“Should I do an LL.M.?” Our answer is always the same — it depends. Not on the degree itself, but on why you’re doing it, where you do it, and what you’re hoping to get out of it.
After years of placing lawyers in Brussels and across Belgium, we’ve seen LL.M.s open doors that would otherwise stay shut. We’ve also seen candidates spend a year of their career on a degree that changed nothing. Here’s what we actually observe on the ground.

It’s Not Just a Degree 

Let’s be clear about something that gets lost in the ROI calculations: a well-chosen LL.M. doesn’t just add a line to your CV. It changes you.
Living abroad, studying alongside lawyers from 40 different countries, navigating a foreign legal culture in a second or third language — that shapes how you think, how you communicate, how you carry yourself in a room. The lawyers we’ve placed who did a serious international LL.M. come back with a different kind of confidence. They’ve been tested outside their comfort zone and they know it. Clients and partners notice that.

The network is real too. Not the LinkedIn connections you’ll never use — we mean the classmates who go on to become partners at firms in Frankfurt, compliance heads at multinationals in New York, policy advisors inside the European Commission. That network pays dividends for decades, often in ways you never anticipated.

The Brussels Market Context 

Brussels is a unique legal hub of international firms, EU institutions, and multinational European headquarters all within a few square kilometres. Around 29% of all Belgian legal job postings are here, and the most in-demand profiles right now are compliance officers, corporate counsel, and data privacy specialists. In this market, an LL.M. is not a requirement, but it can be a decisive differentiator.

What We Actually Look For 

When we review a CV with an LL.M., we’re reading the signal behind it. Which institution? Which specialisation? At what career stage? A top US or UK LL.M. still carries real weight at Magic Circle and leading Benelux firms — Harvard tuition alone now runs over $80,000, with total costs closer to $116,000 for the year, so the commitment signals something. The College of Europe in Bruges occupies a different but equally powerful niche: at around €30,000 all-in including accommodation and meals, it’s far more accessible, and if you’re targeting EU institutions or Brussels policy work, the alumni network is arguably unmatched anywhere in the world.

Belgian “manama” programs — advanced masters in tax, IT law, or financial regulation — are often underestimated. Cost-effective, practical, and respected by domestic employers. For someone going deep in one area and staying in Belgium, they frequently offer better value than a foreign degree at three times the price.

What we rarely recommend: a broad, non-specialised LL.M. from a mid-ranked institution. The candidate has paid heavily in time and money for a credential that doesn’t move the needle with hiring partners.

Who’s Actually Paying? 

Here’s what doesn’t get said enough: in many cases, you’re not the one footing the bill.
The sweet spot for an LL.M. — and most partners we speak to agree — is after two to three years of practice. By then, you’ve demonstrated your value to the firm, you know what you actually enjoy, and critically, you’re in a position to have a real conversation about sponsorship. Many international firms in Brussels will fund an associate’s LL.M., partly or in full, in exchange for a commitment to return. We’ve seen associates leave with tuition covered and a desk waiting when they get back.

That changes the entire ROI calculation. Suddenly it’s not about whether the degree pays back in three to five years — it’s about whether you return a more valuable, more rounded lawyer. And you almost certainly will.

Timing Still Matters 

Going straight into an LL.M. after your Belgian master’s gives you academic momentum and makes you stand out in an entry-level market. But you’ll arrive back without practice experience, and some hiring partners will feel that. It works  but you’ll need to be sharper about how you tell your story.

Mid-career LL.M.s are a different tool entirely. We recently worked with a candidate who used a part-time finance LL.M. to move from a generalist firm role into a senior compliance position at a major bank. Purposeful, well-timed, and it paid off.

When an LL.M. Isn’t the Answer 

For compliance and data privacy roles specifically, a CIPP/E certification is often more practical and considerably cheaper. A Blue Book traineeship at the European Commission gives you policy credibility and network access that no classroom replicates. And for litigators, three years of bar traineeship experience will outweigh almost any additional academic credential.

Our Advice 

Before committing, we always ask three questions:

• What specific role or sector are you trying to reach?
• Does this program actually get you closer to that?
• And have you had a frank conversation with your firm about sponsorship?

The lawyers who get the most from an LL.M. treat the year as a recruitment exercise as much as an academic one. They come back with a clear story, a live network, and a perspective that genuinely sets them apart — not just on paper, but in the room.
Used well, an LL.M. is one of the most powerful investments a lawyer in this market can make. Used badly, it’s an expensive gap year with a certificate at the end.

Thinking it through and want to know how specific programs are viewed by Brussels hiring partners right now? That’s exactly what we’re here for — reach out to us!  

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