University of Richmond School of Law LL.M. Viewbook

University of Richmond School of Law LL.M. PROGRAM

Richmond Law • Top-ranked university in a vibrant capital city • Exceptional faculty with global experience • Full integration of LL.M. and J.D. students throughout the curriculum • Small classes and personalized program

Global Legal Education Law crosses borders, and today successful lawyers must be comfortable dealing with clients, transactions, and disputes involving multiple legal systems, and cultures. Richmond Law offers a unique opportunity for lawyers from outside the United States to acquire the tools for success by learning U.S. law and the common law system, refining their legal English skills, and engaging with leading legal scholars and talented fellow students.

“ Studying law in another country is a transformative experience. When you immerse yourself in another legal system, you come away with a deeper understanding of your own system.”

— Chiara Giorgetti, Faculty Director, LL.M. Program, and Assistant Professor of Law

“Law is both intellectual and practical, involving complicated theories and rules, but also human emotions and frailties. At Richmond Law, we are attentive to all of the pieces that students need to become great lawyers.”

— Wendy Perdue, Dean and Professor of Law

Legal English English is the international language of law and business, and successful lawyers need professional fluency in their written and spoken English. At Richmond Law, we understand the importance of the art of communication, and we integrate communication skills throughout the curriculum.

Our unique writing program includes a course designed especially for LL.M. students and uses the approach of top law firms and judges to refine the skills of clarity and precision. Our writing faculty are both accomplished lawyers and expert teachers who work closely with students on the types of writing that they will do in practice—client communications, contracts, briefs, and memoranda— as well as on scholarly writing and policy papers.

Learning from Experts Our faculty are among the leading authorities in their fields. They have drafted constitutions for emerging democracies and advised governments on international border disputes. They are experts on intellectual property, environmental law, corporate governance, commercial arbitration, and international business. Our professors are also dedicated educators who love to teach and mentor students. They understand that learning extends beyond the classroom in numerous ways.

DR. CHIARA GIORGETTI teaches and writes in the areas of public international law, international dispute resolution, international courts and tribunals, and post-conflict reconstruction. Professor Giorgetti holds an LL.M. and J.S.D. from Yale Law School and is a graduate of Bologna University and the London School of Economics. She has represented clients in international investment arbitrations, worked with the United Nations in New York, Nairobi, and Geneva, and served as a consultant for various international agencies and non-governmental organizations.

She also clerked at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Professor Giorgetti is the co-founder and former co-chair of the Interest Group on International Courts and Tribunals of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), the co-chair of the Committee on International Disputes Involving States of the American Branch of the International Law Association, and a member of the Academic Council of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration and of the editorial advisory board of International Legal Materials.

— Professor Chiara Giorgetti, Faculty Director, LL.M. Program, and Assistant Professor of Law

Meet Some of Our Faculty DEAN WENDY PERDUE came to Richmond Law from the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center, where she was Associate Dean for Graduate Programs overseeing the LL.M. programs. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools and on the Steering Committee of the Law Dean’s Forum. Dean Perdue’s scholarship covers a broad range of areas, including civil procedure, private international law, land use, and public health.

ASSOCIATE DEAN JIM GIBSON teaches and writes in the areas of intellectual property, contracts, and law and technology. He is a distinguished scholar, as well as a frequent commentator in the media. He recently traveled to Colombia at the request of the State Department to brief legislators and other stakeholders on methods of online copyright enforcement. Associate Dean Gibson has also taught international and com­parative intellectual property law in the Law School’s summer program at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, England.

ASSOCIATE DEAN CORINNA LAIN is one of the leading scholars in constitutional theory, Supreme Court decisionmaking, criminal procedure, and the death penalty, and is a frequent commentator in the interna­tional arena. She was recently a featured speaker at an international conference on constitutional courts and political reality hosted by the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Associate Dean Lain has also taught a comparative death penalty course in the Law School’s Cambridge summer program.

PROFESSOR JOEL EISEN is one of the nation’s leading energy law experts, and served as a Fulbright Professor of Law at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, China, where he taught International Environmental Law and Energy Law. Professor Eisen teaches and writes in the areas of energy law and policy, environmental law and policy, climate change, and the Smart Grid. He is the author of numerous books, book chapters, treatises, and law review articles on electric utility regulation, renewable energy, and brownfields law and policy. He is also a co-author of the leading law and business school textbook on energy law, Energy, Economics and the Environment: Cases and Materials.

