Chicago-Kent School of American Law for Caucasus LL.M Program with Scholarships 2017

LL.M Program with Significant 75 % Tuition Scholarship And ONE FULL and TWO PARTIAL scholarship awards for 2017 academic year

IIT, Chicago-Kent College of Law along with School of American Law (SAL) for Armenia announces request for applications for two interlinked programs with significant – 75 % tuition scholarship:   

• Two-semester overseas certificate program specialized on Business Law delivered in, Tbilisi, Georgia and
• One-semester LL.M degree program at Chicago-Kent College of Law delivered in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

The whole program is business-law focused and covers the most demanding subjects of law and its application in international practice.  

School of American Law was established in 2012 in cooperation with Chicago-Kent College of Law headquartered in Tbilisi, Georgia to support the mission of expanding knowledge, promoting of American legal studies and providing equal access of legal education for the lawyers of emerging market countries.

Academic year begins in Tbilisi in February 2017 and completes in December 2017. This two-semester study covers ten mandatory courses in law conducted only in English and delivered solely by Professors of Chicago-Kent. Learning mode is one or two courses per month covering weekends only throughout full day intensive instructions with 10-12 academic hours per course.

Ten mandatory courses focus primarily business law and cover contemporary subjects of law: Legal Writing, International Business Transactions, E-Commerce, Online Contracting, IP Asset Management, US Intellectual Property Law, Comparative Law, US Administrative Law, International Criminal Law and Introduction to American Legal Systems. Exact titles and content of courses are subject to change.

Program curricula, reading and course materials, exam policy and exam assignments, grading system and grading are developed exclusively by Professors of Chicago-Kent.  Students are graded only by Professors of Chicago-Kent. The whole study process and quality assurance is supervised by Chicago-Kent.

After completion of two-semester program in Tbilisi graduates based on their decision - immediately or within three years from completion of two-semester program in Tbilisi - continue their LL.M education at Chicago-Kent in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The credits earned during two-semester program are fully recognized by Chicago-Kent College of Law. Therefore master study at Chicago-Kent is finished with earning LL.M in “U.S., International and Transnational Law” in one semester (which equals five months) instead of regular one academic year.

After completion one semester study at Chicago-Kent, students may continue their education for the second semester again with significant – 80 % tuition scholarship. Nevertheless, for those students who graduated two-semester program in Tbilisi, earning LL.M degree from Chicago-Kent in “U.S., International and Transnational Law” does not require spending two semesters at Chicago-Kent and getting LL.M is possible in one semester as provided above.

Lawyers with a professional experience of three years or more who are interested to continue second semester at Chicago-Kent and get an admission to practice, may earn LL.M within two semesters and earn LL.M not only in “U.S., International and Transnational Law” but also within the following highly ranked directions of Chicago-Kent:

1. M. in Trial Advocacy
2. M. in Intellectual Property Law
3. M. in Financial Law

The applicants eligible to apply for the program

• Practitioner lawyers, litigators, public sector lawyers, corporate lawyers, notaries and lawyers from different industries having at least Bachelor’s degree in law;

• Applicant without a first degree in law may be admitted if he/she holds a degree in other specialty, but mandatorily master degree in law and BAR membership in home jurisdiction or plans to obtain only a certificate of two-semester program in business law without extension of LL.M study at Chicago-Kent.
• Last year Bachelor degree students or law faculty recent graduates with high GPA are eligible for the program.

Special benefits for this enrollment

1. One Full (100%) tuition scholarship for LL.M study at Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago – One full scholarship is available established jointly by Chicago-Kent College of Law and KMG Law Firm. To qualify for the scholarship, students must have a GPA in SAL of at least 3.8. The Dean of Chicago-Kent and Head of SAL Worldwide will review applications from students who meet that condition and select the most qualified student;
2. Two 50% tuition scholarships for certificate study in Georgia – KMG Law Firm will finance the second installment for those two students whose GPA in SAL by the end of the first semester is 3.8 or higher;
3. Exchange component with covered expenses – two students whose GPA in SAL by the end of the first semester is 3.8 or higher may enjoy one-course exchange opportunity in School of American Law program in Athens. KMG Georgia Law Firm will finance travel and lining expenses;
4. Exchange component – any student may enjoy one-course exchange opportunity in School of American Law program in Athens. Student has to cover travel and living expenses;

