LL.M. in American Law University of Missouri School of Law

The LL.M. degree program consists of 24 credits hours of study and can normally be completed in a year, although a part-time option is available for domestic students in the LL.M. in Dispute Resolution program.

The highly selective nature of the programs allows students to individualize their plan of study in light of their specific needs and interests. Applicants come from a variety of walks of life and from a wide array of countries.

LL.M. in American Law

The Mizzou LL.M. in American Law provides an introduction to the American legal system and U.S. legal practice for students who earned their first degree in law outside the United States.

Beyond the 6 credit hours of required courses – introduction to U.S. law, professional responsibility, and legal research and writing – students can customize their study in fields such as intellectual property, commercial law, international law, environmental law, and employment law.

The program is designed to:

• Increase knowledge about the purposes and effects of various dispute resolution processes.
• Advance understanding of the interplay between traditional legal processes and other dispute resolution processes.
• Improve skills used by advocates and neutrals in dispute resolution processes.
• Promote understanding needed for the design of appropriate, effective, and fair dispute resolution processes in public and private organizations.
• Enhance understanding of professional and ethical responsibilities of neutrals in dispute resolution processes.
• Contribute to the development of theory, public policy, and professional ethics in the field of dispute resolution.

Is the LL.M. Program for me

The Master of Laws Program is appropriate for lawyers with varied backgrounds and interests, such as:

• Counsel for private and public organizations who represent clients and could help design systems for their organizations to handle regular disputes involving partners, customers, suppliers, and employees.
• Lawyers who want to administer public and private dispute resolution organizations, such as private dispute resolution firms, court-annexed dispute resolution programs, community mediation programs, or statewide offices of dispute resolution.
• Government lawyers who serve as administrative law judges or hearing officers or who are responsible for managing public participation processes.
• Lawyers who want to become legal academics focusing on dispute resolution.
• Lawyers who want to develop careers as mediators, arbitrators, trainers, and dispute resolution consultants.
• Advocates in private practice.
• Lawyers from abroad who are involved in designing dispute resolution processes in their own countries.