HTML
pdf (Español (España))
FLIP
XML
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Abstract
This paper analyzes the social effects of U.S. Master of Laws degrees (LL.M.) in the Colombian juridical field. Therefore, this paper asks: what are the selection requirements of U.S. LL.M. programs? How do selection requirements reproduce social hierarchies in a country such as Colombia? To address these questions, this paper first describes the admission criteria of LL.M. programs in U.S. universities by relying on qualitative data such as the universities’ description of their selection mechanisms and the costs of admissions. Then, using primary and secondary quantitative and qualitative data, the paper describes how selection criteria reproduce the Colombian legal field’s social hierarchies. The article focuses on four selection requirements: the English proficiency requirement, grades, C/V, letters of recommendation, and the recognition of the degree. Finally, the paper concludes that current selection mechanisms reproduce social hierarchies in Colombia’s legal profession
Keywords:
References
American Bar Association (ABA). “Statistics Archives”. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics/statistics-archives/ (accessed March 30, 2022).
American Bar Association (ABA). “Accreditation.” https://www.americanbar.org/groups/ legal_education/accreditation/ (accessed March 23, 2022.
American Bar Association (ABA). “LL.M. and post-J.D. Degrees by School”. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/llm-degrees_post_j_d_non_j_d/programs_by_school/ (accessed March 3, 2022).
American Bar Association (ABA). “Overview of Post J.D. and non-J.D. Programs”. https://www. americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/llm-degrees_post_j_d_non_j_d/(accessed February 20, 2022).
Baker McKenzie. “People”. https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/people/?letter=A&sort=2 &scroll=274.68121337890625 (accessed 3 23, 2022).
Ballakrishnen, Swethaa and Carole Silver. “Sticky Floors, Springboards, Stairways & Slow Escalators: Mobility Pathways and Preferences of International Students in U.S. Law Schools." U.C. Irvine J. Int'l Transnat'l Comp. L. 39 (2018).
Ballakrishnen Swethaa and Carole Silver. “A new minority? International JD students in US law schools.” Law & Society Inquiry (2019).
Barnes, Harrison. “Why an LL.M. Degree is Almost Always a Bad Idea for Attorneys: In Most Instances an LL.M Will Never Get You a Better Job and Only More Debt”, https://www.bcgsearch.com/article/900047532/Is-an-LL-M-Degree-Worth-It/ (accessed April 11, 2022).
Berkeley Law. “Cost of Attendance.” https://www.law.berkeley.edu/academics/llm/tuitionfinancial-aid/cost-of-attendance/ (accessed March 3, 2022).
Blu Radio. “Colfuturo abre oportunidad a deudores afectados por la subida del dólar”. March 17, 2020. https://www.bluradio.com/economia/colfuturo-abre-oportunidada-deudores-afectados-por-la-subida-del-dolar (accessed March 4, 2022).
Bourdieu, Pierre. “The Force of Law: Toward a Sociology of the Juridical Field.” Hastings L.J. 805 (1987).
Bourdieu, Pierre. Distinction. Oxford: Routledge, 2010.
Bourdieu, Pierre. Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2001.
Bourdieu, Pierre and Jean-Claude Passeron. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. London: Sage, 1990.
Bourdieu, Pierre and Jean-Claude Passeron. Los herederos. Buenos Aires: Siglo del Hombre, 2019.
Brigard Urrutia. “Nuestra gente”. https://bu.com.co/es/abogados (accessed March 23, 2022).
Canal Institucional.“¿Sabes qué es la pobreza oculta? Aquí te contamos”. https://www.canalinstitucional.tv/noticias/pobreza-oculta-que-es-bien-dateado#:~:text=En%20nuestro%20pa%C3%ADs%20se%20presenta,cubrir%20todas%20sus%20necesidades%20b%C3%A1sicas (accessed March 19, 2022).
Cardona, Andrés Octavio. “Los estudiantes recién egresados de derecho ganan un salario cercano a US$900”. Asuntos Legales. June, 2022. https://www.asuntoslegales.com.co/actualidad/cual-es-el-sueldo-de-los-abogados-egresados-en-colombia-2741523 (accessed March 3, 2022).
Cardozo Law School. “Tuition and Expenses “LL.M.” https://cardozo.yu.edu/admissions/llm-admissions/tuition-and-expenses-llm (accessed March 4, 2022).
