A two-year J.D. degree can be attractive to a student with a foreign law degree. Typically, that degree is an LL.B. Such students have the option of pursuing an LL.M. degree in the United States. However, the job prospects for LL.M. students are increasingly less favorable, especially in comparison with candidates who have both an LL.B. and an American J.D. Moreover, many legal employers are seeing the benefit of having some of their attorneys bearing full credentials in two (or more) jurisdictions. That benefit follows the business of their clients, such as multinational corporations.
From the perspective of KU, of course, having such students in the J.D. class not only makes that class more cosmopolitan, but also more professional. Moreover, the foreign students/lawyers help create an excellent professional network for other KU J.D. students and graduates.
Admission to the Two-Year J.D. Program
Please note that upon admission you will be required to submit financial documents verifying that you have savings to cover the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, living expenses and mandatory health insurance) for the academic year in which you will be enrolling. You will be required to submit these documents before an I-20 form will be mailed to you.
During a student's first year of participation in the Two-Year J.D. Program, the student is required to take the standard first-year curriculum (including Lawyering) if that student did not obtain a foreign law degree in a common law jurisdiction. During the second year of study, such a student (i.e., not trained in a common law jurisdiction) is eligible for any second-year or third-year course, the same as other J.D. students. A student with a law degree from a common law jurisdiction will spend both of his or her years in the Two-Year J.D. Program taking upper-level courses.
For these purposes, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, England, India, New Zealand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore and Sri Lanka will typically qualify as common law jurisdictions. (For the foreseeable future, Hong Kong and Macau also will qualify.) A student with an LL.B. from one of these countries would not need to enroll in first-year courses. Decisions about whether certain other countries qualify for these purposes would be made by the dean or faculty member designated by the dean as necessary.
Students in the Two-Year J.D. Program are subject to the same grading system that applies to other J.D. candidates. Moreover, all other law school and university rules apply, as appropriate, to students in the Two-Year J.D. Program for Foreign-Trained Lawyers. These include rules governing credits from outside the law school, cross-listing of courses, etc.
The Two-Year J.D. Program for Foreign-Trained Lawyers is not limited to foreign citizens. There may be American citizens with a foreign law degree — for example, because they were born or raised overseas, or elected to study abroad after high school. They would be eligible for the program.