Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution LLM

Major: Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution
Degree Awarded: Master of Laws (LLM)
Calendar Type: Semester
Minimum Credit Hours: 24.0
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 22.0101
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code:
23-1022

About the Program

The LLM in Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution will train students to become more effective client advocates in a variety of dispute-related settings. These include client interviewing and counseling, pre-trial advocacy, jury selection, and appellate advocacy. The program is designed to both re-train attorneys whose work has not previously demanded, or taught, such skills, as well as to improve the advocacy skills of attorneys who already work in this area.

The LLM may be taken either part-time or full-time. Students may maintain part-time status by enrolling in a minimum of 5.0 credits per semester. To maintain full-time status, students must enroll in a minimum of 9.0 credits per academic semester. The program is designed to be completed in either one or two years.

Additional Information

More information about the Thomas R. Kline School of Law is available on the school's website.

Admission Requirements

The LLM program is open to applicants who have received a JD, an LLB, or a comparable law degree. International applicants must meet the same requirements for admission as students from the United States. Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate the ability to speak, write, and understand the English language by submitting an acceptable score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or similar examination. In addition to test scores, telephone or Skype interviews may also be used for foreign applicants.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, but new students will typically begin in the fall semester.

Degree Requirements

The LLM is a 24.0 credit program with 17.0 credits made up of required courses:

Required Courses
LAW 637SAdvanced Evidence3.0
LAW 646SMediation and Arbitration3.0
LAW 904SAdvanced Trial Advocacy: Civil3.0
or LAW 906S Advanced Trial Advocacy: Criminal
LAW 811SExpert Witnesses3.0
LAW 882SLitigation Drafting2.0
LAW 981SLitigation Technology3.0
Electives (Select 7.0 credits from the list below)7.0
E-Discovery & Digital Evidence
Improvisation for Lawyers
Pre-Trial Advocacy
Advanced Trial Advocacy: Civil *
Advanced Trial Advocacy: Criminal
Appellate Advocacy
Jury Selection
Total Credits24.0
*

Students may select the version of Advanced Trial Advocacy they did not select in fulfillment of the core requirement.

The LLM degree will be conferred only after the student completes 24.0 credits. A student must maintain a GPA of 2.20 each semester and at program completion. 

Sample Plan of Study

Students may complete the LLM in one or two years, depending on whether the student chooses to pursue the degree on a full-time or part-time basis. A potential plan of study for a full-time student would be as follows:

First Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
LAW 637S3.0LAW 646S3.0
LAW 906S3.0LAW 811S3.0
LAW 981S3.0Electives7.0
LAW 882S2.0 
 11 13
Total Credits 24