PROFESSOR DAVID FRISCH teaches and writes in the area of commercial law and contracts. Author of six books and numerous articles on commercial law topics, he serves as one of the co-reporters for the Permanent Editorial Board for the Uniform Commercial Code. Professor Frisch regularly lectures and teaches abroad, including in the Czech Republic, Spain, and Uruguay, and taught international sales in the Law School’s Cambridge summer program.

PROFESSOR NOAH SACHS is the Director of the Law School’s Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Center for Environmental Studies and teaches and writes in the areas of environmental law, torts, and administrative law. His recent scholarship focuses on climate change and transboundary pollution. Professor Sachs was awarded a Fulbright grant to conduct research in India, where he focused on emerging environmental markets and the challenges of implementing market-oriented environmental reforms in developing countries. He also taught an international environmental law course in the Law School’s Cambridge summer program.

PROFESSOR ANDY SPALDING is an expert in the field of international bribery and corruption. He teaches courses on International Business Transactions, Comparative Business, and International Corruption. He was a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar in India and is a regular speaker at conferences around the world. He currently is leading a group of Richmond Law students on an exploration of international corruption issues involving the Olympics and the World Cup—an initiative that will include a field study in Brazil for both Professor Spalding and his students.

Expanded Opportunities Richmond Law provides numerous ways for students to customize their education to match their areas of interest. LL.M. students are required to take two courses: Introduction to the U.S. Legal System and U.S. Legal Research and Writing. The remainder of the curriculum is elective, and students may select from both the first-year and upper-level course offerings.

Bar Preparation Assistance Some states, including New York, allow foreign lawyers with an LL.M. degree from a U.S. law school to take the bar exam. Applicants interested in taking the New York bar exam should consult the New York Bar rules and requirements, a listing of which can be found at http://www.nybarexam.org/Foreign/ForeignLegalEducation.htm. For those students interested in taking a bar exam, Richmond Law provides bar preparation assistance. During the academic year, the school offers a course that covers many subjects tested on the bar and provides guidance on exam-taking techniques. During the summer after graduation, students can work one-on-one with a faculty member who will review practice answers and will provide additional tutorials.

Selected Course Offerings Richmond Law offers courses in a broad array of public and private law areas.

Below are some of the courses that LL.M. students might find of particular interest.

Intellectual Property Law Computer Law Copyright Law Intellectual Property Fundamentals Intellectual Property Law & Policy International Intellectual Property Licensing & Technology Transfer Patent Law Patent Preparation and Prosecution Trademark and Unfair Competition Trademark, Copyright, and Trade Secrets Practice Business and Commercial Law Agency and Partnership Antitrust Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Business Association Business Planning Commercial Paper and Payment Systems Comparative Business Law Core Commercial Law Concepts Corporate Finance Corporate Governance Innovative Technologies in Law Practice Law Firm as a Business Mergers and Acquisitions

International Law Anti-Bribery Law in International Business Human Rights Immigration Law International Arbitration International Law International Business Transactions International Courts and Tribunals International Criminal Law and Transitional Justice Environmental Law Energy Law Environmental Law Environmental Lawyering International Environmental Law Law of Clean and Renewable Energy Core U.S. Law Constitutional Law Contracts Criminal Law Evidence Procedure (Civil and Criminal) Property Torts

SPOTLIGHT ON THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INSTITUTE The digital age has revolutionized business, culture, and the law, and Richmond Law’s Intellectual Property Institute puts you on the front lines of that revolution. Intellectual property both informs culture and fuels billions of dollars of worldwide economic growth every year.

The Institute offers a variety of opportunities: • A rich curriculum of more than a dozen courses, ranging from IP Fundamentals to Computer Law, Patent Prosecution, and International Intellectual Property.

• Monthly seminars that provide a chance to learn from, and connect with, local IP practitioners and faculty engaged in cutting-edge research.

• A selection of co-curricular activities, including the student-run Journal of Law and Technology and several IP moot court teams.

• An annual Evil Twin Debate, focusing on a timely and difficult IP issue and featuring experts representing the two sides of the issue.

“Our IP program provides a solid foundation in the fundamentals, and then adds depth, specialization, and hands-on experiences as students progress through law school.”