Advantages of Program

• Getting benefits from the blended structure of the program starting in Tbilisi without leaving current jobs and changing professional lifestyle;
• Preferential and immediate admission to Chicago-Kent LL.M after completion of School of American Law two-semester program in Tbilisi;
• Upon completion of School of American Law Program, graduate is eligible for LL.M in “U.S., International and Transnational Law” at Chicago-Kent in one semester instead of one academic year;
• School of American Law Program graduate receives the significant tuition scholarship - up to 75 % for the LL.M study from Chicago-Kent College of Law. After such scholarship, tuition fee at Chicago-Kent is USD 10,000 instead of regular USD 44,000;
• SAL Graduate may apply for payment plan to cover LL.M tuition fee within two or more payment installments while studying at Chicago-Kent;
• After completion of School of American Law Program graduate has the right to preserve his/her admission for LL.M at Chicago-Kent during the next three academic years;
• Affordable tuition fee and a possibility of covering the program tuition fee in Tbilisi within two or three installments;
• Real opportunity to improve English language skills during School of American Law program to be prepared for master study in Chicago;
• TOEFL Waiver for program graduates - if graduate holds a completion certificate of School of American Program he/she receives TOEFL Waiver from Chicago-Kent;
• SAL graduates while having a F1 visa may work on-campus without special permission from the U.S. immigration authority. The on-campus employer will arrange authorization from university’s International Center. On-campus employment must not exceed 20 hours per week during the semester or 40 hours per week when school is not in session or during the annual vacation;
• Quality assurance directly by Chicago-Kent;
• Interaction with colleagues and professors;
• Development a strong professional network;
• Second semester opportunity at Chicago-Kent with 80 % scholarship - after completion of one semester, students may continue their education for the second semester as well. Nevertheless, for those students who graduated School of American Law program in Tbilisi, earning LL.M degree from Chicago-Kent in “U.S., International and Transnational Law” does not require spending two semesters in Chicago-Kent and getting LL.M is possible in one semester;
• The world best location – downtown campus of Chicago-Kent is located in the heart of Chicago - one of the nation's top legal markets.

Tuition Fee

• Tuition fee for School of American Law program amounts to USD 6,550.00; for applicants from Armenia tuition amounts to USD 5,550.00 as they are given additional scholarship for their travel expenses to Georgia; More scholarships are available for certain applicants based on their interview results and professional background; 
• Tuition fee for LL.M at Chicago-Kent College of Law for School of American Law program graduates amounts to USD 10,000 instead of regular USD 44,000 therefore Chicago-Kent for Georgia provides tuition scholarship up to 75 %;
• SAL Graduate receives the significant tuition scholarship - up to 80 % for the second semester and after such scholarship, tuition fee is USD 7, 250 instead of regular USD 22,000. Thus, student will save USD 14 750 of tuition fee.

Document Submission

all applicants are required to submit the following documents electronically by January 19, 2017:

• CV in English;
• Copy of the Passport and/or ID;
• Letter of reference must be provided in English or in Armenian;
• Cover Letter in English;
• Electronic copy/copies of diploma or University statement for Bachelor students.

The documents should be sent to the following addresses: admission@chicagokentlaw.ge, lbakumya@kentlaw.iit.edu, m.meskhi@chicagokentlaw.ge, k.jeladze@chicagokentlaw.ge

Note: The size of the submitted documents should not exceed 10 MB. After submission of the documents confirmation shall be received. Otherwise, you are advised to contact local representatives.

Important Dates

• Application submission: By January 19, 2017

Additional Information

Employment Issues

After completion of two semesters LL.M graduate are eligible for off-campus employment:

• Work permits are required for all off-campus employment and may be granted by the U.S. immigration authority for paid practical training. In general, students with F1 visas may apply for a 12-month period of Optional Practical Training (OPT), which begins after the completion of their two-semester study, during which student with F1 status who has completed his/her degrees for more than nine months are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work for one year under Employment Authorization Card on a student visa towards getting practical training to complement their education.

BAR Exam

Taking BAR exam in any states in US

• Bar Exams are administered nation-wide in February and July. Bar admissions requirements differ from state to state and as a result, students are advised to visit the web site of their state bar office for the most accurate information. For information on various exams and links to most state bar authorities, visit the web site of the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

University

Illinois Institute of Technology with its Chicago-Kent College of Law a leader in a legal education is often recognized for the scholarly excellence and distinguished by curricular innovation. Chicago-Kent College of Law is nationally recognized the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. Chicago-Kent has a history marked by innovation and excellence. As a leader in the US legal education, Chicago-Kent is a great Law School for launching lawyer’s future. What makes Chicago-Kent great is its future focus, emphasizing legal writing and practice-based learning and new litigation technology teaching the practice and the business law in its own law firm.

Chicago-Kent was gained accreditation by the American Bar Association in 1936 and membership in the Association of American Law Schools in 1951.

In 2015 US News & World Reports assigned the following ranking to Chicago-Kent among the most demanded and popular program: Trial Advocacy the 3^rd place.

According to US News & World Reports Chicago-Kent graduate employment rate right after the graduation amounts to 66.2% and 90.7% within 9 months following the graduation.

Since 2012 Chicago-Kent College of Law successfully operates its special overseas program for Caucasus region headquartered in Tbilisi, Georgia to support lawyers of emerging market countries in updating their legal knowledge. The program remains the first and so far the only program of this kind in Caucasus providing lawyers with the high quality legal education based on US teaching methodology and followed by US LL.M supported by significant tuition scholarship opportunities.

Useful resources

Information about program: www.kentlaw.iit.edu/sal-caucasus

Chicago-Kent College of Law: www.kentlaw.iit.edu

Brief video regarding “What Makes a Law School Great: Inside Chicago-Kent” 

 

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Contact

Mrs. Lusine Bakumyan
In-country Director
lbakumya@kentlaw.iit.edu
+374 093190180