Your path to international legal success

Your path to international legal success


If you’re a US-based law professional looking to take your career to the next level, a Master of Laws (LLM) from Durham University could be a strategic move. The Russell Group institution offers an LLM that reflects the wide variety of legal contexts that exist throughout the world — unlike many US law programmes that focus primarily on domestic practice. Through a range of legal specialisms, you can tailor your legal qualification to suit your interests and prepare you for a career unlimited by borders.

“The School’s research and teaching address and impact various jurisdictions, which makes its work relevant, intellectually interesting, and prepares students well for the global legal sector,” says Professor Thom Brooks.

Originally from New Haven, Connecticut, Brooks studied in New Jersey, Arizona, and Dublin before moving to the UK. Comparing a UK law degree to its US counterpart, he sees the former to be more flexible and versatile. “American legal training is graduate-level and mostly aimed only at a US legal career,” he says. “A Durham law degree can lead to more opportunities to qualify in more jurisdictions (including in the US) and non-law careers.”

Brooks himself joined Durham to access a wider range of opportunities. Here, he’s part of an intellectual community of “terrific scholars, inspiring students and brilliant alumni,” teaches in areas like criminal law (including sentencing), asylum and migration, and legal philosophy, and conducts research with far-reaching impact.

“My research examines issues in each of these areas, including providing a coherent framework for bringing multiple penal purposes into a unified theory of punishment, identifying ways of reforming the immigration system, introducing greater fairness and effectiveness, and my legal theory work explores a reconceptualizing of legal realism as coherentism understanding legality through its coherence within a legal system,” he says.

It’s the kind of innovative and impactful research that the UK university is well-known for. The school’s academic staff advise parliamentarians and policy-makers around the world, are called to give evidence in Parliament, have their research cited and quoted by the courts and international bodies, and play a critical role in legal developments in the UK, US, and beyond.

At Durham Law School, Brooks and his colleagues, many of whom are leading figures in the field, use their research for another purpose as critical as shaping laws and policies around the world: training the next generation of lawyers.

Durham Law School is a global leader in legal education and research, with award-winning staff producing impactful, ground-breaking research. Source: Durham University

A comprehensive range of specializations

Durham Law School is ranked 48th in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject for 2024) and fifth in the UK (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025). In 2022, it was awarded the Athena Swan Bronze Award, recognizing its commitment to advancing gender equality within academia.

Award-winning academic staff and the school’s list of accolades make Durham Law School a world leader in legal education and research — a fact not lost on today’s top employers. From listed companies to leading international firms, they know what a Durham LLM signifies: deep expertise and global value.

Durham’s LLM programs offer a range of specializations, each designed to give students a thorough understanding of their chosen field. These LLM programs include Corporate Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Dispute Resolution, International Environmental Law, and Medical Law and Ethics, among others. Those who prefer to combine modules in these specialist programs can opt for the General LLM.

One unique aspect of Durham is its LLM in Medical Law and Ethics. This program is designed for those interested in exploring the legal and ethical issues surrounding medical practice and science. It is open to students without a first law degree, making it accessible to those from other fields who want to bring their expertise to the legal side of healthcare.

Looking ahead, Durham is expanding its offerings by introducing a new MSc in Law and Finance in 2025. This program is ideal for candidates with a law, accounting, finance, or economics background. It offers opportunities for those with substantial legal or regulatory experience to expand their knowledge of the intersection of law and finance.

Durham University

Most of Durham Law School’s postgraduate programs require a first degree with Law as a major component. Source: Durham University

From Durham Law School to successful careers

Durham Law School is proud of having some of the most satisfied and employable students today – thanks, in huge part, to how faculty members like Dr. Zhiyu Li, Associate Professor in Law and Policy, teach.

“I frequently involve students in my research activities,” she says. “For instance, several undergraduate and postgraduate students have participated in my project and collaborated with colleagues at HKU, LSE and ETH-Zurich, which measures the impact of Chinese guiding cases on lower courts’ judgments through machine learning techniques.”

Having studied law in Shanghai, Wisconsin and California and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in New York, Li knows how vital a law school’s environment is to learning and preparing for a global career. “My academic journey has greatly benefited from the inclusive academic environment for open dialogues offered by UW-Madison, UC Berkeley, NYU and Durham and their strong commitment to global and interdisciplinary research,” she says.

“At Durham Law School, we have a number of research centres actively engaging students and early career researchers in their various programs and building meaningful connections with domestic and international institutions.”

The doors that a Durham Law School education opens are seemingly countless. Although law is notorious for its highly competitive employment market, scores of Durham graduates have landed a diverse range of roles in various sectors and jurisdictions. The university’s alumni include current and former members of the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the High Court, as well as senior barristers, partners at international law firms, and General Counsel for listed companies.

Learn more about Durham Law School.

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