Question from Jose:  I am a Mexican lawyer with an LLM from Georgetown University.  I have the opportunity to pursue a doctorate of laws at US institution or take a job with an international agency based in the US.  Which would be best if I want to practice in the US?

 Janet Moore:  Take the job!  Jose, so many of your foreign lawyer colleagues are clamoring for good work experience in the US.  Academia is well and good, but if you want to have a vibrant legal practice (as opposed to a purely academic career), you truly need some work experience. 

At the end of February I spoke to a bright group of foreign LLM students at the Inter-American Development Bank during a program sponsored by the International Law Section of the ABA, among others. After the program many of the LLM students in the audience approached me (as have more in subsequent weeks) to ask for guidance on getting a real job in the US.  Jose, you are lucky indeed to have landed such a job here, and I encourage you to take it.  It can be an invaluable stepping stone to future employment.

However, for your fellow LLM students who have not yet landed job offers in the US, my advice is to keep networking.  Network with law school colleagues and professors, natives of your country who are living in the US, contacts at home who have US contacts–whatever it takes. From my observation, truly persistent and determined LLM students who do NOT give up, do eventually land paying jobs in the US–although perhaps not “dream jobs”, these jobs give valuable work experience and can lead to other employment.