I loved seeing this post by Daniela Branco (Penn Carey), and made sure to highlight on Beyond Non-JD’s LinkedIn page. Readers may also remember Christiane Reis (Miami) from my CPT article (more on that below). And so for Brazilian and Portuguese attorneys/law students and any other Portuguese speakers, definitely check this new project out.

Why I’m Such a Fan:

1. The basic information that applies across LL.M. programs is already available. It is a good idea to be more strategic with the requests on LL.M. prospects’ time. LL.M. prospects are either finishing up their LL.B./LL.M. studies abroad, working, handling other obligations, and/or preparing for applications, admissions, onboarding, and their U.S. LL.M. studies. So I like to see when schools are focused on value-adds you can’t get elsewhere. To me, this is such a great example. It’s a consortium model so you don’t have the same repetitive information, but it’s also very targeted and very focused in a way that will jump out to Portuguese speakers that one more school LL.M. recruitment pitch or webinar on personal statements wouldn’t be.
2. Foreign-educated LL.M. grads working in U.S. law schools offer unique insights. I may know a thing or two about LL.M. programs. I’ve lived, worked, and studied, in other jurisdictions. I have never had to take a professional exam in a second language. I also understand what it’s like to have to figure out how to see a doctor abroad or get a new telephone or navigate the loneliness or isolation of being away from “home.” But as I very openly discuss, I will never have to deal with an OPT countdown clock. And I’ve never studied in a degree program abroad that was defined by what happens after (as undergrads in Sydney in 2009 we were at Bondi Beach as much as we were at UNSW). So for the Portuguese-speakers who attend these sessions, they’ll be able to see people who have done what they’re trying to do next. And who also used their U.S. legal education or time in the U.S. to build better careers, whether that’s in the U.S. after or abroad for each individual LL.M.
3. Community Absolutely Matters. Having worked with a lot of LL.M. students from a lot of countries, seeing how networks in the U.S. play out has been really inspiring. You don’t have to go to the same LL.M. program for someone from your country who found success to answer your e-mail. To give you advice. To connect you with their network. Whether that’s Brazil or any other country, this is going to be a great way for Brazilian attorneys to plug into the broader Brazilian LL.M. graduate community across the United States. And my guess is this will deepen the connections between LL.M. grads in Brazil with their alma maters, create new opportunities for Brazilian LL.M. students across the United States, and really signal to Brazilian LL.M. alumni working in the U.S. a great opportunity to get involved and support the next batch of Brazilian lawyers who study in the United States.
4. Understanding International Support from Lived Experiences. The reason I really enjoyed my CPT piece that highlighted Miami’s work is that it connected Christiane Reis and Felipe Viali Barbosa, a 2024-25 LL.M. student there. Schools do not need to have a foreign-educated LL.M. grad on their roster to have CPT, just like schools that have foreign-educated LL.M. grads on their roster may not have CPT. And the same for schools without foreign-educated law grads having CPT or not having CPT. But from my conversations with them for the piece, it’s clear that having this dual-educated perspective makes the CPT focus a priority there. LL.M. students, especially those on F-1 visas, can use any boost for the OPT process. And so a program like this is great, whether someone chooses to do OPT or not after to obtain U.S. legal experience firsthand.

Hope the event goes well!