— Jim Gibson Associate Dean and Professor of Law

SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROBERT R. MERHIGE, JR. CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Issues of climate change, energy production and use, and environmental damage affect every nation and raise profound questions of law and policy. The Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Center for Environmental Studies engages in research, instruction, and public outreach on these critical issues. The Center hosts conferences, symposia, and speakers on pressing environmental issues, generating dialogue for policy solutions.

Recent projects of the Center include: • Issuing A Strategy to Protect Virginians from Toxic Chemicals, a landmark study dealing with the effect of toxic chemicals on the environment in Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay. • Organizing important conferences, such as Lobbying: the Art of Persuasion; Greening Richmond: Politics and Land Use in the Capital; and Clearing the Air: Mercury and the Environment.

• Hosting the National Environmental Negotiation Competition with teams from other U.S. law schools.

Each year, the Center also sponsors career-focused programs on energy and environmental law, connecting students to environmental law practitioners.

“Environmental law has a huge international component because environmental problems never stop at the border. We need international lawyers who can help their countries develop sound environmental policies and programs.”

— Noah Sachs Director of the Merhige Center for Environmental Studies and Professor of Law

Location Matters: A Dynamic Capital City Richmond is a great city in which to study law. It has more courts—federal, state, and local— than almost any other city in the nation, as well as a thriving legal practice community that has law firms of all sizes, such as some of the nation’s largest. It is also home to important federal agencies, such as the Federal Reserve.

A Rich History Richmond is the capital of Virginia and home to the state’s general assembly and supreme court. It is a major mid-Atlantic city, rich in culture and art, with a history that dates back to before the founding of the United States.

A Business Hub

A City of Courts

Legal opportunities abound in cities with a strong economic and business base. Richmond is the headquarters of six Fortune 500 companies, and many other large corporations maintain operations here. The diversified economy includes industries such as financial services, insurance, life sciences, advanced materials, and manufacturing. Companies from 28 nations, led by Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, have more than 140 affiliates in the Richmond metropolitan area.

Richmond is home to more courts than any U.S. city, except Boston and Washington, D.C., including: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit U.S. District Court U.S. Bankruptcy Court Supreme Court of Virginia Court of Appeals of Virginia Richmond Circuit Court Richmond General District Court—Civil Richmond General District Court—Criminal

“The presence of so many law firms, government agencies, and large corporations in Richmond makes it easy for students to meet lawyers from all types of practice areas and build a great network of contacts.”

— Evgeniy Efimov, student Lithuania

AN INVITING CITY Richmond is a lively cultural hub with first-rate arts, entertainment, dining, and nightlife. It features neighborhoods such as Carytown, an urban district containing hundreds of distinctive shops and eateries. Richmond was also recently ranked as the happiest metropolitan area in the U.S.

Photo by Keith Vincent

“Richmond is an ideal city for students. There are great restaurants, nightlife, recreation, and parks, but it is easy to get around. When I want a larger city environment, I can take the train to Washington, D.C., and be there in about two hours.”

— Shuaiqi Yuan, student China

Richmond’s James River Park System is one of the nation’s largest, and it’s the reason that Outside magazine recently named Richmond the “Best River Town in America.” You can kayak, tube, snorkel, swim, hike, fish, run, or bike to your heart’s content—all without leaving town.

AN OUTSTANDING UNIVERSITY LL.M. students will benefit from being in the heart of the University of Richmond, a highly selective national liberal arts institution offering undergraduate and graduate degrees through its five schools.

The campus is consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful in the country, with its own lake and tree-lined paths, as well as outstanding fitness, wellness, and sports options.

A True Community Richmond Law is a true community. Our small size allows for personal connections, a collegial learning environment, and life-long friendships. Our personalized approach not only makes the law school experience more enriching, but also produces lawyers who are more effective in their professional interactions with clients, other lawyers, and judges.

“I arrived at Richmond Law not knowing anyone, and I am graduating with friends I will have for life.� — Bertrand Tamalet, student France

Campus Life The University of Richmond campus includes outstanding sports and recreation facilities, multiple dining options, and a cultural center that attracts world-class performers. There is a rich assortment of speakers, conferences, and symposia, along with numerous student organizations to meet a variety of interests.

