The requirements can be broken down into two sets:
I. Students must take a minimum of 24 credits
Students must take a minimum of 24 credits in "classroom courses at the law school in substantive and procedural law and professional skills." These 24 credits may include clinical courses and up to 6 credits in certain other courses related to legal training taught at the Stern school or other parts of NYU (520.6(b)(3)(vii)(b)).
Many LLM students will take more than 24 credits worth of courses that count toward this requirement. To earn the NYU LLM degree, you must carry a load of 24 credits during the fall and spring semesters. In addition, most foreign-trained LLMs are required to take Introduction to US Law (2 credits) and Introduction to US Legal Practice (1 credit) during the summer (in August).
These 3 credits will count toward the 24 credits required by the NY Board of Law Examiners but not towards NYU's 24 credit requirement. It is, however, important to be aware that certain credits that count towards NYU's 24 credits worth of fall and spring courses will not count for purposes of bar eligibility. For instance, credits earned for Directed Research, for serving as a Research Assistant, and for courses in other parts of NYU in excess of the maximums set out above will not count for the purposes of bar eligibility.
II. Program of Study
The program of study must include a specified minimum number of credits for classes in the following areas. For a detailed description of the requirement, refer to (520.6(b)(3)(d)).
A: history, goals, instruction, value, rules and responsibilities of U.S. legal profession (2 credits)
B: legal research, writing and analysis (2 credits)
C: American legal studies (2 credits)
D: subjects tested on the New York State bar examination (6 credits)
NOTE THAT YOU CANNOT USE THE SAME CREDITS TO SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS OF MORE THAN ONE AREA (A, B, C AND D).
To guide you in developing a program of study for the LLM year that satisfies these eligibility requirements, below is a chart that shows which Law School classes have been approved by the New York Court of Appeals to meet the requirements in each area. Many, but not all, of these classes will be offered in a particular academic year. If you take Introduction to US Law (2 credits) and Introduction to US Legal Practice (1 credit) in the summer you will complete the Group C requirement and one credit of the Group B requirement prior to the start of the fall term.
Group A: history, goals, instruction, value, rules and responsibilities of US legal profession (2 credits)
- LW.11479 Professional Responsibility and the Regulation of Lawyers (multiple sections of the class offered)
- LW.12346 Professional Responsibility in the Corporate Context
- LW.10200 Professional Responsibility in Criminal Practice Seminar
- LW.10093 Professional Responsibility in the Public Interest Seminar
- LW.12397 Role of the Lawyer in Public Life
Group B: legal research, writing and analysis (2 credits):
- LW.12129 Introduction to US Legal Practice (summer) (1 credit)
- LW.12373 Graduate Lawyering I (1 credit)
- LW.12375 Graduate Lawyering I: Intensive (2 credits)
For students who have already taken Graduate Lawyering I:
- LW.12789 Graduate Lawyering II: Advocacy (1 credit)
- LW.12376 Graduate Lawyering II: Drafting (1 credit)
- LW.12441 Graduate Lawyering II: Practical Legal Writing (1 credit)
Group C: American Legal Studies (2 credits)*
- LW.11449 Introduction to US Law (summer)
- LW.11633 Legislation and the Regulatory State for Transfer Students and LLMs
- LW.10925 Legislation and the Regulatory State (1L course)
- LW.10514 Introduction to US Civil Procedure (for LLM students)
- LW.11702 Constitutional Law
- LW.11722 Federal Courts and the Federal System
- LW.11869 State Courts and Appellate Advocacy Seminar
*Credits earned in these classes in excess of the two needed to satisfy the C requirement, may be applied to the D requirement if the class is also listed under Group D.
Group D: subjects tested on the New York State bar examination (6 credits)
Please note that sometimes course numbers and titles change from year to year: only classes with titles AND course numbers absolutely identical to those below have been approved by the NY Ct. of Appeals to count toward eligibility requirements.
- LW.11918 Business Torts: Defamation, Privacy, Products and Economic Harms
- LW.11323 Child, Parent & State
- LW.10965 Commercial Law
- LW.10058 Complex Litigation
- LW.10701 Conflict of Laws
- LW.11702 Constitutional Law
- LW.11171 Contracts (For LLM students)
- LW.12880 Contract Theory
- LW.10344 Corporations
- LW.10644 Corporations
- LW.11887 Criminal Litigation
- LW.10675 Criminal Procedure: Arraignment to Postconviction Simulation
- LW.10395 Criminal Procedure: Fourth and Fifth Amendments
- LW.11607 Evidence
- LW.10729 Family Law
- LW.11722 Federal Courts and the Federal System
- LW.12416 First Amendment Law
- LW.11019 Information Privacy Law
- LW.10514 Introduction to US Civil Procedure (for LLM Students)
- LW.11449 Introduction to US Law
- LW.11633 Legislation and the Regulatory State for Transfer Students and LLMs
- LW.10925 Legislation and the Regulatory State (1L course)
- LW.11783 Property*
- LW.11279 Real Estate Transactions
- LW.10118 Secured Transactions
- LW.11869 State Courts and Appellate Advocacy Seminar
- LW.10474 Trusts & Estates
*Please note: Property: LW.11783 qualifies under 520.6(b)(3)(vi)(d) only when the description for the class posted on the Law School web site reads as follows: A study of the institution of property: property interests in land and in wealth other than land; formation of interests in land; the estate concept; possessory and non-possessory interests; concurrent interests; the landlord-tenant relation; the allocation and development of land resources by private arrangement and through community planning devices such as zoning and eminent domain.
Foreign-trained lawyers who intend to pursue the LLM in Taxation or the LLM in International Taxation should contact John Stephens with any questions about qualifying to sit for the NY Bar exam.
Students in all other master's programs should contact the Office of Graduate Affairs with any questions.