Higher studies in USA

United States arguably is the most evolved economy of the world. It is no surprise that in the modern context it has the most evolved legal system as well. The same may be debated as it would not have the legal history that the UK may have. However, the business driven approach has made it the most practical / market oriented legal system. India being a common law country may be better aligned to the UK in terms of similarities of the legal systems; however when it comes to the market and the business US is leading the way in terms of evolution of legislation. Thus, it may not be a bad idea to plan US based legal education if your focus is business and economy driven legal career which primarily is in the advisory role and has less to do with litigation.
The United States legal system follows the federal approach. The central or the national government has specific set of enumerated powers. Simultaneously the fifty states retain their sovereign, autonomy and authority. Both the national and state governments are divided into executive, legislative and judicial functions. Written constitutions at both federal and state levels form a system of separation of powers creating checks and balances between the governments.
Unlike most other countries, in the United States, the formal study of law (leading to becoming a lawyer eligible to practice in a court of law in the US) is only available at the postgraduate level. Thus to be eligible to attend a law school in the US, a students must have had a prior undergraduate degree. The two types of degrees offered are the Juris Doctor (JD) and the Masters Degree in Law (LLM).
While JD is the primary degree required to be able to practice in the US Courts LLM is an additional degree meant for already qualified lawyers who wish to pursue higher studies in their specific area of interest. The JD programme requires about three years of studies at a law school after the successful completion of the undergraduate degree.
However, there exist other programmes that involve study of law; which are available to students at the undergraduate level. However, these law-related degrees do not lead to becoming a qualified lawyer as they may not be ABA accredited. ABA stands for American Bar Association It gives accreditation to the Law Schools in US. The most important activities for ABA are setting of academic standards for law schools and the formulation of model ethical codes related to the legal profession.
The ABA has approved nearly 200 schools in the US for imparting legal education. Only when a student obtains a JD Degree from an ABA accredited law school, he or she becomes eligible to practice in a court of law in the United States.