Speakers and Events at Richmond Law Richmond Law attracts exceptional visitors and speakers. In recent years, three U.S. Supreme Court Justices visited the Law School, as well as top officials from the United Nations, World Bank, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of State, and leading international corporations.

Recent Symposia and Conferences: Incentives for Foreign Investments Electronic Commnications and Information Storage The Energy-Water Nexus Death Penalty Drugs and the Future of Capital Punishment Information Governance: A Comprehensive Approach to e-Discovery Clearing the Air: Mercury and the Environment Global Intellectual Property Enforcement

International Students have long been a part of the Richmond Law community. In recent years, the law school has welcomed students from many countries, including Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Lithuania, France, The Netherlands, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, China, Canada, Thailand, Vietnam, Belgium, Sweden, The Philippines, Haiti, Nigeria, and The United Kingdom.

Boston

New York Chicago Philadelphia

Washington

Richmond, VA

Atlanta

Miami

CLOSE PROXIMITY TO OTHER U.S. DESTINATIONS LL.M. students interested in exploring the United States can conveniently access airports, train stations, bus stations, and rental car services from the University campus. Richmond is located in the heart of the East Coast with easy access to numerous U.S. destinations, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Florida, Atlanta, and others.

Washington, D.C., only two hours away, is home to the U.S. Federal Government, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. Supreme Court, museums, and much more.

For those interested in more outdoor activities, Richmond is just two hours from the ocean and the mountains.

Great Opportunities, Valuable Investments An LL.M. is an investment for life, and you will reap the benefits throughout your career.

Career Development

Law Library

Richmond Law’s Career Development Office partners with students through a comprehensive career and professional development process to explore their interests and strengths; to connect students with alumni, practitioners, and profes­sionals; to refine employment search materials, interview skills, and personal presentation ability; and to guide students through the process of turning opportunities into job offers.

The Law Library features extensive services, resources, and research training for all students, occupying a spacious facility with four floors.

Richmond Law is one of few law schools in the U.S. where every student has a personal study space assigned for the year. Students also have access to library study rooms for collaborative group work.

A staff of eight professionally trained law librarians provide expert research advice and assistance to help students meet their course and research needs.

“Every department at the Law School helps you as a student. The career office offers individual and detailed professional development advice and assistance via a student-career counselor liaison program.

The library provides easy access to the research materials—both print and electronic—that I needed for my courses and papers, as well as expert research and strategic advice from librarians.”

— Meshal Alsugair, student Saudi Arabia

Admissions and Application Information Applicants to Richmond Law’s LL.M. are required to have either a first degree in law from a college or university outside the U.S. or be admitted to practice law outside the U.S. Although there are no definitive standards for class ranking or grade-point average, preferred applicants have excelled academically or otherwise demonstrated exceptional academic promise. Applications for admissions are considered only for full-time registration as there is no part-time or evening program.

A complete application consists of the following: 1. Application for Admission form, including the signed certification statement (may be signed electronically online).

2. Nonrefundable $50 application fee payable online at llm.lsac.org.

3. Official copy of the applicant’s LL.M. Credential Assembly Service (LLM CAS) report, which includes official transcripts from all institutions of higher education attended, and transcript authen­tication and evaluation.

4. Curriculum vitae/resume.

5. Narrative statement about your career goals and experience.

6. Two letters of recommendation from professors or colleagues familiar with your academic or legal qualifications.

7. TOEFL or IELTS score (or other evidence of language proficiency).

Applications will be accepted between September and February 1 for priority consideration. We continue to accept applications thereafter as space in the class permits. All admitted students are considered for merit-based scholarships.

For more information about the application process, see http://law.richmond.edu/admissions/apply/llmprogram.html.

Other Programs

In addition to the LL.M. program, Richmond Law offers international students the opportunity to earn a U.S. J.D. degree in two years. For information, visit http://law.richmond.edu/admissions/apply/international.html.

Housing

Some on-campus housing is available for international LL.M. students, and convenient, affordable, off-campus housing is also widely available. For more information, visit http://law.richmond.edu/students/living-inrichmond.html, or contact the Office of Admissions.

Policy Prohibiting Discrimination

The University of Richmond prohibits discrimination and harassment against applicants, students, faculty or staff on the basis of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, status as a veteran, or any classification protected by local, state, or federal law.

28 Westhampton Way Richmond, VA 23173 law.richmond.edu