search for available housing in the area. Students can also advertise for roommates through this group.
• Community ListServ: Students may email members of the law school community through the Community ListServ to advertise available housing. For instructions on how to access and email the Community ListServ, please contact the IT Help Desk at lawhelpdesk@uconn.edu.
• Campus Bulletin Boards: Students can create signs to be posted on campus bulletin boards located in the Student Lounge in Knight Hall and the main floor of the Law Library.

Student Services and Organizations

UConn School of Law is home to many student organizations.

Services Available to Students and Graduates

Career Planning and Job-Search Strategies

As each student brings individual experiences, accomplishments, skills, interests, goals, and qualifications, the Graduate and Exchange Programs Office recognizes that one-on-one meetings provide the best forum for assessing goals and options, developing and implementing job-search strategies, and preparing students for the legal market. Students can sign up for individual meetings to discuss career prospects. Through such meetings, the graduate and exchange program officers provide advice on career opportunities, job-search strategies, résumé and cover-letter drafting, interviewing skills, graduate resources, and career-research tools.

Programs

Outside of any programs focused on particular class groups, LLM students are invited to attend events sponsored by the Career Planning Center (CPC). Throughout the year, the CPC sponsors and cosponsors with student groups panel discussions, workshops, brown-bag lunches, and programs to educate students about the fundamentals of the job-search process, career opportunities, practice specialties, judicial clerkships, employer types, government work and fellowships, public interest careers, and other topics related to professional development. The office regularly invites attorneys representing a broad range of employment settings and practice areas to participate in the programs and panel discussions. These experts provide students with firsthand information about many of the different opportunities available to attorneys and a chance to network and establish contacts with practitioners in an informal setting.

The CPC also sponsors programs/panels covering, among other topics, résumé writing, interviewing, judicial clerkships, public interest careers, government honors programs, fellowship opportunities, and computer-assisted job research, as well as practice-specialty workshops.

Resource Materials

The CPC makes available to LLM students (through an online account) a wide variety of publications and resources for conducting effective job searches and researching employment opportunities. Resources published by the CPC on job-search fundamentals cover tips on résumé writing, drafting cover letters and other job-search correspondence, interviewing, networking, computer-assisted research, judicial clerkship and public interest opportunities, and other topics of interest. Students can also view employers, graduate job postings, and announcements.

Staff Resources

In addition to resource materials and the international programs staff, faculty members and graduates of the law school are excellent resources for students. Faculty members regularly advise students about judicial clerkships and substantive areas of practice. Numerous staff members also have practiced as attorneys for varying periods of time, in different practice areas and geographic regions. In addition to members of the law school community, graduates are an invaluable resource for both information and job-search assistance.

Formal Recruitment Programs

Each year the Graduate and Exchange Programs office coordinates student participation in the NYU International Student Interview Program (ISIP) LLM career fair. This program begins in October with the submission of résumés and online job bidding and culminates with interviewing at NYU in New York City in January. The employers taking part in the NYU ISIP job fair are specifically interested in hiring lawyers with international credentials.