UK school stigma applicable to LLM?

[Mignonette]

I am a Canadian law student finishing a JD in Canada. I hope to practice in Maritime Law (international shipping and commerce, international treaties related to oceans, conflicts of laws etc). Profs and lawyers in practice have strongly recommended that I take an LLM as this is considered an asset for this practice area.  There are very few Maritime LLMs in the world.  Dal offers an LLM and has maritime courses, but no guarantee that they are offered each year.  There are some maritime/shipping LLM programs at UK law schools (Queen Mary, City, Swansea). I am, of course, aware of the UK law school stigma.  Is this only a concern for LLB programs and the whole NCA/articling challenge?  I plan to complete articles and Ontario bar, and likely a few years of practice before pursuing an LLM. I could also take a Maritime LLM in Sweden, Singapore or South Africa, but the UK would be much easier for practical reasons.

 

[CleanHands]

The practice area you're interested in is niche and I can't comment upon that. You have clearly done your homework about it and I'm sure the people you have spoken to know better about maritime law than pretty much everyone here.

But re: "UK stigma," you're fine. There is a big difference between a Canadian who can't get into law school anywhere in Canada so they get a foreign LLB from an open admissions school, and a Canadian lawyer with a Canadian JD who obtains a relevant foreign LLM to advance their career in a specific niche practice area.

Edited September 27, 2023 by CleanHands

[PzabbytheLawyer]

What @CleanHandssaid.

A warning though: this practice area is very niche, and not much of it exists in Canada outside of the Maritimes. It does in parts of the rest of the world though.

Keep that in mind given your intention to practice it after.

[Psychometronic]

9 hours ago, Mignonette said:

I am a Canadian law student finishing a JD in Canada. I hope to practice in Maritime Law (international shipping and commerce, international treaties related to oceans, conflicts of laws etc). Profs and lawyers in practice have strongly recommended that I take an LLM as this is considered an asset for this practice area.  There are very few Maritime LLMs in the world.  Dal offers an LLM and has maritime courses, but no guarantee that they are offered each year.  There are some maritime/shipping LLM programs at UK law schools (Queen Mary, City, Swansea). I am, of course, aware of the UK law school stigma.  Is this only a concern for LLB programs and the whole NCA/articling challenge?  I plan to complete articles and Ontario bar, and likely a few years of practice before pursuing an LLM. I could also take a Maritime LLM in Sweden, Singapore or South Africa, but the UK would be much easier for practical reasons.

 

You may want to talk to a lawyer that practices maritime law. I'm in BC and I am familiar with a few lawyers who practice it, although I don't know if they sub-specialize in the areas you described. Generally speaking, you seldom need an LLM to practice in a particular area of law (with the exception of maybe tax if you want to pivot into tax law from elsewhere or specialize). The lawyers I know who practice maritime law also practice in other areas to fill out their practice. If you want to pursue an LLM out of interest, then by all means, but I am skeptical that an LLM will give you an edge over actual experience in the practice. 

Last point, I find that professors are not always in touch with the reality of practice, especially the ones who've only been in academia, so take their advice with that consideration in mind. 

[GoBigOrGoHome]

After articling here, consider trying to find a job in the UK (or other market) that does a lot of work in the area before starting off your LLM (or maybe you can end up with a Canadian firm that does this). Clyde & Co does Maritime law and it may be possible to start at a Canadian office and transfer. 

This is an important area of law as climate change opens the Northern Sea Route and I imagine will become more active in the near future. There is probably already an unmet demand for locally available expertise. 

Definitely won't be a boring area of practice. 

[Mignonette]

20 hours ago, GoBigOrGoHome said:

After articling here, consider trying to find a job in the UK (or other market) that does a lot of work in the area before starting off your LLM (or maybe you can end up with a Canadian firm that does this). Clyde & Co does Maritime law and it may be possible to start at a Canadian office and transfer. 

This is an important area of law as climate change opens the Northern Sea Route and I imagine will become more active in the near future. There is probably already an unmet demand for locally available expertise. 

Definitely won't be a boring area of practice. 

Absolutely, UK practice and arctic changes are both on my radar as I look at the industry.  It is niche, but I have heard that those in practicing in this specialty are aging and there isn't much young blood interested in this area. I hope that means I'll find room.