Alongside its outstanding new class of J.D. law students, UCLA School of Law has welcomed many exceptional lawyers, scholars, and professionals who are pursuing LL.M., S.J.D., and M.L.S. degrees during the 2022-23 academic year.

The 230 lawyers who are pursuing LL.M. or master of laws degrees hail from 36 countries on six continents and range in age from 20 to 52. Fifty-eight percent are female.

They hold law degrees from renowned schools including Cambridge University, the Sorbonne, the University of Tokyo, the London School of Economics, Renmin University, the University of British Columbia, Seoul National University, the University of Munich, and UC Berkeley.

All are successful legal professionals, having worked at leading international law firms; organizations including KPMG, Panasonic, and the State Bar of California; and foreign groups such as the Northern Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency, the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons in India, the Japanese Ministry of Finance, the South African Human Rights Commission, the Hungarian Ministry for Innovation and Technology, the Icelandic Ministry of Social Affairs, and the vice president of Paraguay. Two are judges. Five are Fulbright scholars.

At UCLA Law, the LL.M. students are specializing in many areas of study: 38% in business law; 32% in media, entertainment, technology, and sports law and policy; 8% in international and comparative law; 7% in environmental law; 5% in human rights; 4% in critical race studies; 3% in individualized programs of study; and 1% in each of public interest law and policy, law and sexuality, and law and philosophy.

The three new S.J.D. students are pursuing doctor of juridical science degrees at UCLA Law. They are leading scholars whose projects include an investigation of an Islamic framework for climate justice, research regarding the Colombian Council of State’s consultive function, and a look into the regulation of encrypted messaging platforms.

UCLA Law’s third incoming class of students who are pursuing M.L.S. or master of legal studies degrees are top-flight and mostly mid-career professionals who aim to gain an in-depth education in the law that does not lead to a career in the practice of law.

They total 50 students, 36 of whom are attending classes part time. Sixty-four percent of the students identify as female, and 68% are members of historically underrepresented groups. They range in age from 21 to 61.

Nearly 30% hold advanced degrees in the sciences, business, education, and more. They earned undergraduate degrees from Brown University, Emory University, Stanford University, Yale University, and UCLA, among other leading universities.

A great number of the incoming class members are accomplished executives and professionals:

54% are chief executives, vice presidents, directors or managers, with an average professional work experience of 13 years. They have held leadership positions with premier companies, such as a biomedical firm, a resort and casino, a homeless service authority, a food company, and entertainment production companies. Students also include a public safety and criminal justice reporter, a UCLA football athlete, an award-winning screenwriter, a judicial courtroom assistant, a software engineer, and a pharmacist.

During their studies at UCLA Law, 30% are pursuing work or specializing in entertainment and media law, 14% in employment and human resources law, 14% in law and technology; and 12% in business law; plus others who are focused on public interest law, health law and policy and government and national security law.

Read about UCLA Law’s outstanding new class of J.D. students.