If you have read the “Meet the Press” page on Tax Docket you are aware that I am planning on pursuing an LL.M in taxation next year. I have spent the past few weeks talking over my options with current LL.M students, law faculty, attorneys, students on LL.M discussion boards and my family. For those that have applied or are in the process of weighing admission offers from multiple schools here are four things to consider when selection an LL.M Tax Program.
1. Geographic Preference. After talking with a number of attorneys about selecting an LL.M program, one thing I was urged to consider was geographic preference. While there are a few LL.M tax programs that receive more national and international recognition than others, many programs have a strong regional preference among local practitioners. Therefore, if you intend to practice in a particular state or country, you may want to consider practicing closer to where you want to begin your legal career. By attending a school that has strong ties to the community you want to practice, you will have more exposure to networking opportunities as well as wider selection of on campus interviews with employers from your preferred geographic area.
2. Level of Interest in Tax. In light of the struggling job market for graduating law students, LL.M applications have increased dramatically. As a law student at the University of Florida, I have spoken to a few UF Graduate Tax faculty members that have told me that applications have nearly doubled since last year. Each student has there own reasons for applying to an LL.M program. Whether it be the struggling job market, future career in tax, or uncertainty in what practice area interests you, an LL.M program is an option. However, one thing to consider is your level of interest in tax law. Unlike a J.D. curriculum where you can take courses on a variety of different topics, the LL.M tax program course offerings will all deal with tax matters. I have been told be professors that students who attended the LL.M program in order to “ride out the job market” have really struggled in the program because of a lack of interest in tax.
3. Career Goals. Although an LL.M in taxation is not required to practice tax law, it certainly is becoming a prerequisite in many law firms across the country. If becoming a tax lawyer is something that you are considering, getting an LL.M may be beneficial considering the number of LL.M graduates that will be looking for jobs in the next few years. When I asked an attorney the importance of the LL.M degree he said “If I had the choice between an LL.M and a non-LL.M, I would choose the LL.M graduate. ” Another thing to consider is that tax law is a niche practice. While tax law as implications in many areas of the law (i.e. family, trusts and estates, commercial litigation, etc) it is still a specialty. Applicants with the goal of working only in big law firms may have to consider working in medium to small size law firms as the tax departments at many big law firms are the smallest departments in the office (and the departments with the most partners and fewest associates).
4. Cost. Not only does each LL.M program have varying costs of attendance, there are different costs associated with living in particular cities. Depending on what your current student loan situation looks like will likely have implications on how much more debt you are willing to incur. However, one thing to consider is that repayment of your student loans is not required the day after you graduate from the LL.M program. The student loan repayment process is a long term commitment that is manageable.
Of course there may be other considerations in your decision to attend a particular LL.M program. Regardless which reasons tip the scale in favor of one program over another, make sure that pursuing an LL.M in taxation is the right choice for you.
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