Castaneda, Daniel Rojas. “Los Andes, Externado y Rosario, entre las mejores en derecho para los bufetes”. Asuntos legales, March 24, 2020. https://www.asuntoslegales.com.co/consumidor/las-universidades-de-los-andes-externado-y-rosario-las-mejores-enderecho-para-los-bufetes-2981661 (accessed February 25, 2022).
Clavijo, Sergio. “Calificaciones Universitarias: Inflación de Notas, Contenidos Mínimos y Acceso Meritocrático”. February 2004. https://www.banrep.gov.co/sites/default/files/publicaciones/archivos/edu0204.pdf (accessed February 25, 2022).
Cohn, Magit. “Legal Tansplant Chronicles: The evolution of unreasonableness and proportionality review of the administration in the United Kingdom.” The American Journal of Comparative Law, no. 58.3 (2010),
Colfuturo. “Beneficiarios del Programa Crédito Beca para posgrados en el exterior.” https://servicios.colfuturo.org/seleccionados/ (accessed March 30, 2022).
Colfuturo. “Financiación de posgrados. Procesos de selección.”. https://servicios.colfuturo.org/financiacion-de-posgrados-proceso-de-seleccion (accessed February 25, 2022).
Colfuturo. “Financiación para posgrados en el exterior”. https://servicios.colfuturo.org/financiacion-para-posgrados-en-el-exterior (accessed February 25, 2022).
Colfuturo. “Credito Beca-Convocatoria”. https://www.colfuturo.org/programas/credito-beca/convocatoria (accessed March 4, 2022).
Colfuturo. “Programa Crédito Beca”. https://www.colfuturo.org/programas/credito-beca/informacion-general (accessed March 4, 2022).
Colfuturo. “Seleccion Programa Credito Beca 2018.” https://servicios.colfuturo.org/apps/seleccionados2018/index.php (accessed April 3, 2022)
Colfuturo. “Seleccion Programa Credito Beca 2019.” https://servicios.colfuturo.org/apps/
seleccionados2019/index.php (accessed March 4, 2022).
Columbia Law School. “J.D. and LL.M. Tuition Fees”. https://www.law.columbia.edu/about/
offices-and-departments/office-financial-aid/costs-and-billing/costs-and-budgeting
(accessed March 3, 2022).
Cornell Law School. “LL.M. Admissions”. https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admissions/
ll-m-admissions/ (accessed March 19, 2022).
Dane. “Preguntas Frecuentes”. https://www.dane.gov.co/files/geoestadistica/Preguntas_
frecuentes_estratificacion.pdf (accessed February 25, 2022).
Deo, Meera E., Lazarus-Black, Mindie and Mertz, Elizabeth Power, Legal Education, and Law
School Culture, (New York: Routledge, 2020).
Dinero. “Las firmas de abogados más grandes de Colombia en 2018”. Dinero, July 18, 2018.
https://www.dinero.com/edicion-impresa/caratula/articulo/los-firmas-de-abogadosmas-grandes-de-colombia-en-2018/260183 (accessed April 4, 2020).
Dezalay, Yves, and Bryant G. Garth. The internationalization of palace wars. Lawyer, Economists,
and the Contest to Transform Latin American States. (Chicago/Londres: University of
Chicago Press, 2002).
El Espectador. “Las mejores firmas de abogados del país”. El Espectador. April 1, 2019.
https://www.elespectador.com/cromos/las-mejores-firmas-de-abogados-del-pais/
(accessed February 25, 2022).
FIU Law School. “Cost & Financial Aid.” https://law.fiu.edu/admissions/cost-and-financialaid/ (accessed March 19, 2022).
Garth, Bryant G. "Notes toward an Understanding of the US Market in Foreign LL. M.
Students: From the British Empire and the Inns of Court to the US LL. M." Ind. J.
Global Legal Stud. 22 (2015): 67.
George Mason University. “Tuition and Costs.” https://www.law.gmu.edu/financial_aid/
tuition (accessed March 4, 2022).
Georgetown Law. “Tuition and Cost of Attendance.” https://www.law.georgetown.edu/
admissions-aid/financial-aid/tuition-cost-of-attendance/ (accessed March 4, 2022).
Gladwell, Malcom. “Lord of the Rankings.” In Revisionist History, podcast. https://www.
pushkin.fm/episode/lord-of-the-rankings/.
