As Faculty Director, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to our LLM program. Our incoming LLM students for 2024-2025 are an extraordinary diverse cohort, and we are excited to welcome graduates of law schools from across the world. Thank you too, to our partner schools Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), University Paris Nanterre (France), Renmin University of China and the University Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne (France).
The Boston College LLM program is designed to immerse participants in the United States legal system, including its storied system of legal education. Through the course of a year’s study, students are prepared for the challenges and opportunities that accompany our globally connected legal profession. The LLM curriculum is well integrated within the JD curriculum and also includes two dedicated LLM courses for the cohort as a whole.
The aim behind this integrated design is two-fold. First, as students gain exposure to the latest developments in the US legal system, they also help bring their own ideas about social justice and public service – ideas that are central to our educational philosophyÌý– to a world stage. Second, the presence of international LLM students and advanced US practitioners within the Boston College Law School community, both inside and outside of the classroom, enriches our understanding of international legal norms and diverse legal cultures.
As part of my welcome to the LLM class of 2025, I wish to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of our LLM class of 2024, who, alongside our graduating and ongoing JD classes, proved the resilience and necessity of global legal education. The continual operation of classes at Boston College throughout the Covid-19 global pandemic, both virtually and in person, has become an enduring symbol of that resilience.