What Can You Do with an LLM Degree in Health Law?

The Master of Laws (LLM) is a graduate-level degree above an undergraduate law degree or JD.¹ This becomes more evident when you consider that outside the United States, many countries around the world nominate their undergraduate-level law degrees as Bachelor of Laws, or LLB. From JD to LLB to LLM is the legal world’s equivalent of the traditional academic BA-to-MA (or BS-to-MS) progression.

LLMs typically provide advanced training in a specific area of law, such as tax law or arbitration. The online Master of Laws in Health Law and Policy from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University is an LLM dedicated to equipping graduates with expertise in the complex legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks of the U.S. healthcare landscape.

The U.S. healthcare market is large, sophisticated, and growing. A recent McKinsey report valued total healthcare-related earnings in the United States at $676 billion in 2023, projected to grow to $987 billion by 2028.² The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ job market projections indicate that the overall market for lawyers will grow at a stable 4% by 2034.³ Jobs in healthcare management positions – the sort of roles graduates with LLMs in healthcare law might fill – are predicted to increase by 23% by 2034.⁴

Healthcare law is one of the most demanding and in-demand specialties in the U.S. legal landscape, and it looks set to stay that way.

This post provides some answers to the question: “What can you do with an LLM?” and considers how an LLM in Health Law opens up opportunities in a rewarding legal career.

Why Pursue a Master of Laws?

The LLM is an important signal of commitment and expertise. The LLM graduate has a demonstrated concentration on a particular area of law, such as health or taxation, and can accordingly be considered a subject-matter expert.

Such expertise correlates with improved salary potential and promotion opportunities. Online recruitment specialist ZipRecruiter lists the average salary for JD graduates at $109,651 per year.⁵ ZipRecruiter’s estimate of the average salary for LLM graduates: $142,663.⁶

Which LLM Is Most in Demand?

What can you do with an LLM degree? The answer depends on which LLM degree you pursue.

According to U.S. News & World Report, one evergreen purpose for LLMs is as a means for lawyers who qualified overseas to gain familiarity with the U.S. legal landscape.¹

Can you practice law with an LLM? Not quite. To practice law, you need to pass the bar, not simply earn an LLM. But the expertise you gather in an LLM program elevates the substance of your consultancy considerably. You’re an expert in a particular area of law, with an in-depth knowledge of specialist concepts and practices that JD programs do not cover.

The popularity of specific LLM concentrations ebbs and flows over time. For example, the National Jurist magazine noted in 2016 that agricultural law concentrations were essentially extinct, and intellectual property law LLMs were everywhere.⁷ Today, U.S. News & World Report advises that corporate-law-friendly concentrations such as taxation and arbitration are in high demand.¹

But the market for healthcare lawyers is enjoying “unprecedented growth” in 2025, according to legal jobs specialist Law Crossing.⁸ Key market drivers include overall industry growth, the digital health revolution, increasing regulatory complexity, and a tendency toward greater consolidation in the industry – all contributing factors to an increasing need for qualified, expert legal knowledge.

Traditional Careers for LLM Graduates

What can you do with a master’s in law? Online recruiter Indeed identifies a range of career options for LLM graduates, from corporate lawyer to policy analyst and legislative assistant.⁹

The LLM positions you to step into specialist roles in corporate law. This is a proven way for lawyers to gain knowledge of an international legal framework that is not the one they studied at the undergraduate level; for example, an Australian law graduate could pursue an LLM in U.S. health law to be able to consult on American healthcare matters.

Additionally, many LLM graduates use the degree as a launchpad for academic careers.

LLM Career Opportunities in Health Law

An LLM in health law opens doors to a variety of legal healthcare and healthcare-adjacent roles, ranging from litigation to compliance, and even positions in the insurance industry or consulting on issues of bioethics.

The range of jobs calling for expertise in health law includes:

Healthcare Compliance

Compliance is the business of ensuring organizations follow the laws and regulations that govern them. The healthcare industry comprises many laws and regulations, covering patient rights, data protection, and insurance. Healthcare compliance experts keep their companies aligned with government and industry regulatory standards, and may also take roles drafting or interpreting healthcare policies that emerge in response to regulations.¹⁰

Bioethics and Medical Research

Bioethics is where law, ethics, and medicine intersect. LLM graduates in health law are among the subject matter experts you would expect to be consulted when ethics issues arise in healthcare organizations. Healthcare ethics committees and institutional review boards – which review ethical considerations in clinical trials and other medical research – also often need health law expertise.¹¹

Health Insurance

The global healthcare insurance market is a multi-trillion-dollar, massively complex interaction of legal and regulatory frameworks.¹² Healthcare insurance companies need lawyers and legal expertise to defend them against predatory and fraudulent claims, as well as to keep company policies aligned with an ever-changing collection of government interventions in the healthcare market.

Redefine Your Career With an Online LLM in Health Law and Policy

Hofstra’s online LLM in Health Law and Policy offers a rigorous curriculum that goes deeper than a master’s in law with a handful of health-focused electives. It is a fully immersive program, designed to equip attorneys with a deep and practical knowledge of the U.S. healthcare market. The Hofstra online LLM in health law is a fully flexible, 100% online program offered by an ABA-accredited law school, taught by accomplished faculty from the School of Law and healthcare practitioners from Northwell Health.

Explore curriculum and admissions information online, including GradCAS, the centralized application service. When you’re ready to discuss what an LLM in health law can do for your career, schedule a call with an admissions outreach advisor.