Goldbach, Toby S. "Why legal transplants?" Annual Review of Law and Social Science 15
(2019): 583-601.
Guinier, Lani. The Tyranny of the Meritocracy. Boston: Beacon Press, 2015.
Harvard Law School. “LL.M. Program.” https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/graduate-program/
llm-program/ (accessed February 22, 2022.
Harvard Law School. “LL.M. Tuition and Financial Aid”. https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/
graduate-program/llm-tuition-and-financial-aid/ (accessed March 3, 2022).
Harvard Law School. “Sample 2022 LLM Application”. https://hls.harvard.edu/content/uploads/2021/09/Sample-2022-LLM-Application.pdf (accessed February 22, 2022).
Hill, Kashmir. “The tier system within the law school tiers (according to Shell Oil),” https://abovethelaw.com/2010/05/the-tier-system-within-the-law-school-tiers-according-toshell-oil/ (accessed September 5, 2022).
Inside Miami Law. “Bar Admissions and Preparation Information for Foreign-Trained Lawyers”. https://www.law.miami.edu/iml/graduation-the-bar/bar-admissionsinformation-for-foreign-lawyers (accessed 03 30, 2022).
JD Advising, “Is getting an LL.M. worth it after law school?,” https://jdadvising.com/is-getting-an-llm-worth-it-after-law-school/ (accessed September 5, 2022).
Johnson, Valen E. Grade inflation: A crisis in college education. New York: Springer, 2003.
Kalanty, Sital. “Reverse legal transplants," NCL Rev., no. 99 (2020).
Lane, Jeremy F. Pierre Bourdieu: A Critical Introduction London: Pluto Press, 2000.
Langer, Maximo, “From legal transplants to legal translations: The globalization of plea bargaining and the Americanization thesis in criminal procedure,” Harv. Int’l LJ, no. 45 (2004).
LaRock, Hana. “What is the difference between tier 1and tier 2 law schools?,” https://www.theclassroom.com/difference-tier-2-law-schools-7201950.html, (accessed September 5, 2022).
Law School Admission Council (LSAC). “LLM Programs”. https://www.lsac.org/llm-otherlaw-program-applicants/application-process-llm-other-law-programs/llm-credentialassembly (accessed February 19, 2022).
Law School Admission Council (LSAC). “LLM Degree Programs”. https://www.lsac.org/discover-law/types-law-programs/llm-degree-programs. https://www.lsac.org/discover-law/types-law-programs/llm-degree-programs (accessed February 19, 2022).
Lindsay, Tom. “The 'Other' College Scandal: Grade Inflation Has Turned Transcripts into Monopoly Money”. Forbes, March 30, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2019/03/30/the-other-college-scandal-grade-inflation-has-turned-transcripts-into-mon.
Markovits, Daniel. The Meritocracy Trap. New York: Penguin Press, 2019.
Michael Page. “Estudio de Remuneracion Colombia 2019/2020”. https://www.michaelpage.com.co/sites/michaelpage.com.co/files/estudio_de_remuneracion_michael_page_2019-2020.pdf (accessed March 4, 2022).
Ministerio de Educación Superior. “Convalidaciones Educación Superior”. April 14, 2020. https://www.mineducacion.gov.co/portal/convalidaciones/ConvalidacionesEducacionSuperior/350670:Conozca-el-proceso (accessed March 29, 2022).
Moi, Toril. "Appropriating Bourdieu: Feminist Theory and Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology of Culture." New Literary History 22, no. 4 (Autumn 1991).
New York University. “Frequently Asked Questions for Foreign-Trained LLM Students. ”https://www.law.nyu.edu/careerservices/llmstudents/faqsforforeigntrainedcandidates (accessed March 29, 2022).
New York University School of Law. “Student Expense Budget.” https://www.law.nyu.edu/ financialaid/budgetandbudgeting/studentexpensebudget (accessed March 4, 2022).
NSUFlorida. “LL.M. Program.” https://www.law.nova.edu/llm/tuition-and-fees.html (accessed March 19, 2022).
Orozco, Lina. “LLM es el posgrado más recomendado.” Asuntos Legales. June 21, 2016. https://www.asuntoslegales.com.co/actualidad/llm-es-el-posgrado-mas-recomendado-2391791 (accessed 2 25, 2022).
