Chicago-Kent to offer its LL.M. Program in Beijing in Unique Collaboration

January 25, 2002–CHICAGO–At least twenty-six Chinese lawyers will begin LL.M. studies this March in Beijing in a program taught by faculty from Chicago-Kent College of Law.  In partnership with Peking University and the Beijing Lawyers Association, Chicago-Kent will offer its traditional master of laws program in international and comparative law to Chinese attorneys “as they increasingly encounter legal issues involving global commerce and China’s accession to the World Trade Organization,” said Chicago-Kent dean Harold J. Krent.

The two-semester program will be taught for four months in Beijing and four months in Chicago, with students arriving at Chicago-Kent in July. Class schedules in Beijing will be taught on a part-time basis, allowing students to concentrate on their law practices as much as possible and  leaving their jobs for only the four months they spend in the United States.

Professors Susan Adams, Steven Harris, Gary Laser and Claire Hill likely will teach in the program this spring. Course work in Beijing will be offered in intensive one-week or two-week periods for three to four hours a day at Peking University.  Courses will focus on the American legal system, fundamental American commercial principles, and legal research and writing.  While in Beijing, students will form study groups and receive intensive instruction in legal English.

Full-time course work in Chicago will ensue from August until mid-December, when students will complete their degrees. Students may choose any elective course in the law school’s upper-level curriculum.  In addition, students in the Beijing/Chicago program will benefit from specially scheduled visits to American courts, law firms, corporations and financial markets.

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