School of Law Faculty

Tabatha Abu El-Haj, PhD, LLM, JD (New York University; Georgetown University Law Center; New York University School of Law). Professor. Constitutional law (specifically, First Amendment and election law), popular constitutionalism, administrative law, and the sociology of law.
Bret D. Asbury, JD (Yale Law School). Professor. Civil procedure; law and literature.
Adam Benforado, JD (Harvard Law School). Professor. Law and mind sciences, corporate law and contract law.
Amelia Boss, JD (Rutgers-Camden School of Law) Director of Business & Entrepreneurship Law Program. Trustee Professor. Commercial law, including electronic payment systems, bankruptcy and contracts.
Susan Brooks, JD (New York University). Professor. Clinical and co-op education; family law; children's rights; legal ethics.
Chapin Cimino, JD (University of Chicago Law School). Professor. Contract law; constitutional law; law and humanities; higher education law.
David S. Cohen, JD (Columbia University School of Law). Professor. Constitutional law; civil rights; sex discrimination.
Clare Keefe Coleman, JD (Villanova University School of Law) Director of International Student Programs. Associate Professor. Writing specialist.
Rose Corrigan, PhD (Rutgers University) Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. Associate Professor. Women, public law, American politics and policy.
David DeMatteo, PhD, JD (MCP Hahnemann University; Villanova University School of Law) Director of the JD-PhD Program in Law and Psychology. Professor. Psychopathy, forensic mental health assessment, drug policy; offender diversion.
Tracye Edwards, JD (Duke University). Assistant Professor. Human Resources Compliance.
Nicole El, JD (New England School of Law). Supervising Attorney, Criminal Litigation Field Clinic. Criminal litigation.
Robert Field, PhD, JD, MPH (Columbia University). Professor. Department of Health Management and Policy. Drexel University Kline School of Law. Health policy; public health law; health administration and management; public health ethics.
Daniel M. Filler, JD (New York University School of Law) Dean. Professor. Criminal law and procedure; sentencing and death penalty; law and society; law and humanities.
Richard H. Frankel, LLM, JD (Georgetown University Law Center; Yale Law School) Associate Dean for Experiential Learning, Director of the Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program. Professor. Appellate litigation, access to justice in areas including consumer, administrative, and immigration law.
Barry Furrow, JD (Harvard Law School) Director of the Health Law Program. Professor. Health law; torts.
Eamon Gallagher, JD (Drexel University Kline School of Law) Director of the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. Corporate transactional law; entrepreneurship and law
Alex Geisinger, LLM, JD (Harvard Law School; University of Connecticut School of Law). Professor. Environmental law; torts; commercial law; behavioral law and economics.
Deborah Gordon, JD (New York University School of Law) Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Associate Professor. Trusts and estates, gift tax, legal methods.
Wendy Greene, LLM, JD (George Washington University School of Law; Tulane University School of Law) Director of the Center for Law, Policy, and Social Action. Professor. Natural hair discrimination; race and the law; employment law
Beth L. Haas, JD (Villanova University School of Law) Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Online Learning. Associate Professor. Aviation litigation, product liability defense and toxic torts.
Katelyn Hufe, JD (Drexel University Kline School of Law) Director of the Federal Litigation and Appeals Clinic. Professor. Immigration law; refugee and asylum; domestic violence.
Nicole Iannarone, JD (Yale Law School). Assistant Professor. Financial industry regulation; consumer and securities issues; law and technology.
Yolanda Ingram, JD (Washburn University School of Law) Director of Bar Support. Assistant Teaching Professor. Higher education compliance; diversity and inclusion
Aimée Kahan, JD (University of Pennsylvania School of Law) Director of Strategic Initiatives. Associate Professor. Health care quality, patient safety, and risk management
Anil Kalhan, MPPM, JD (Yale School of Management; Yale Law School). Professor. Immigration and citizenship law, constitutional law, comparative law and criminal law.
Lauren Katz-Smith, JD (Drexel University Kline School of Law). Assistant Clinical Professor. Child advocacy; public interest law.
Nancy C. Kraybill, JD (University of California-Los Angeles School of Law) Director of Academic Skills. Professor. Arbitration, mediation, civil litigation and academic skill development.
Elizabeth Kukura, LLM, JD (London School of Economics and Political Science; Temple University School of Law; New York University School of Law). Assistant Professor. Reproductive rights; women’s health care.
Amy Landers, JD (University of California) Associate Dean for Faculty Research, Director of the Intellectual Property Law Program. Professor. Patents and intellectual property law.
Rachel Lopez, LLM, JD (Universite Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne; University of Texas School of Law) Director of the Stern Community Lawyering Clinic. Associate Professor. Appellate law and the functioning of court and judicial systems; bioethics; reproductive rights; intersection of law and religion.
Amy Montemarano, JD (Rutgers University School of Law – Camden). Associate Professor. Legal research and writing.
Kevin P. Oates, LLM, JD (Temple University School of Law; Pace University School of Law) Senior Associate Dean of Students and Administration. Professor. Legal methods; evidence; conflicts of law; legal ethics.
Karl Okamoto, JD (Columbia University School of Law). Professor. Entrepreneurship; business organizations; corporate law; venture finance; securities law.
Reena E. Parambath, JD (Temple University School of Law) Director of the Co-op Program. Professor.
Pammela Quinn, JD (Duke University School of Law). Associate Professor. International law and enforcement of legal norms at the international and domestic levels.
Rebecca Rich, JD (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Boston College Law School) Assistant Dean for the Law Library and Technology Services. Assistant Teaching Professor. Disability law; law and technology; administrative law; bioethics.
Arly Smith-Pearson, JD (Tulane University School of Law) Supervising Attorney. Civil Litigation Field Clinic. Civil litigation.
Norman P Stein, JD (Duke University School of Law). Professor. Pension law; employee benefits; tax law.
Gwen Roseman Stern, JD (Temple University School of Law) Director of Trial Advocacy Program. Professor. Medical malpractice and product-liability law, trial advocacy and community awareness of legal procedures.
Donald F. Tibbs, PhD, LLM, JD (Arizona State University; University of Wisconsin Law School; University of Pittsburgh School of Law). Visiting Professor. The overlapping issues of law, civil rights, criminal procedure, race and punishment and professional responsibility.
Lisa Tucker, JD (Harvard Law School). Associate Professor. Legal methods; United States Supreme Court practice, family law.
Emily B. Zimmerman, JD (Yale Law School) Director of the Criminal Law Program. Professor. Legal methods; criminal law and procedure.

Emeritus Faculty

Donald Bersoff, JD, PhD (Yale University, New York University). Professor Emeritus. Law and psychology; mental health law.
Roger J. Dennis, JD (Northwestern University School of Law) Founding Dean Emeritus. Professor Emeritus. Corporate law; business organizations; civil procedure; law and economics.
Terry Jean Seligmann, JD (New York University School of Law) Arlin M. Adams Professor of Legal Writing Emerita. Professor Emerita. Legal methods; education and special education law.
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