Online LL.M. in U.S. Law

Fordham Law’s online LL.M. program is designed to accommodate your busy personal and professional schedule. We offer fall and spring start dates as well as part-time and full-time study options. The fall semester runs from August—December and the spring semester runs from January—May.  The program will launch in August 2023 (fall semester).

Each student is required to complete a minimum of 24 credits of approved courses. Full-time students take 10 or more credits per semester and complete the program in two semesters. Part-time students may take up to seven semesters to complete the program.

Graduates of any recognized foreign law school, law faculty, or law department are eligible to apply. An undergraduate degree in law (such as an LL.B.) is sufficient.

No New York Bar Examination Eligibility: Please note that this degree does not lead to eligibility to sit for the New York bar examination. In order to be eligible for the bar, students must complete the on-campus LL.M. degree. We make no representations about eligibility to sit for any other bar examination.

Transfer to In-Person Program: Students may transfer between the online and in-person LL.M. programs. Please note that in order to be eligible to sit for the New York Bar Examination, most LL.M. students will need at least 24 credits of fully in-person coursework.

Throughout the academic year, Fordham Law will host online academic enrichment and professionalism events to which all online LL.M. students are welcome.

Students taking courses exclusively online are not eligible to join journals or clinics and do not have access to individualized services offered by our Graduate Professional Development Program.

Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Digital Assets

Welcome to a course where blockchain assets meet law. This course is designed to give students an understanding of blockchain technology as well as cryptocurrencies and other digital assets and their interaction with law and the legal practice. The course will explore legal issues arisen by innovative business models utilizing peer-to-peer networks and distributed ledger technology. During the course, we will analyze several major cryptocurrency issuances (e.g., Bitcoin and Ether) and the benefits of tokenizing or digitalizing other assets, like gold, art, or equity, as well as the business and legal issues connected to trading them. Students also will learn about stablecoins and central bank digital currencies.

Business Associations

This course will examine the system by which U.S. corporations are directed and controlled.  Through analysis of U.S. statues, common law, regulations, primary source documents and academic works, students will study the roles and responsibilities of boards, management, shareholders, policy makers and other key stakeholders in U.S. corporate governance.  Particular attention will be given to directors’ fiduciary duties, shareholder rights, executive compensation, institutional investors, activist shareholders and issues of ESG and systemic risk.  Students will discuss shareholder primacy and stakeholder governance theories and engage with guest speakers who are among the most prominent players in U.S. corporate governance today.

Civil Procedure

This course aims to provide students with an overview of the various stages of a United States litigation involving foreign parties including practical advice on how to manage a litigation having connections to multiple jurisdictions. Students will learn and discuss issues such as jurisdiction, evidence, discovery (including e-discovery), and class actions. Students will be presented with issues that arise at various stages of an American litigation and understand strategic considerations and techniques for managing these issues. 

Corporate Social Responsibility Law and Policy

This course is designed to introduce students to the law and practice of corporate social responsibility and expose them to the challenges and prospects for maximizing social and environmental outcomes alongside profits. The seminar will begin with an examination of the theories and practice of corporate social responsibility law. Students will then learn about the history and development of CSR law at both the international and domestic law levels. The course will continue with a focus on business and human rights, the protection of the environment, anti-corruption, labor rights, and recent legal developments linked to social movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter.

Introduction to U.S. Contract Law

Introduction to U.S. Contract Law will introduce students to the major principles of U.S. contract law, including the basic structure and building blocks of commercial agreements; interpretation of key components and provisions; and best practices for developing effective drafting techniques.

Introduction to the U.S. Legal System and Process

This course examines the principal features of the U.S. legal system, including federalism; the structure and operation of the national government; federal and state judicial systems; the use of precedent, methods of reading, analyzing, and synthesizing case law; and dispute resolution. The course will also focus on tools for success in U.S. law schools—case reading, briefing, outlining, and exam taking.

Legal Research and Writing

Legal Research and Writing provides an introduction to principles of U.S. legal research, writing, and analysis. Students will learn the basics of the four-step legal research process, focusing on free, online research tools; and learn basic principles of legal reasoning and how to embody these principles in documents used in practice. Students will draft legal memoranda and client letters.

Privacy and Information Technology

Digital communication technologies make it easier than ever to distribute information. They and the laws addressed to them accordingly have become all the more vital in the era of COVID-19, when institutions and individuals everywhere rely on them for practically everything. This course addresses the way in which law, legal institutions, and private actors control the flow of information, in the era of COVID-19 and beyond. The course will take up these themes in the areas of intellectual property, free speech, open government, search, informational privacy, cloud storage, cybersecurity, and communications.

Professional Responsibility

This course is about the professional responsibility of U.S. lawyers and is specifically tailored for international LL.M. students. The course provides a holistic introduction to some of the key professional responsibility aspects that a foreign law-trained lawyer should expect to consider when working in the U.S. or dealing with U.S. lawyers from abroad. The course will examine the fundamental notions that govern the conduct of lawyers in relation to their clients, third parties and the courts. 

U.S. Competition Law in Global Perspective

This course will explore basic U.S. laws regulating competition and an overview of how key topics in antitrust are handled today in the U.S. and on a global basis. We will compare different laws and identify to what extent they converge or diverge, and how multiple antitrust laws influence each other and the economies that are subject to them. We will also study recommendations by multilateral organizations such as the International Competition Network (ICN) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) toward harmonization of antitrust laws.

U.S. and Cross-Border Insolvency

This course introduces students to U.S. statutes governing insolvency and leading cases interpreting these laws, exploring the mechanics of a bankruptcy and proceeding through Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 cases. We will explore the rights of debtors, the rights of creditors, the duties of the Trustee, the rights and remedies of a Trustee, and the jurisdiction of U.S. Bankruptcy courts. The course will also discuss issues related to multi-jurisdictional insolvency matters.

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