Poets, prosecutors and a police superindendent …
And what do they have in common?
They are among Harvard Law School’s new LL.M. students. The Class of 2019 comprises 188 students from 65 countries, ranging from Algeria to Venezuela. In addition to the LL.M. students, six students are beginning their studies for the S.J.D., joining 57 continuing S.J.D. candidates. Together, they represent 29 countries or jurisdictions.
The law school’s one-year LL.M. program attracts students from a variety of legal systems, with many different backgrounds and career plans. Harvard’s LL.M. students include lawyers from private practice, government officials, law teachers, judges, diplomats, human rights activists, NGO founders, doctoral students, business executives, physicians, journalists, and others.
As is typical, 98% of this year’s class are international students, from countries ranging from Algeria to Venezuela.
Three-quarters of them have pursued advanced studies or have two or more years of professional or teaching experience. In addition to law teachers, state attorneys, current and former judges, prosecutors, a magistrate, a police superintendent, and two active-duty U.S. Navy JAG officers, the class includes 20 Fulbright scholars and 18 Supreme Court or Constitutional Court clerks.
The LL.M. students’ pursuits outside of the law are just as wide-ranging. The Class of 2019 includes novelists and a short story writer, poets, musicians, actors, dancers, and former nationally competitive athletes, as well as students with deep interests in everything from baking and bonsai to ukulele and yachting.
The LL.M. and exchange students will pursue a special one-credit course on U.S. legal research, writing, and analysis offered only during their two-week orientation, which continues through August 31.
Photo by Martha Stewart
