I grew up with the law. My father was a lawyer. Now my daughter is in her first year of law school. I was proud of the work my father did, and interested in it, but I did not follow in his footsteps—at least not exactly.
Instead, I took to the study of English literature the lawyer’s interest in language, in making fine distinctions, in identifying and addressing ambiguities, in parsing human relationships, and in arguing cases. I’d like to think that even though I did not study law, I transferred some of the lawyer’s habits of mind to my daughter, who is following in her grandfather’s footsteps.
It gives me great personal satisfaction then that Mason Korea has launched a new program in the law, a US Master of Law degree, or, as it is more commonly known, an LLM. This degree will especially serve Korean lawyers who hold Korean JD (Juris Doctor) degrees but would like to practice law in the US or simply know more about it. The program both prepares students to take the Washington, DC, Bar exam and makes them eligible to do so. It even comes with a free Bar preparation exam course, included in the tuition. (Students in both LLM and JD degree programs typically also take a Bar exam preparation course.)
The program will provide its Korean audience with new skills and knowledge to thrive in and support a global economy. Such learning is part of Mason Korea’s general mission to develop the capacities of our students, further their professional success, and create leaders who can meet the challenges and opportunities of our global future.
Still, I also still very much appreciate the study of law as a means, through language, of thinking deeply about the world in which we live, and how we should live in it. This kind of thinking is something the law has in common with literature.
And like comparing two novels—especially novels that grow out of different societies and cultures—there is much to learn by comparing legal systems. I hope our students advance not only their careers, but also this kind of deep thought about our world.