I am 43 years old and just recently completed my LLB. I work as a consultant in the City. I am now toying with the prospect of sitting the New York Bar exam next year, as there is a possibility that I will relocate to the US in the near future. Given my age, I am rather hesitant about taking the UK option to qualify as a solicitor. My objective is to qualify in one jurisdiction and as quickly as possible. Would the New York Bar be my best bet?
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The whole process of qualifying in New York will take you about a year (Bar exam, ethics exam, application process, and character and fitness interview), provided that you pass the Bar exam first time. This will likely cost less than the Legal Practice Course would do. By contrast, qualifying here will take at least three years, provided that you get a training contract while on the LPC.
That said, only about 10% of takers without US law degrees actually pass the Bar exam, whereas statistically far more UK law graduates will get training contracts.
Most firms in the US (in NY at least) would expect you to have a JD in addition to having sat the Bar prior to commencing work with them. There's more to becoming a NY lawyer than sitting the Bar.
You can't take the NY bar unless you have a US law degree-- if you do not already have a law degree in another country then I think you have to get a JD which is three years (an exception is if you have worked as an 'apprentice' to a NY lawyer for several years and they are willing to swear to that). I think this is the case in almost all states except California, where there are no prerequisites to taking the Bar exam. After law school, as the first poster pointed out, you still have to take the bar (given only 2x a year) and the ethics exam, and if you pass the Bar (which you won't find out until at least three months after you take it) then you have to send in your application and have an interview - this will involve a wait of several months for an appointment (at least). Nonetheless, I think it is more common in the US for people to go to law school after having had another career first, so you may find that there are more people in your situation, which would not likely be the case when doing a training contract in the UK... just noticed the poster has an LLB - well, in that case you will probably not have to get a JD degree. You will just have to do an LLM in the US which only takes one year.
I passed the NY Bar back in 2001 without a US law degree. Unless the criteria has changed since 2001, I believe the previous poster is wrong.
If you have done the LLB and that LLB took at least three years and has been accredited by the Law Society, then you do not need to do any US study at all. I took the NY Bar last year and this is what applied to me. The website to look at is nybarexam.org, so that you can confirm all of this.
You can do the NY Bar with an English law degree, but not if you have done the pgdl. Lots of websites offer the course online / correspondence.
Sorry to hijack the thread, but is there any benefit to dual qualifying? Can solicitors practice in NYC as a non-admitted fee earner?
The Bar exam isn't that hard, if you're used to hard work, and really work hard. The key is getting used to multiple-choice exams, which can be difficult - but practice makes perfect.
I'd say you tend to be taken more seriously by US lawyers if you have the NY Bar. But you will probably find it quite hard to find a job as a qualified lawyer here if you just have the NY Bar with no real experience - law firms aren't that naive.
I qualified at the NY Bar last year (anyone who has a law degree based on English law can sit the NY, or California, Bar). They are not easy exams- if they were, the pass rate would be higher, but if you put in the hard work they are passable. I don't know about applying for jobs in NY as I decided not to go there, but I have just sat the QLTT exams (which are very easy) which allow me to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales, by virtue of my NY qualification. Come February 2009 (when my two-year experience will be satisfied) I will be a dual-qualified lawyer... at the age of 26, not bad going (I think!). I was hired by my present firm mostly on the virtue of my NY qualification which is recognised by most lawyers as being quite an achievement given the difficulty of the exams. I'd say go for it - then if you decide to stay in the UK, qualify via the QLTT, which will take less than a year (providing you have two years experience already). As dual-qualified you will be more atractive to firms, particularly to US firms based in London.
It is very difficult to get a job in the UK if you qualify that way. Employers will consider you some kind of maverick who thought he/she could cut some corners. Unlike in the US, NQ positions in the UK require experience, two years of experience gained during the training contract stage. Without that experience you are virtually unemployable. Having said that, US firms in the US may hire you, at least the smaller ones. Large firms will require a JD from a top 20 US law school with high first-year grades - which is much harder to achieve than passing the Bar exam.
Hi Chloe, thank you for encouraging comments posted on 10 July. Can you let me know who was your course provider for the New York Bar exam, and how long it took you to get a response from the New York State Board Examiners regarding your eligibility to sit the exam. I wrote to them in April and chased up my application with two emails, still no response.
Many thanks.
I have just been reading the notes above and note that a number of you have sat and successfully passed the NY Bar. I am a trainee solicitor due to qualify next year. My husband is American and we have considered moving to NY when I qualify. If we do, I would like to and need to work prior to sitting the Bar. Do any of you know how likely it is to get a position in a firm - would I need to work as a paralegal rather than foreign qualified being only an NQ? We just don't know whether to make the move or not. Any comments on experiences would be appreciated. Thanks
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