Sorting through the many LLM programs out there can be a daunting task for students. Many times in the search to find the right program, applicants forget to ask the most important questions: (1) what do lawyers do, and (2) which program will teach me or help me to improve to do what lawyers do?

As a lawyer and having taught LLM courses for the past five years, I often remind applicants that lawyers solve problems and lawyers write about how to solve problems. Some LLM applicants limit their search to programs that teach them how to solve a specific legal problem, say, intellectual property law or international business. Yet, this is only one side of the coin. LLM applicants should also look for a program with an excellent legal research and writing curriculum.

In weighing your options, you should look for LLM legal research and writing programs that have the following features: (1) electronic database research and citation training, (2) individualized writing workshops, (3) an approachable writing instructor or writing center, (4) information on researching and writing legal briefs or memos, and (5) information on researching and writing an academic legal research paper.

Electronic database research training involves training in Lexis and Westlaw. Almost all law schools have an agreement with both Lexis and Westlaw for the companies to provide free research training for their students at the law school and free access to both online research databases while the student is in law school. The program should also teach students how to properly cite legal documents.

Individualized workshops are important simply because many LLM programs will be composed of students from various countries. A student from Saudi Arabia will have different writing concerns than a student from Thailand, and instructors should tailor their workshops accordingly by maintaining an approachable demeanor and encouraging students to ask questions.

An LLM writing program should also teach how to write both the academic legal research paper and the legal brief. Most schools only teach one or the other. Yet, each is a different genre of legal writing that requires a different skill to master. The academic research paper teaches students how to be a scholar; this ongoing role makes it the responsibility of an attorney to engage in a dialogue about the law. The legal brief teaches students how to tell persuasive stories, make arguments, and structure and support arguments with relevant authorities. The legal brief is also the best method to train students to use the CRAC system, the standard rhetorical structure for U.S. legal writing, including law school exams.

Remember in your search that lawyers are foremost researchers and writers. Your aptitude in researching aspects of law will set the groundwork for the rest of your career by widening your consciousness and sharpening your ability to assess the issues at hand. You will also more successfully communicate with your clients, students, and colleagues if you commit now to establishing a distinguished legal writing framework.

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Rafael Dean Brown is an instructor in the LLM in U.S. and Global Legal Studies program at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.