Crown Quadrangle, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305-8610, USA
Phone: 650.723.4985 | Website: www.law.stanford.edu
Introduction
Stanford Law School is part of one of the world's leading research institutions, providing plentiful opportunities for interdisciplinary cooperation. Stanford University is a private university located in the heart of Silicon Valley, just 35 miles south of San Francisco. The university's 8,180 acres stretch between the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the cities of Palo Alto and Menlo Park, in a part of the country that offers an ideal Mediterranean climate of dry, warm summers and wet, but temperate winters.
Law School Enrollment
Our student population includes approximately 570 JD students and 70 advanced-degree students. All programs require full-time enrollment.
Physical Facilities
Located at the heart of the university campus in Crown Quadrangle, the school is a three-building complex built specifically for legal education. The complex houses Robert Crown Law Library, the Frederich I. Richman Classroom building (F.I.R. Hall), a moot courtroom, offices and meeting rooms for faculty and student organizations, a student lounge, and a café. Completion of our new academic building will expand the law school campus with an additional 63,000 square feet of offices, clinics, and seminar and meeting rooms.
Housing
Stanford provides a variety of housing options for law students. Students may choose from furnished single rooms to four-bedroom apartments equipped with full kitchens. A new residence built specifically for law students and other graduate students from around campus—and adjacent to the law school—intensifies the interdisciplinary learning experience. The university also lists off-campus housing opportunities. More information about housing is available at the Housing Assignment Services website.
LLM Programs/Areas of Specialization
Stanford Law School offers the following graduate degree programs.
With a specialization in Corporate Governance & Practice; Law, Science & Technology; or Environmental Law & Policy, the LLM program offers a course-based curriculum of advanced study. The Master of Laws (LLM) Program enrolls approximately 50–55 students per year. It is limited to students with a primary law degree earned outside the United States.
Master of Laws in Corporate Governance & Practice
The Master of Laws (LLM) in Corporate Governance & Practice (CG&P) offers rigorous academic and professional training in corporate governance and transactional legal practice. This specialized program seeks to provide foreign business and transactional lawyers with a broad base of expertise in areas such as accounting, bankruptcy, corporations, finance, mergers and acquisitions, securities, tax, and venture capital that they can use when they return to law practice, most often in their home countries. Candidates admitted to the program will undertake an individually tailored sequence of courses, primarily from among the Law School's corporate and business-related courses.
The CG&P program is limited to students with a primary law degree earned outside the United States. Except under unusual circumstances, candidates must have at least two years of professional legal experience before commencing the LLM program.
Candidates admitted to the program will undertake an individually tailored sequence of courses selected primarily from the regular Law School curriculum (and, to a limited extent, from other Stanford University departments or programs). LLM students are required to be in residence at Stanford during the full (nine-month) academic year. They are required to take a minimum of 35 credit units and a maximum of 45 credit units. Up to 9 units of credit can be earned through courses taken outside the Law School.
For more information, please visit the Degrees & Joint Degrees website, or contact the Stanford Law Office of Admissions:
Phone: 650.723.4985
Fax: 650.723.0838
E-mail: graduate.admissions@law.stanford.edu
Master of Laws in Environmental Law & Policy
The Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law & Policy (EL&P) offers rigorous interdisciplinary
training in environmental, energy, and resource law and policy. This specialized program seeks
to provide foreign lawyers with the legal and policy analysis expertise needed to address issues
of pollution, toxic substances, climate change, energy, freshwater, protection of living species on
both land and in the oceans, land use management, and environmental assessment.
Candidates admitted to the program will pursue an individually tailored sequence of courses
that are drawn primarily from the Law School's curriculum dealing with the environment and
public policy, but may also include related courses in other departments at the university. The
program is particularly appropriate for private and public lawyers seeking additional
interdisciplinary training that they can use to further environmental and resource law and policy
in their home nations or internationally and who wish to become part of a network of graduates
working on similar challenges.
The EL&P program is limited to students with a primary law degree earned outside the United States. Except under unusual circumstances, candidates must have at least two years of professional legal experience before commencing the LLM program.
LLM students are required to be in residence at Stanford during the full (nine-month) academic year. They are required to take a minimum of 35 credit units and a maximum of 45 credit units. Up to 9 units of credit can be earned through courses taken outside the Law School.
Master of Laws in Law, Science & Technology
The Master of Laws (LLM) in Law, Science & Technology (LS&T) provides rigorous academic and professional training in legal practice and interdisciplinary analysis related to current developments in law, science, and technology, including such areas as e-commerce, jurisdiction and dispute resolution in cyberspace, biotechnology and health science issues, intellectual property regimes, and contractual developments related to the global information economy, venture capital, and high technology start-up companies.
