A Masters in Law or more commonly known as an LLM is one of the next steps we can take upon graduating with a law degree. Generally, LLM candidates are expected to do an in-depth study into a specific area of law.
In most cases, law graduates can choose to pursue two kinds of LLM:
LLM candidates are also expected to write a dissertation (which is basically a REALLY long essay) on an area of law that they are interested in. If you have a specific area of law you want to explore, it would be easier to write your dissertation.
Why Pursue an LLM?
A lot of my friends in my social circle have an interest in academia and we were just toying around with the idea of potentially pursuing an LLM.
As the Covid-19 situation becomes worse in Malaysia, that may be a huge factor to pursue a postgraduate course. Since most LLM courses usually last for a year, students can buy enough time to think about their career plans and temporarily escape the competitive legal job market brought about by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Since we are on the topic, I have decided to interview a close friend of mine, Laxmi Devi who has completed her LLM in Law, Medicine and Healthcare at the University of Liverpool.
By the end of this article, I hope you gain enough insights to answer the question as to whether it is worth it to pursue an LLM.
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Hi Laxmi, it’s great to talk to you again! Before you begin the interview, tell us a little bit about your academic background.
Hey Liang! The pleasure is mine. Like many aspiring lawyers, I started my legal journey at the ‘Nation’s Fastest and Smartest’. I did my A-Levels (Chemistry, Physics and Law) at Methodist College Kuala Lumpur before continuing to pursue my UK Transfer Degree Programme at Brickfields Asia College.
Despite being advised by the education counsellor to not take Law for A-Levels, I went against that advice because I needed to make a decision as to whether I can not only withstand but also enjoy a legal career.
If you prefer to do your degree in the United Kingdom (UK), UK Universities have a preference for students who have not studied Law before enrolling them into a law degree. Due to financial constraints, I was certain that I could not afford to study in the UK for the whole of my degree. If you are uncertain of a legal career, my advice would be to take A-Levels Law and intern a law firm to get a feel of legal practice in Malaysia.
Why did you decide to pursue a Masters in Law (LLM), specifically a Masters in Law, Medicine and Healthcare?
Before I started my law degree, I have always been passionate about science and have been a science major up until my chosen degree. In fact, I wanted to pursue a degree in medicine if my law studies went to bust (Luckily that didn’t happen). Coupled with the fact that half of my family are doctors, I think these little things really help to fuel my interest in science and the advancement in medicine.
In my undergraduate studies, I also excelled in my Medical Law module. Since I was particularly interested in the humanitarian aspect of Medical Law, I decided that the best option was for me to specialize in the subject. Not only did I enjoy understanding different aspects of Medical Law, I also critically analysed how the medical and legal field coincide together to protect certain individuals i.e. the patient’s autonomous rights, the doctor from frivolous lawsuits and more.
That was actually the inspiration for my dissertation whereby I explored how relational autonomy helps to better protect patient choice (the patient’s liberty to choose their own healthcare) and doctors from legal action.
Why did you decide to pursue your LLM at the University of Liverpool?
Economically speaking, pursuing an LLM at my alma mater made sense as I was entitled to discounts and a partial scholarship since I was an alumnus and I achieved a First Class for my degree.
From an academic point of view, the University of Liverpool is part of the Russell Group. The status guarantees the quality of their lecturers, modules choices and on-campus facilities. The lecturers are also expert in their respective modules and they have written many articles and books on the subject matter.
With their Russell Group status, it also means that the University has the financial backing they pride themselves in their research and giving back to society through the knowledge of their research. Since an LLM requires an extensive amount of research and the University housed many experts and prestigious lecturers, I believe the University was the best fit to help me to get the most out of my LLM course.
Since you graduated with a Bachelors in Law from the University of Liverpool, what was it like to pursue a LLM at your alma mater?
Being an alumnus, it was really easy for me to navigate through the campus and I did not have to go through the freshie experience once again. I got into my own groove fairly easily which allowed me to catch up with my classwork and readings. It was also nice to see familiar faces as some of my degree friends ended up joining me on my LLM course. That familiarity really provided me with a sense of security and the warm feeling of being home.
Was it a steep learning curve to transition from LLM immediately after your degree?
