A WORD OF CAUTION, WHEN DEALING WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO LIST LLM. AFTER THEIR NAME; THEY MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU THINK THEY ARE

I have seen some individuals, when posting on Linkedin, attach the academic degree of LLM., which means Master of Laws, after their name. That is a specialized degree, which is offered on many topics, and which generally takes 1-2 years to complete.

An LLM. is NOT a J.D., or Juris Doctor, degree, which is the the three year full-time course of study, that is necessary for one to qualify to take the bar exam, to gain admission to the practice of law. One does not need to have a JD to be admitted to an LLM program; it is often obtained by lawyers with foreign maw degrees, or practicing attorneys who require advanced study in a specific subject or field. You cannot take the bar exam with only an LLM; only those who complete the comprehensive course of study and training and receive a JD are considered lawyers, due to the extensive subject matter covered in law school. Whether you have passed the bar exam somewhere or not, with a JD, you are a lawyer.

Here's the problem; I am seeing individuals who only have an LLM (and it may have been earned through partial, or sole, online study) but display it prominently, creating the impression, giving laymen the impression that they are duly educated and qualified lawyers, meaning that their advice should be taken seriously. Some even use the term "attorney," which I consider misleading, because they don't have the necessary education,, and that may be a misrepresentation relied upon by some when considering an investment, specifically a Citizenship by Investment passport purchase.

Given that I have seen this issue multiple times here on the pages of Linkedin, I thought it appropriate to bring it up. Of course those lawyers with BOTH degrees, JD & LLM, are not the individuals who trouble me. It's those who the investing public might consider to be lawyers but are not, that are cause for concern.

KENNETH RIJOCK JD (1973)