LLM Study Abroad and Exchange Programs

Summer Programs for Foreign-Trained Students

BU Law, in collaboration with the University’s Center for English Language & Orientation Programs (CELOP), offers foreign-trained students opportunities for short-term intensive training during the summer in Boston and London.

Pre-LLM Legal English Program in Boston

Adjusting to the demands of U.S. legal studies poses unique challenges to foreign-trained attorneys. Entering LLM students must learn substantive doctrine through the “Socratic method” of U.S. law school teaching. They must grasp the art of reading and analyzing judicial opinions, keep up with classroom conversations and the rapid pace of teacher-student dialogues, and effectively express themselves verbally in class and in writing on their exams. And they must do all of this in English—not their native tongue.

Boston University’s Center for English Language & Orientation Programs (CELOP) offers a six-week Summer Program in Legal English. The program provides entering foreign students with the language and academic skills needed to succeed in a demanding LLM program. Through small-class instruction led by CELOP’s distinguished faculty and through carefully selected law-related materials and assignments, students:

• build their legal English vocabularies and strengthen their legal English writing skills;
• receive exposure to fundamental aspects of the American legal system and several substantive doctrines central to American law;
• become acquainted with the materials, methodologies and culture of American law school instruction.

The program runs from early July to late August. It is open to all foreign students who have been admitted into an LLM program at an American law school—whether at BU Law or elsewhere—in the following fall semester.

Entering BU Law LLM students are strongly encouraged to enroll, as the program provides an important orientation to upcoming studies. The program complements—but does not replace—the Introduction to American Law course that most foreign LLM students take as part of their graduate studies. In some cases, completion of the Summer Program in Legal English will be a requirement for final admission to BU Law.

CELOP also offers a three-week speaking and listening class as preparation for the six-week Legal English program. “Speaking and Listening for Legal English Students” helps develop confidence in listening and speaking skills. The curriculum uses a variety of content to introduce you to American culture as a foundation for understanding U.S. law.

On-campus dormitory-style accommodations are available, and students can purchase meal plans through Boston University.

More information, including application materials, may be found at www.bu.edu/celop.

Summer Legal Institute in London

Boston University’s Summer Legal Institute in London provides intensive preparation in legal English and writing and exposure to substantive American law topics in key areas of international business practice. The Summer Legal Institute is open to graduates of law faculties outside the United States and to advanced, non-U.S. law students who are about to complete their law studies in their home countries.

The program’s content is ideally suited for current—and future—global lawyers who:

• seek to improve their ability to communicate and work effectively in English with American-trained lawyers and U.S. law firms and corporations;
• want substantive training in important American commercial law topics;
• anticipate pursuing an LLM degree at BU Law or elsewhere.

The program consists of two three-week sessions: Part A (beginning in early July) is Legal English and Writing; Part B (beginning in late July) offers a range of classes taught by BU Law’s JD faculty. Past offerings have included U.S. Contracts, Corporations, International Business Transactions, International Business Agreements, Intellectual Property, and International Trade Regulation. Participants may join either or both parts. The institute is housed in Boston University’s London Center at 43 Harrington Gardens, in the heart of fashionable South Kensington, one of London’s most exclusive districts. All participants receive furnished housing accommodations for the duration of their stays.

For more information on the London program’s content and admissions process, please visit www.bu.edu/law/londonlaw or contact sli@bu.edu.

Graduate Level Opportunities

Visiting Scholars Program

Each year, visiting scholars and researchers from around the world join the BU Law community to conduct research with the assistance of the School’s impressive resources. Most visiting scholars and researchers are junior or senior members of law faculties in countries outside the U.S., while others are involved in government service or doctoral or postdoctoral studies; the majority are engaged in collaborative research with members of BU Law’s full-time faculty. Visiting scholars enjoy full access to the School’s library and its faculty library to pursue individual research agendas and are assigned their own library carrels.

Scholars benefit from pursuing their work in an accommodating environment and from exchanging ideas with our faculty, other visiting scholars and the significant number of lawyers and jurists from around the world who are enrolled in graduate legal studies at BU Law. Visits range from a few weeks to a full year and may start at any time.

Recent scholars have included a professor from Tsukuba University in Tokyo engaged in a comparative analysis of U.S., U.K. and Japanese trust law; a public prosecutor in Brazil’s Department for the Protection of Environmental and Urban Interests; and a PhD candidate in comparative private law at the University of Trento, Italy.

Generally, the School’s Visiting Scholars Program can accommodate no more than ten visitors at any given time. Application, tuition and other information may be found at www.bu.edu/law/visitingscholars.