To a certain degree, the learning curve was steep. When you are doing a law degree, you are not really really expected to critically think and analyse as a Master’s student. The LLM (especially since the University of Liverpool is a Russell Group University) required extensive critical thinking and the ability to speed read.
Unlike degree, the reading load for LLM was very heavy and we needed to form our own opinion on each article from the author’s point of view. This not only helps to improve our writing but also substantiate our argument to offer better solutions than those recommended by the author.
Despite the heavy load, I enjoyed the process of dissecting, compiling and analysing information. I usually have a strong cup of joe, a nice view and a reading-time playlist to accompany my reads. In terms of writing, playing devil’s advocate really helped with my academic writing (which I was not very strong to begin with). It also helped to spark some impromptu discussion with my course mates in class, which only reaffirmed the value in taking time to read and analyse my course materials.
As an LLM candidate, how were you assessed at your University?
I had two Semesters and I would study three modules per Semester. Each module were with a 5000 word essay or mini dissertation. Lastly, we got the chance to write a dissertation on a particular topic or area of law. It was a 15000 word dissertation (or a mini PhD as I like to call it).
Things get a little bit tricky with our LLM classification. The passing mark was 50%, while 60% is a Merit and 70% amounted to a Distinction. The University calculates your LLM classification in two parts:
- They will take the average percentages of the six modules that we have studied
- They will also take the grade of dissertation which follows the same marking scale
If I needed to achieve a Distinction for my LLM, I needed to achieve a score of 70% for my modules average and dissertation.
How was your relationship with your supervisors and lecturers?
Since young, I have always been somewhat of a teacher’s pet and I rarely had any problems with my teachers. At Liverpool, the supervisors and lecturers have a policy where they encourage students to build into interpersonal relationships with them. Having that trust and strong relationship allowed me to confide in them and get some very personal advice when I was struggling with my studies. Since I had a great rapport with my lecturers, they could be a lot harsher and critical of my work and that really helped to improve my work by leaps and bounds.
From a financial perspective, how did you afford to do an LLM? Were there other financial aspects that you had to take into consideration?
When I got the confirmation that I will be pursuing my LLM at the University of Liverpool, I rebooked my accommodation and got a neat little discount. Financially speaking, I had to rely on scholarships and discounts offered by the University.
Moreover, the decision to stay on in Liverpool helped to save loads as I already lived in the city for a year. I knew my way around the city, the cheapest place for groceries and where to get the best deals. Since I didn’t have to relocate to a new city, that really helped to cut down a lot of my expenses.
While other arrangements such as accommodation, budgeting and daily expenses may not vary drastically from your preparation studying abroad as a degree student, did that change when you were pursuing the LLM?
Not really. I already did a year of my law degree in Liverpool so I already had my bag of tips and tricks in managing my own finance and how to get the best value for my pounds.
How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected your learning and student experience as an LLM candidate at the University?
Covid really started to hit us halfway through our Second Semester so we weren’t really affected by the pandemic as compared to those who are starting their degree now. At its core, the LLM is a postgraduate course that is research intensive and requires minimal physical contact. As a fellow graduate of Queen’s University Belfast, I am sure you can understand what it is like to be in a research intensive course.
This meant that the course can be done remotely. In fact, many UK Universities like Northumbria and Nottingham have offered students to complete LLM remotely for many years before Covid-19 started to become a global pandemic.
When the Covid situation started to get worse in the UK, I decided to fly back to Malaysia as the Malaysian government began to implement their Movement Control Order. Since I didn’t know when the borders would reopen again, I did not want to take my chances. During my time back home, I managed to have weekly discussions with my course mates for the rest of my Second Semester. I also had monthly meetings with my supervisor to discuss the progress of my dissertation. Overall, I’ll say that I adapted well with the change.
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Conclusion
So to answer the question: is it worth it? Like any aspiring lawyer and law graduates, the answer is:
Pursuing an LLM is a huge commitment. You are investing a year of your life to dive deep into an area of law that you are interested in. With Laxmi, she chose to explore her passion in medicine and healthcare.
I will end this article with a quote by Bella Chan, a Corporate Trainee at DLA Piper, Liverpool who has achieved a Distinction for her LLM in Medicine and Healthcare Law:
brainylaw.wordpress.com 