The LS&T program is limited to students with a primary law degree earned outside the United States. Except under unusual circumstances, candidates must have at least two years of professional legal experience before commencing the LLM program.
Candidates admitted to the program will undertake an individually tailored sequence of courses selected primarily from the regular Law School curriculum (and, to a limited extent, from other Stanford University departments or programs). LLM students are required to be in residence at Stanford during the full (nine-month) academic year. They are required to take a minimum of 35 credit units and a maximum of 45 credit units. Up to 9 units of credit can be earned through courses taken outside the Law School.
For more information, please visit the Degrees & Joint Degrees website, or contact the Stanford Law Office of Admissions:
Phone: 650.723.4985
Fax: 650.723.0838
E-mail: graduate.admissions@law.stanford.edu
The Stanford Program in International Legal Studies
The Stanford Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS), which leads to the completion of the Master of the Science of Law (JSM) degree, emphasizes empirical interdisciplinary research on issues that are often related to public policy and legal reform in the fellow's home country or internationally. SPILS is oriented toward international candidates committed to pursuing careers in teaching, research, the judiciary, public policy, or service in government or nongovernmental organizations. SPILS enrolls approximately 12 fellows per year. Students who are interested in pursuing a teaching or research career in the fields of Corporate Governance & Practice; Environmental Law & Policy; or Law, Science & Technology should apply to SPILS. The LLM program and SPILS make separate admissions decisions, so these students may also want to apply to the LLM program in the field of their specialization.
Candidates admitted to the program will undertake an individually tailored sequence of courses selected primarily from the regular Law School curriculum (and, to a limited extent, from other Stanford University departments or programs). JSM students are required to be in residence at Stanford during the full (nine-month) academic year. They are required to take a minimum of 35 credit units and a maximum of 45 credit units. Up to 9 units of credit can be earned through courses taken outside the Law School.
For more information, please visit the Degrees & Joint Degrees website, or contact the Stanford Law Office of Admissions:
Phone: 650.723.4985
Fax: 650.723.0838
E-mail: graduate.admissions@law.stanford.edu
Application Information
The application deadline for all programs is December 14. Most admission decisions will be announced by April 1.
Tuition in 2012–2013 is $48,870 and will rise in 2013–2014. The cost of attendance (including tuition) is approximately $77,000.
Application Requirements
A completed application consists of the following components (see guidelines below):
- Application for Admission to Graduate Study
- Application fee
- Résumé or curriculum vitae
- Personal statement
- Two letters of recommendation
- Official transcripts
- TOEFL score report
Additional materials required from SPILS applicants:
- Research Proposal
- One additional letter of recommendation (3 total)
All application components must be submitted electronically through LSAC. Applicants are discouraged from submitting additional materials with the application; such materials will not be returned. All applications must be in English. Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide information that demonstrates their ability to handle difficult materials in the English language.
Questions concerning the LLM and SPILS application process should be directed to the Stanford Law Office of Admissions:
Phone: 650.723.4985
E-mail: graduate.admissions@law.stanford.edu
Student Services and Organizations
Stanford Law School has an Advanced Degree Students Association that puts on many programs throughout the year for the entire law school community, including movie nights, with students suggesting movies from their home countries, and potluck dinners, with students bringing food from their home countries. In addition, LLMs have a representative on Law Association, the student government, and are represented among the class officers for the graduating class.
Career Services
Stanford Law School offers a variety of career services for its advanced-degree students. We have a career counselor dedicated to advising LLM, JSM, and JSD students. Initially, students meet with the counselor individually to discuss career goals and strategy and to review their résumé. Résumé and job search workshops focusing on the US legal market are offered in the fall and students are urged to attend a series of "Spotlight Lunches" with local attorneys focusing on different practice areas. Additional workshops are offered on networking techniques and interviewing skills specifically for advanced-degree students. In addition to the fall and spring on-campus interviewing programs, Stanford Law School participates in the Overseas-Trained LLM Student Interview Program at Columbia Law School in January and the West Coast International LLM Job Fair at the UCLA Law School in February. Mock interviews with local practicing attorneys are offered specifically to the advanced-degree students to prepare them for the job fair and other interviews. Throughout the year, all advanced-degree students are invited to participate in the numerous workshops, presentations, and other panels offered by the Office of Career Services, such as the status of the US legal market, law firm economics, alternatives to law, communications skills, and a professional development series.
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