Developed jointly with BU Law and the Boston University Center for English Language and Orientation Programs, or “CELOP”, the Legal English Certificate Program (LECP) is a two-semester 25-credit program of full-time residential instruction designed primarily for international practitioners who need to improve their general English skills and legal English proficiency. It offers two tracks, one leading to the Legal English Certificate only, and the other which leads to the Legal English Certificate and then admits students to an LLM program at BU Law.

The LECP provides intensive instruction in English communication and Legal English, with a graduated, foundational exposure to American legal culture, vocabulary, concepts, and law school studies. The fall semester consists primarily of language courses with an emphasis on enhancing basic English language proficiency as well as their first law course, Introduction to U.S. Legal Culture, designed specifically for the LECP. In the spring, students will transition to law-focused courses, which will introduce them to foundational legal concepts and law school culture (including the Socratic method) with content focused on legal writing, legal discourse, presentations, negotiation, and overall communications skills.

This track is a one-year program that leads only to the Certificate, designed for foreign professionals (including non-lawyers) who do not plan on pursuing LLM studies, including spouses and partners of LLM students and other graduate students at BU and in the Boston area.

In this track, the LECP forms the first year of a two-year LLM program, designed for international LLM candidates who do not meet the English-language admissions requirements for full-time LLM studies. Students in this track are admitted to the LECP and provisionally admitted to the LLM program to which they have applied, pending successful completion of the Certificate requirements.

Applicants who are accepted into the Two-Year LLM track receive provisional acceptance into one of BU Law’s LLM programs: American Law; Banking and Financial Law; the Graduate Tax Program; or the Intellectual Property LLM. Students must successfully complete the LECP during their fall and spring semester, as well as the Pre-LLM Legal English Program during the summer. Upon satisfying these requirements, Two-Year LLM track students would then join the LLM program into which they have been admitted.

The LECP has been specifically designed to include multiple milestones and assessment points that allow instructors and BU Law to monitor student progress and to evaluate whether students have sufficiently mastered the English communication skills needed for success in BU Law’s LLM programs. These assessments include: an initial admission assessment (i.e., the test scores submitted with an application); written assessments from all course instructors during the fall and spring semesters; and assessments done as part of the summer Pre-LLM program.

While the two-week pre-LLM Program is a required component of the LECP, it is not for credit and does not count towards LLM degree requirements.

Should a Two-Year LLM track student be deemed to require further remedial instruction, he or she will receive additional academic support during the second semester of his or her LECP year.  

BU is one of the leading centers for Legal English instruction in the US. BU Law and CELOP have nearly two decades of experience collaborating together in providing Legal English instruction. BU Law, CELOP, and Cambridge University Press/TransLegal have also partnered together to create the Program for Legal English Academic Development (PLEAD) provided to individuals, law firms, and law schools throughout the world.

No. The curriculum for the LECP has been carefully designed to provide a graduated, immersive, and holistic approach to expanding students’ English skills, legal English proficiency and their knowledge of foundational US legal concepts, and as such there are no elective courses.

No. This is a full-time, residential program. It cannot be taken part-time or through any form of distance learning.

As this is a new program we cannot predict class size, but as is standard in our legal English courses, we have capped enrollment to ensure an attractive faculty-to-student ratio with a great deal of personalized assessment so that each student may receive the individualized instruction and attention he or she needs in order to succeed.

No. The curriculum for the LECP has been specially-designed for participants in this program, and only LECP students will be enrolled in those courses. In the second (LLM) year, students will primarily take courses alongside JD students, as do all LLM students at Boston University.

All courses are graded on BU Law’s conventional letter grading scale, ranging from a low of ‘F’ (fail, GPA of 0) to a high of ‘A’ (excellent, GPA of 4).

Yes. Candidates who just wish to improve their Legal English fluency but are not eligible or interested in attending one of BU’s LLM programs may apply for admission to only the LECP. Upon completion they will be awarded the same certificate as LECP participants who continue onto an LLM program.

Examples include foreign professionals, including non-lawyers, such as the spouses and partners of students enrolled in a BU or other graduate program; or professionals seeking to improve their English-language proficiency, expand their knowledge of US law and legal vocabulary and concepts, and immerse themselves in US legal culture.

While the curricula are largely identical, there are two significant differences. As they are not seeking admission into any of BU Law’s LLM programs, Certificate-only track students will not be enrolled in the Academic Skills for U.S. Law Studies, but will take an Independent Study instead, in which they will write papers examining comparative law issues. In addition, they will not take the two-week pre-LLM Course. Regardless of the track chosen, successful completion will result in the Legal English Certificate from Boston University School of Law.

The tuition for both the non-LLM (certificate only) track, as well as the first year of the Two-Year LLM track is the same as the cost of full-time LLM study, plus any applicable fees. See that cost here. Students will also pay tuition for the two week Pre-LLM course in the summer following the LECP. Students in the Two-Year LLM track pay the prevailing rate for the LLM program to which they have been accepted in their second year.

While there are some slight differences in structure between the two tracks, explained in more detail on this website, both are full-time, 25-credit programs.

No, the two week Pre-LLM Legal English Program is not included in the cost of tuition for students who are completing the Two-Year LLM track. Successful completion of either the two week Pre-LLM Legal English Program or Financial Services Fundamentals (for students entering the Graduate Program in Banking & Financial Law) is required for completion of the LECP. Under no circumstances will students be allowed to “opt out” of these programs and still be eligible to receive the Legal English Certificate.