Thank you to Yuncheng Zhao for sharing so much great information! To learn more about this new series, please check out the LL.M. Spotlight Series page. Have great advice and a great story to share? Reach out!

1. What made you choose the law school LL.M. program you ultimately decided on?

When I was looking at LL.M. programs, the University of Texas School of Law’s program really stood out to me for two main reasons. First, the tuition and living costs were much more manageable. For example, some T14 law schools had budgets as high as an astonishing $120,000 without scholarship support. UT Law, on the other hand, has kept its budget under $80,000 in recent years, which is a big plus for students like me who want to study law in the U.S. but have a limited budget.

Second, and this was a huge draw, is the program’s unique small class size. Unlike some law schools with hundreds of students, UT Law’s LL.M. program only has about 25 students a year. This really helps everyone get to know each other deeply. I made some amazing friends at UT, and we shared so much about our studies and lives. That was something I honestly couldn’t have imagined before I went abroad.

2. What was your favorite course in the law school you went to?

My favorite class was Family Law. I had actually taken this course in China as an elective, so being able to study it in the U.S. gave me a comparative perspective to really understand the differences in institutional design between the two countries. Because I lacked basic knowledge of American judicial practice, even when reading U.S. cases, I’d often find myself thinking about how things would be handled in China in similar situations. This experience really drove home that to be an excellent lawyer, you don’t just need to understand legal provisions and judges’ rulings; you also need to understand the culture, history, and evolving social trends behind the law. For me, a one-year program did not feel like enough to become an American lawyer who truly understands the U.S. legal landscape, which indirectly influenced my decision to return to a familiar place and provide legal services in an area and to people I’m already familiar with.

3. What was your favorite memory from your LL.M. year outside the classroom?

The friendships I made with my classmates are what I cherish the most. As I mentioned, because our program has a small number of students, the relationships among us were incredibly strong.  The school also organized all sorts of activities to give us opportunities to connect. Almost every week, we had plans for extracurricular activities: playing pickle ball, soccer, golf, bar reviews, dancing… Throughout that year, my classmates and I shared so many new and wonderful experiences and made the best memories. Their enthusiasm was truly infectious.

4. What is one piece of advice that you have for 2025-26 international LL.M. students?

An LL.M. program is a tool to achieve a goal. Knowing what you want to gain from the program is the most important thing. For Chinese students, there’s often a strong focus on rankings, and if that helps you land a better job opportunity, I think that’s perfectly understandable. However, I want to emphasize that there are many other factors to consider besides rankings, and you shouldn’t feel bound by them.

For me, for instance, I primarily wanted to gain an opportunity to study abroad, broaden my horizons, and take some time away from my busy lawyer’s work to rest. So, cost and city choice were the factors I valued most.

5. Where did you study for your first degree in law (country, school)?

I earned my undergraduate law degree from Northwest University of Political Science and Law in China.

6. What are your plans for after the LL.M.? (Or if not finalized, what field do you hope to work in)

Afterwards, I’ll be returning to my hometown of Chongqing to continue practicing in capital markets and M&A, working as a Chinese lawyer.

7. If you plan to take a bar exam, which one are you going to sit for? What made you choose it?

I’ll be sitting for the New York Bar. For Chinese LL.M. students, New York and California are the two most recognized and frequently chosen options. I’m also eligible to take the Texas Bar, but since I don’t currently have plans to practice in Texas, and given that the pass rate for the New York Bar tends to be relatively higher, I chose to take the New York Bar.

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yunchengzhao/

Beyond Non-JD Note: These stories and pieces of advice will be told by the people who chose to participate, with some light editing occasionally provided by me. Some participants reach out to me, while I reach out to some whose advice and journeys I think would be particularly good fits. Their advice, information, and positions may (sometimes) be different from mine. That’s totally okay! While I do try to vet information, be sure to double check advice with trusted mentors in your network, especially as it applies to your situation, goals, or profile.