Parker, Matthew. "The Origin of LL.M. Programs: A Case Study of the University of Pennsylvania Law School." U. Pa. J. Int’l L. 825 (2018).
Patton, Michael Quinn. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. London: Sage, 2001.
Penn Law. “Tuition and Financing.” https://www.law.upenn.edu/admissions/grad/financingyour-education.php (accessed March 4, 2022).
PHR. “Abogados.” https://phrlegal.com/abogados-phr/ (accessed March 23, 2022).
QS. “Top Universities. Law & Legal Studies”. https://www.topuniversities.com/universityrankings/university-subject-rankings/2020/law-legal-studies (accessed March 4, 2022).
QS. “Top Universities. World University Rankings”. https://www.topuniversities.com/qs-world-university-rankings?utm_source=topnav (accessed March 4, 2022).
Revista Portafolio. “En Colombia, 1,2 millones de personas hablan inglés”. Revista Portafolio. September 23, 2015. https://www.portafolio.co/economia/finanzas/colombia-millonespersonas-hablan-ingles-26770 (accessed March 4, 2022).
Revista Semana. “Colombia y su preocupante nivel de inglés”. Revista Semana. October 4, 2017. https://www.semana.com/educacion/articulo/bilinguismo-nivel-de-ingles-encolombia/542736/ (accessed March 4, 2022).
Sabot, Richard, and John Wakeman-Linn. "Grade inflation and course choice." Journal of Economic Perspectives 5, no. 1 (Winter 1991): 159-170.
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. “Tuition and Fees.” https://law.asu.edu/admission/tuition-fees (accessed March 4, 2022).
Santos, Susana, and Anne Schippling. "Transnational Capital in Contemporary Legal Education: The Case of Portuguese Young Lawyers Trajectories' Between the National and the Global Arena." Paper presented at the “Crisis, Healing, and Reimagining” 2021 Virtual Conference of the Law and Society Association. https://ciencia.iscte-iul.pt/publications/transnational-capital-in-contemporary-legal-education-the-case-ofportuguese-young-lawyers/81765 (accessed March 1, 2022).
Semana. “Cuánto cobran los abogados en Colombia”. Revista Semana. September 9, 2019. https://www.semana.com/empresas/articulo/cuanto-cobran-los-abogados-encolombia/276394/ (accessed February 25, 2022).
Shanghai Ranking. “2021 Academic Ranking of World Universities.” https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2021 (accessed April 3, 2022).
Shanghai Ranking. “2021 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects”. https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/gras/2021/RS0503 (accessed March 4, 2022).
Siems, Mathias. “Malicious legal transplants,” Legal Studies 38, no. 1 (2018).
Silver, Carole. "Coping with the consequences of 'too many lawyers': Securing the place of international graduate law students." International Journal of the Legal Profession 19, no. 2 (2012).
Silver, Carole. "Educating Lawyers for the Global Economy: National Challenges." Kyung Hee University Law Review (2010).
Silver, Carole. "Getting real about globalization and legal education: potential and perspectives for the U.S." Stanford Law Review 24, no. 2 (2013).
Silver, Carole, David Van Zandt and Nicole de Bruin. "Globalization and the Business of Law: Lessons for Legal Education." Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business 28, no. 3 (Spring 2008).
Silver, Carole. "Globalization and the monopoly of ABA-approved law schools: Missed opportunities or dodged bullets?" Fordham Law Review 82, no. 6 (2014).
Silver, Carole. "Internationalizing U.S. Legal Education: A Report on the Education of Transnational Lawyers." Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law 14 (2006): 143-176.
Silver, Carole. "States Side Story: Career Paths of International LL.M. Students, or ‘I like to Be in America’”. Fordham Law Review 80, no. 6 (June 2012), 58-80.
Slavov, Sita. “How to fix College Grade Inflation”. U.S. News. December 26, 2013. https://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2013/12/26/ why-college-grade-inflation-is-a-real-problem-and-how-to-fix-it.
Stanford Law School. “Advanced Degree Application Process”, https://law.stanford.edu/apply/how-to-apply/advanced-degree-application-process/ (accessed March 3, 2022).
Stanford Law School. “Cost of Attendance”. https://law.stanford.edu/apply/tuition-financial-aid/cost-of-attendance/ (accessed March 3, 2022).
