US LLM Programs Visit Belgium

Every year, Fulbright Belgium welcomes US LL.M programs to Belgium and connects them with aspiring applicants. On Friday, October 4, Georgetown and Vanderbilt Law Schools went to the University of Antwerp to speak on this topic with Fulbright and 40 students from ELSA Antwerp. Dory Mayer from Georgetown Law has been recruiting in Belgium for over 25 years; at this session she emphasized to students the importance of being bi-cultural, bi-lingual, and bi-legal, the latter meaning to have a familiarity with common and civil law traditions. Cynthia Coleman from Vanderbilt Law School, who has been recruiting in Belgium for 3 years since Vanderbilt’s LLM program began in 2006 – elaborated more on the factors to consider when applying to LLM programs, including:

• Location
• Academic specialties
• Opportunities to integrate with JD students and prepare for the New York and California bar exams

And more. She also detailed how to navigate the LLM admissions process using the Law School Admissions Council website and its Credential Assembly Service. Both schools have welcomed Fulbright grantees to study on their campuses in previous years, and Fulbright followed their presentations on this day with information about Fulbright and BAEF awards. Eight out of 20 current Belgian Fulbright student grantees are currently studying law in the US, so the topic is a relevant one. Fulbright looks forward to receiving Fulbright applications from law students and lawyers throughout Belgium when the awards’ preliminary application for eligibility opens online on November 1. All candidates wishing to pursue an LL.M degree at Harvard may already submit a preliminary application for the Harvard BOAS award now until November 1. ELSA Antwerp also had the chance to tell Fulbright about their upcoming plans to travel with ELSA Leuven to New York this spring, where the Commission suggested they meet up with Timothy Stanne, Director of Graduate Admissions at NYU Law, who was in Belgium for an LLM admissions event at Jones Day law firm on October 3, as well as current Fulbright grantees in the New York area. All Belgian students and young lawyers should be sure to check out Fulbright France’s comprehensive document about LL.M programs in the US and come to Fulbright Belgium’s upcoming events with US LL.M programs in Belgium listed below:

• Tuesday, October 22 at 5:30 PM – Saint Louis University Law at Universiteit Gent
• Tuesday, November 12 from 1:00 PM-3:45 PM at Université Catholique de Louvain and from 6:00 PM-9:00 PM at Liedekerke Law Firm with American University, Boston University, Duquesne University, Emory University, Hofstra University, Northwestern University, Tulane University, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, University of Oklahoma, University of Pennsylvania, University of California – Berkeley, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California, University of San Diego, University of Virginia, and Vanderbilt University law schools

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