At The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, LLM students have the option of participating in several co-curricular experiences that offer meaningful opportunities for professional growth, technical skills development and academic enrichment.
Each year, Moritz organizes a team of four students to participate in the annual LLM International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition. The American University Washington College of Law created this competition specifically for LLM students in order to encourage “the study of international arbitration for the resolution of international business disputes and investment disputes” (external website). Each fall, the International and Graduate Affairs Office conducts Internal Competition rounds that are open to all LLM students. One non-graded semester course credit is granted to the four finalists selected to compete on the Moritz team at American University.
Two internal Moritz Clinics are open to LLM students:
- Mediation Clinic: Through intensive training, classroom lectures, discussions, exercises, and live clinical experiences, students learn how to become effective mediators, while also studying key issues involving different types of mediation, methods, and the state of the law and mediation. Students learn and practice crucial communication skills that enable them to effectively sort through challenging disputes between parties who are often passionate and adamant in their positions and allow those parties to more effectively communicate with each other.
- Legislation Clinic: Students work directly with legislative leaders and their staff on matters pending or anticipated to arise before the Ohio House and Senate. The clinic is one of the few legislation clinics in the entire nation, offering Moritz students the rare opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes of the legislative process.
Public Interest Externship Program: An externship is similar to a clinic in that students gain practical experience for credit in an academic setting that monitors the quality of their placement and asks each student to reflect critically upon their experiences; yet, it is slightly different because there are more placement sites to consider. In the past, LLM students have held externships at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Ohio Supreme Court, a corporate law-related nonprofit organization, and more. Each interested student works with the Assistant Director to select a few options from a list of possible placements to submit with their externship application. The application process is competitive and students are not guaranteed a placement. Students are responsible for their own transportation to their placement location. LLM students can participate in externships during the spring or summer terms, but summer tuition fees would apply for this optional enrollment period.
LLM students can also compete in three of the six Moritz Moot Court and Lawyering Skills Programs, as listed below. For details about these internal competitions, please refer to the program page.
- Lawrence Negotiations Competition
- Moritz Representation in Mediations Competition
- Moritz 1L Competition
The other three competitions that are operated under the auspice of Moot Court at Moritz leadership are open to LLM students for volunteer support as Bailiffs and for observation.
Public Service Fellows Program: LLM students are eligible to participate in Moritz’s Public Service Fellows Program, a program that recognizes students who volunteer legal service to a nonprofit (501)(c)(3) organization or to a governmental agency. This type of volunteering is often referred to as pro bono work and is an excellent opportunity for LLM students to build skills and gain experience.
Certificate in Dispute Resolution: LLM students have the opportunity to earn a Certificate in Dispute Resolution by completing 15 semester hours of course work related to the development of expertise in dispute resolution and completing the non-credit externship requirement.
Nancy H. Rogers Prize in Dispute Resolution: LLM students are also eligible to apply for the Rogers Prize in Dispute Resolution. This prize was created in 1999 by an anonymous donor, with the stipulation that it be named in honor of Nancy H. Rogers, who, at that time, was the Joseph S. Platt-Porter Wright Morris & Arthur Professor of Law and Director of the Program on Dispute Resolution.
Each year, the award recognizes two students who, in the judgment of a committee of faculty members who teach dispute resolution, wrote research papers on a dispute resolution topic that, in the donor’s language, “reflect the analytical rigor and intellectual breadth associated with highly-regarded scholarly contributions.” First and second prize receive monetary awards.
Post-LL.M. Graduation Summer Study & Externship Options:
- The University of Oxford Summer Law Program: Students learn about the British and American legal systems through a combination of classwork, guest lectures, and excursions in Oxford and London. Participants can choose from among five different courses and earn up to six hours of credit toward their law degrees.
- Washington D.C. Summer Program: Students work in substantive externships in D.C., accompanied by a high-quality academic program and a summer in the nation’s capital. The externship lasts at least seven weeks and students work at least 20 hours per week, in conjunction with taking classes: a 2-credit course on The Ethics of Washington Lawyering and a 3-credit externship seminar. Students are paired with a supervisor at their externship, and the supervisor ensures that at least 80 percent of the student’s time is substantive work.