International LLM Students
The Career and Professional Development Center is committed to helping LLM students acquire the professional tools and skills that will serve them well in the United States or abroad.
The Career & Professional Development Center has outstanding resources for international students. Duke also has a dedicated staff member with significant professional law experience who devotes time to LLM students in their job search. In addition to individualized career counseling, we have developed a curriculum of professional development programs designed for LLM students from diverse backgrounds.
Duke LLM students participate in a New York City job fair, where legal employers from around the world conduct interviews for positions both in the U.S. and overseas. In addition to the strong support from the Career & Professional Development Center, students at Duke benefit substantially from career advice and assistance from Law School faculty and alumni, both in the U.S. and abroad.
Legal positions available to LLM graduates who wish to work in the U.S. vary from year to year and tend to reflect conditions external to the graduate, such as the extent of business with the student's home country or the state of the global economy. LLM students are in a stronger position to find jobs in the United States when they have had a few years of professional experience before the LLM program. Students who elect to return to their home countries after graduation frequently identify positions in overseas offices of American law firms or at firms and organizations serving American clients involved in international work.
One of the most impressive aspects of Duke is the academic environment. Integration and diversity are part of the student routine and this is important in many aspects of personal and professional development. I learned not only about American law and American culture, but I also had the opportunity to get involved with the student community and learn about the culture of other countries that I never imagined. I received assistance in all stages of a job search, from the resume design to the interview preparation. They teach us how to network in a very unique manner; it was amazing to see how the professors and Duke alumni are willing to help. The LLM at Duke was crucial in transitioning my career from Brazil to the U.S.
Note: The above is a representative list of employers who hired Duke LLM graduates during 2012-2022. It does not include employers that sponsored students' studies and to which students returned after graduation.
A significant group of LLM graduates remains at Duke for a period of time after graduation in order to prepare to take the New York or California State Bar Examination. Students who elect to return to their home countries after graduation frequently identify positions in overseas offices of American law firms or at firms and organizations serving American clients involved in international work.
Graduating LLM Class of 2022
Pursuing opportunities in 20 countries and 5 U.S. states, the graduates in the LLM Class of 2022 have achieved career outcomes in top-tier institutions worldwide. Our graduates extend the Duke brand around the globe to multinational corporations, government agencies, international law firms, and NGOs.
The chart below shows employment data by sector for the LLM Class of 2022:
