The LL.M. in U.S. Law for International Business Lawyers is intended primarily for lawyers and post-graduate law students educated in the civil law system or in religious legal systems. However, lawyers and graduates of the common law may also be admitted depending upon their background.

The Program is not open to J.D. graduates of U.S. law schools. 

The Program will not enable successful candidates to be eligible to take a Bar exam in any state of the U.S. without satisfying additional requirements that vary from state to state. The aim of the degree program is not to provide an overview of U.S. law, but to enable business lawyers to add to their expertise the very specialized skills and knowledge of particular areas of substantive U.S. law.

The Program will be offered each summer during the month of July, for a consecutive two-week period and consist of 5 days of classes per week, Monday through Friday.

Each summer session will be considered separate as well as cumulative. Therefore, a lawyer or law graduate may apply to take any number of the courses offered each summer session, for up to 6 credits in total, and he or she may elect to take courses during a summer session without applying to be a candidate for the LL.M. degree.

Participants who successfully complete their first summer program shall earn a “Certificate in U.S. Law” from Suffolk University Law School (SULS) without necessarily having to enroll for the LL.M. degree at that time.

A.      The Program will require completion of 24 credits. All the courses offered are 2 credit courses. All candidates for the degree must be sufficiently proficient in English to enroll.

B.      Candidates for the degree will be able to obtain 6 credits in each summer session, and at their option, 2 or more credits for a research project, on-line courses or an internship after the summer session, during the calendar year, to earn the required total of 24 credits in about three years.

C.      Candidates for the degree may also choose to enroll in courses offered by SULS at the summer program in Lund, Sweden, and thereby reduce the time it takes to complete 24 credits. Tuition will vary according to the location of the program where the courses are taken.

D.      Degree Candidates are required to be in residence for a minimum of two summer sessions at the designated location for the summer program. Degree Candidates may not take more than 6 credits in a summer session; and not more than six credits in each of the fall and the spring semester.

E.      No more than 8 credits may be earned for on-line courses. No more than 4 credits may be earned for an internship. No more than 6 credits may be earned for research projects.

F.       Degree candidates may elect to complete the degree in more than three summer sessions. Candidates for the LL.M. degree are expected to complete their course of study within 5 years.

G.      Tuition, as determined on a year by year basis by Suffolk University, shall be charged at a per credit hour basis.

A.      There is one Required Course, U.S. Law and Legal Methods, which is offered to each entering class every summer. Two additional courses will be offered for each entering class, and the returning classes will have three new courses every summer.

B.      In addition, each LL.M. candidate may choose to do a 2 credit Research Project to be completed after the conclusion of each summer session under the supervision of a faculty member and approved by the Program Director. This project may be original research or it may be a survey of an area of law new to the degree candidate, narrowly focused or general and expository. This project may be done on-line, or through email, facsimile or other means of communication, and other types of project or program may be approved upon request on a case by case basis. Ideas for the project should be discussed first with the Academic Director, and thereafter, a brief written proposal, of no more than one page in length, should be submitted to the prospective Faculty Supervisor, which must then be approved by both the Faculty Supervisor of the project and the Academic Director of the LL.M. Candidates must review Suffolk University Law School’s “Academic Integrity” regulations prior to beginning the Research Project.

C.      Candidates may elect to take up to two On-Line Courses during the calendar year, subject to Rule 2E, above. These are J.D. courses, semester long, taught over twelve weeks, and meant for U.S. law students. The on-line courses are primarily taught in a lecture format. Slide presentations and a syllabus accompany the lectures. Discussion boards or similar interactive communications technology will be made available for student – faculty discussions in each course.                

D.      Degree candidates may also complete an educational Internship for 4 credits in a professional environment substantially different from their home legal practice. The appropriateness of the proposed legal internship for credit towards the LL.M. shall be at the discretion of the Academic Director of the LL.M. The decision of the Academic Director shall be final.

Internships are generally available anywhere in the world, except the U.S., because of student visa requirements. It is expected that for 4 credits an intern will do legal work for 4 full weeks. The intern is solely responsible for finding suitable accommodation and for all personal and living expenses.

All courses and the research projects for the LL.M. in U.S. Law for International Business Lawyers will be graded as follows:

A degree candidate shall not be granted credit for a grade of Fail.

Internships are graded as CR (Credit) or NC (No Credit).

 A.     Papers, Projects or Take-Home Exams, in connection with summer classes or on-line courses, are due no later than 50 (fifty) days from the last day of classes of the summer program. Papers, projects and take-home exams not received by that date shall automatically be assigned a grade of “Incomplete.” This shall appear as an “I” on the candidate’s transcript.

B.      A degree candidate shall have 90 days after the expiration of the due date in Sec. 6 A. to complete the paper, project, or take-home exam, during which period a degree candidate may file a request with an Associate Dean of Suffolk University Law School to withdraw from the course.

C.      An Associate Dean will review the request to withdraw from the course, and accordingly grant or deny the request. If the degree candidate has not made a request to withdraw from the course, or has not completed the final requirement for the course, in accordance with Sec. 6 B., then an automatic grade of “F” shall be entered on the degree candidate’s transcript. In the event that the Request to Withdraw is granted, there will be no refund of tuition or credit awarded, and the degree candidate will receive no credit for the course.

• A degree candidate who has an outstanding Incomplete on his or her transcript shall not be entitled to register for a research project, an internship or an on-line course until the paper or exam is completed.

• Deadlines may not be extended, nor waivers or exceptions granted by the Professor who taught the course, or by the Directors of the Program. 

• Failure to comply with deadlines may result not only in the loss of credits, but also of tuition, and the loss of the ability to continue in the degree program whether because of an Incomplete, as above in Sec. 6 D., or because of a “F” final grade, as above in Sec. 5 A.

Any violation of academic integrity shall be viewed as a serious infraction of the Rules and Regulations of the Law School. Violations of academic integrity shall include, but are not limitedto, dishonesty in the examination process, harassment and plagiarism in written work, or any other conduct which reflects adversely on a candidate’s fitness to practice law.

Regulation XI of the Rules and Regulations for the J.D. Program shall apply.

Suffolk University Law School reserves the right to change the schedule of classes, the program of instruction, and any rule or regulation established for the LL.M. degree in U.S. Law for International Business Lawyers.