Stanford Law School. “Master's Degree Programs”. https://law.stanford.edu/education/degrees/advanced-degree-programs/#slsnav-masters-degree-programs (accessed February 22, 2022; last visited April 4, 2020).
Stetson Law Review. “Estimated Student Budget/Cost of Attendance.” https://www.stetson.edu/law/financial-planning/estimated-student-budget.php (accessed March 19, 2022)
Stetson Law School. “Online LL.M. in Advocacy – Tuition and Financial Aid.” https://www.stetson.edu/law/financial-planning/advocacy-llm-tuition-financial-aid.php (accessed March 19, 2022).
Stetston Law School. “LL.M. in Elder Law - Tuition, Scholarships and Financial Aid.” https://www.stetson.edu/law/financial-planning/elder-law-llm-tuition-financial-aid.php (accessed March 19, 2022).
STU College of Law. “Tuition, Financial Aid, and Scholarship Information.” https://www. stu.edu/law/human-rights/llm/tuition-financial-aid-scholarship/ (accessed March 19, 2022).
Sullivan, Case. “3 Times when it make sense to get an LL.M.,” https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/greedy-associates/3-times-when-it-makes-sense-to-get-an-llm/ (accessed September 5, 2022),
Terdiman, Richard. "Translator's introduction: The Force of Law: Toward a Sociology of the Juridical Field." Hastings Law Journal 38, no. 5 (1987): 805-813.
The New York State Board of Law Examiners. “Foreign Legal Education”. https://www. nybarexam.org/foreign/foreignlegaleducation.htm (accessed March 25, 2022).
The University of Arizona. “Tuition and Costs.” https://law.arizona.edu/tuition (accessed March 4, 2022).
The University of Cincinnati. “Tuition and Cost of Attendance.” https://law.uc.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-and-aid/tuition---cost-of-attendance.html (accessed April 3, 2022).
The University of Miami. https://grad-prof.miami.edu/cost/law-costs/llm-cost-of-attendancefolder/index.html (Accessed March 4, 2022).
The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law. “Tuition and Financial Information.” https://mls.utah.edu/tuition-and-financial-information/#:~:text=The%20total%20cost%20for%20Utah,prescribed%20number%20of%20credit%20hours (accessed March 4, 2022).
Thomson, Patricia. "Field." In Pierre Bourdieu: Key Concepts, edited by Michael Grenfell. London: Routledge, 2014.
Times Higher Education. “World Universities by subject: Law”. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2022/subject-ranking/law#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats (Aaccessed March 4, 2022).
Times Higher Education.“World University Rankings”. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2022/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats (accessed March 4, 2022).
UCLA Law. “LL.M. Program Tuition and Visa Information.” https://www.law.ucla.edu/admissions/llm-admissions/tuition-visa-information (accessed March 4, 2022).
UCONN Law School. “Tuition, Fees and Cost of Attendance.” https://law.uconn.edu/student-life/tuition-and-financial-aid/tuition-fees-and-cost-of-attendance/ (accessed March 4, 2022).
University of Chicago Law School. “Financial Considerations.” https://www.law.uchicago.edu/llm/financial-considerations (accessed March 3, 2022).
University of Colorado Boulder. “LLM Degree.” https://www.colorado.edu/law/academics/degrees/llm-degree#tuition_expenses_and_financial_aid-1572 (accessed March 4, 2022).
University of Michigan Law School. “Financial Aid for LLM Students.” https://michigan.law.umich.edu/resource-center/financial-aid-llm-students (accessed March 4, 2022).
University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. “Tuition and Costs.” https://law.wisc.edu/grad/tuition.html (accessed March 4, 2022).
Wacquant, Loic J.D. “Foreword”. In Pierre Bourdieu, The State Nobility, ix-xxii. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996.
Watson, Alan. “Legal change: Sources of law and legal culture,” U. Pa. L. Rev., no. 131, 1121 (1982).
Yale Law School. “Cost and Financial Aid.” https://law.yale.edu/admissions/cost-financial-aid/cost-attendance (accessed March 3, 2022).
Yale Law School. “Financial Aid Support”. https://law.yale.edu/admissions/financial-aid (accessed March 19, 2022).
Yale Law School. “LL.M. Admission”. https://law.yale.edu/studying-law-yale/degree-programs/graduate-programs/llm-program/llm-admission (accessed February 22, 2022; last visited April 4, 2020).
Reference by
