What it is, in which states it opens the bar exam to you, and what kinds of programs there are for foreign-trained lawyers. NAFA does not offer an LL.M.: we guide you and prepare you for the one you choose.
Master of Laws
It is a one-year master's degree in law for people who already have a law degree. Many U.S. law schools have one designed for lawyers trained in another country, almost always of about 24 credits over two semesters.
It is not the J.D., the degree U.S. lawyers earn, and on its own it does not give a license to practice. What it can do, in some states, is complete your foreign education so that you can take the bar exam.
It depends on the state: each one decides. These examples are checked in their official source.
If your degree is not equivalent to a U.S. law degree in length or in content (only one of the two), an LL.M. makes up for it. With a degree from a civil-law country, as in every Spanish-speaking country, you always need one, because the rule allows equivalence in content only if your country's law is based on the English common law. The LL.M.: 24 credits in in-person classes at an ABA-approved law school, over at least two semesters and within 24 months. It must include professional responsibility, legal research and writing, and American legal studies (2 credits each), plus 6 credits in subjects tested on the New York exam.
Note: Online courses do not count. First you must ask the Board for an advance evaluation, ideally a year before the exam.
With a degree from a civil-law country, the LL.M. is required, and you must also be authorized to practice in your country or in another state (rule 13, section 5): without that authorization, the LL.M. is not enough. The LL.M.: at least 24 credits at an approved law school, over two or more semesters of 13 weeks and within 24 months. It must include professional responsibility; legal research, writing and analysis; and an introduction to U.S. law (2 credits each), plus 6 credits in subjects tested on the Texas exam.
Note: Besides classes on campus, synchronous online classes, taught live by an approved law school, also count. But an LL.M. taken that way will not work for New York later, which does not count online courses.
If you are already a lawyer admitted in another country, you can take the exam with no additional study and without the First-Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX, the "baby bar"). If you are not, you need, among other requirements, one year of law study at an ABA-approved or California-accredited law school, and an LL.M. can meet it.
26 credits at an ABA-approved law school, in single-subject courses among those tested on the UBE. In addition, an evaluation by a service approved by the Committee on Admissions must certify that your education is equivalent to that of a U.S. law school or meets the requirements to practice in your country.
With an equivalency determination for your education, 14 semester credits in certain subjects at an ABA-accredited law school are enough, up to 6 of them by distance learning.
Besides the exam, in these two states a foreign-trained lawyer with an LL.M. can apply for a limited license: Legal Paraprofessional in Arizona (with an LL.M. from an ABA law school) and Licensed Legal Paraprofessional in Colorado (with an LL.M. that meets its rule 204.3). Both also require experience and an exam.
An LL.M. on its own is not enough: with a foreign degree, you first need to be admitted and to practice in another U.S. jurisdiction. With an LL.M. from an ABA law school that meets the Florida Board of Bar Examiners' criteria, two years of practice are enough; without it, five. That is why many foreign-trained lawyers take the New York exam first.
See all the routes: the bar exam, Foreign Legal Consultant and others
LL.M. in U.S. Law or American Law
The most common for foreign-trained lawyers: a foundation in U.S. law and the U.S. legal system. Many are designed to meet what New York or California require for the exam.
Note: Ask for the curriculum in writing and compare it with the rule of the state where you want to take the exam.
Tax, IP, International, Business…
It goes deeper into one area: tax, intellectual property, international or business law. It helps your career; for the exam, only if it also includes the subjects the state requires.
Online LL.M.
It lets you study from your country while you work. Some schools say their online program fits the rules of certain states. Texas counts synchronous online classes, taught live; New York does not count online courses.
University of Dayton: LL.M. in American and Transnational Law (its page in Spanish)
Online, at your own pace, 30 credits in one year. It has a page in Spanish, but classes are only in English. The school says its curriculum fits the requirements of California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia and Washington, and that it cannot guarantee admission.
Note: A page in Spanish does not mean classes in Spanish: confirm the language of instruction.
There are few, and they are recent: U.S. law explained in Spanish, almost always online. They are a good way to understand the system before studying in English, but as a rule they are not presented as a route to the bar exam.
University of San Diego: Master of Laws in U.S. Law (LLM), taught in Spanish
One year, online and entirely in Spanish, with two optional meetings in San Diego, at the start and at graduation. The school publishes a cost of 800 dollars per credit, 19,200 in total. Its page does not say that it qualifies you for the bar exam.
Note: If your goal is the exam, ask the school and the state's board whether the program qualifies you before you enroll.
Seven questions worth having answered in writing.
NAFA does not offer an LL.M. and does not compete with universities or bar associations. Our work is to guide you and prepare you for their programs, if you decide to follow them.
We help you see which state and which route suit you before you pay for a program, and ask each school the right questions.
UNPAM evaluates your degree and guides you on what you are missing. The decision belongs to each state's board, and some require their own evaluation.
Our courses explain U.S. law in Spanish, with the essential terminology in English, and the Legal English course prepares you to study and write in English. That way you reach the LL.M. with the groundwork done.
Bilingual training for the Hispanic lawyer was a wish of Dr. Pachecker, NAFA's founder. Our courses follow that idea.
Our courses are complementary training: they do not grant academic credit, are not equivalent to an LL.M. and do not replace any state requirement.
Reviewed on October 25, 2026. Rules and programs change: confirm the requirements with the state's board and with the school before you enroll.
This page is for information and is not legal advice. The schools appear as examples, with the information on their official pages. The decision on your admission to the exam belongs to each state's board.
Start by knowing which state and which route suit you. We guide you before you spend on a program.
