Bar Eligibility

The LLM program is not intended to qualify foreign-trained lawyers to sit for the bar examination or to practice law in the United States. In fact, in many states, the LLM degree is not sufficient to allow candidates to sit for the bar examination. The rules for admission to the bar vary in every state. Most of the LLM graduates who take a bar exam do so in the state of New York. In order to qualify LLM students to sit for the exam, the LLM program must follow certain curricular requirements such as completing at least 24 hours of credits in Law School courses including several mandatory subjects. The Court of Appeals for the State of New York reviewed the LLM courses offered by Northwestern University Law School and pre-approved a list of courses as meeting these requirements. Other States that allow LLM students, under certain conditions, to sit for the bar exam are D.C. and California. Please refer to the Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements at the American Bar Association's website.