New York Bar Exams

legal eagle 1

wouldn't it be very difficult to secure work as a NY-trained attorney in NY and the US itself, never mind going to Continental Europe?

I'd be interested to know how successful people who have done the New York Bar exams have been as regards finding a job........be that in the US or here in Ireland??:rolleyes:

dee8839

Hi, I have a 2:1 B.A. (Law and Accounting) from UL, graduated this year. Having had no success with a training contract, I decided to do an LLM International Commercial Law this year, at a cost of about €4,500.

I had thought about doing 4 FE1s this month but ultimately that didn't happen, and I'm now considering doing the NY Bar exam instead.

Finishing my LLM in May, do you think I would manage to sit the exam next July, studying on my own with books from eBay? I just don't think I can justify paying for a prep course after already paying for a Masters.

Also, forgive my ignorance of these matters, but could someone tell me, if I get the NY Bar exam, would that qualify me to practice internationally without any form of traineeship? And what exactly is the QLTT, is it a sort of conversion exam? And does that then negate any need for a traineeship before one can work as a lawyer in this country?

Many thanks, this forum is always so helpful,

dee8839

Ab roller plus

Does anybody have any experience or know anything about qualifying in new south wales??

I'm in the process of applying for academic exemptions at the moment but would really not want to do another 2 years on a training contract.

Reading this thread has put ideas into my head re NY Bar.

DeadMoney

Hi, sorry if this was already answered in this thread but if you do the Bar exam straight out of college after finishing a BA in Business, what opportunities does this present you with regards to working in America? I understand that it is useless for practising Irish law but for somebody looking to get to America, is it a good path?

Arsenal1986

You have to have a law degree to do them, a business degree wouldnt enable you to sit them im afraid

JCS

Does anyone know if a non-law degree + a Postgraduate Diploma in Law is enough to be elligible for the NY Bar exam?

Dante09

JCS wrote: »

Does anyone know if a non-law degree + a Postgraduate Diploma in Law is enough to be elligible for the NY Bar exam?

Im 99.9% sure you need a full law degree to be eligible to sit the exams.

osullivem

Hi All,

Just registered for this bog there, Im hoping to sit the NY bar in Feb'10 and am taking the micromash home study course, I only got the stuff in the post the other day so have not had a chance to go through it in any detail yet (must motivate myself now!) but so far it looks pretty comprehensive.
I would just like to know peoples views on its relevance in Ireland and UK (am willing to take FE1s and Training Contract in addition to taking NY Bar), will it stand out on my CV enough to secure me a training contract? I also have a 2.1 LLB law degree and an IILEX Diploma in professional Legal Studies(merit), I did all my study at night and worked for a property development company during the day so have plenty of office experience.

Thanks for your opinions in advance!

mectavba

JCS wrote: »

Does anyone know if a non-law degree + a Postgraduate Diploma in Law is enough to be elligible for the NY Bar exam?

You would have to check with the NYBOLE about that. I know they do let certain Postgraduate courses do it.

I took the NY Bar in Feb 08 and got it. I did the Friarylaw course. It is very expensive, considering they themselves do virtually nothing. However, they provide you with the BarBri materials from New York which are very good. If you are willing to do the slog it is very do-able, but you wouldnt want to have too much else going on in your life. I did it along with a Masters, but it worked out so i could put the main work for the Masters off tl after the NY Bar.

Regarding employment, Im still not sure to be honest. I am yet to officially graduate over there. There is a component, the MPRE, which is kind of an ethics exam. I failed that first time and went over in March this year and got it that time. I got a job in Dublin, not practicing in a law firm, but in the legal sector and what I will say is that I think the only way I got an interview was that the NY Bar jumped off the page of my CV.

Regarding NY, I would also be interested to hear how people have got on. I know getting a job having studied in Ireland then passing the Bar is def possible, but in these times not sure how easy it is. I plan to head over once i hear the job situation has picked up. It would also be nice in the Min fo Foreign Affairs could arrange some Visa agreement with the US.

What i want to know from anybody who has qualified via this route is what the story is with the graduation ceremony? When do you have to apply and can you choose which month to go over? Seems like an awful lot more red tape...

Patrick23

legal eagle 1 wrote: »

I'd be interested to know how successful people who have done the New York Bar exams have been as regards finding a job........be that in the US or here in Ireland??:rolleyes:

I did the Bar exam in February, I'm now at Fordham doing my masters, to be honest it's tough getting a job out here, you need to know the right people, I'm having some trouble trying to get something sorted out for when I finish my masters.

On the plus side, it's probably not as bad as it is back home right now, and when things pick up New York will be the first place to feel it. If you are thinking about doing the Bar exam now, by the time you get it done and get yourself sorted to come out here the job situation should be looking a bit more promising.

Patrick23

I did friarylaw as well, yes they were expensive, and I know this sounds a bit snobby, but in the big scheme of things it's not that much money, and it does work. I'm not sure about the south, but in the North the fees you need to pay to go through the Institute are at least twice what you pay for friarylaw.

regarding the grad ceremony, I did it in October, you can do it any month and it's really handy if you don't do it in January or August when the big ceremonies take place, I was in at 9am, and out again by ten! Quick and painless! But your right, I had so much hassle getting my application sorted out.

legal eagle 1

Patrick23 wrote: »

I did the Bar exam in February, I'm now at Fordham doing my masters, to be honest it's tough getting a job out here, you need to know the right people, I'm having some trouble trying to get something sorted out for when I finish my masters.

On the plus side, it's probably not as bad as it is back home right now, and when things pick up New York will be the first place to feel it. If you are thinking about doing the Bar exam now, by the time you get it done and get yourself sorted to come out here the job situation should be looking a bit more promising.

Thanks for replying, congrats on getting the exams, what type of job are you looking for now? are you looking to get a lawyer job straight away?

cfarrell1980

Hi,

this is an interesting topic. I'm also considering sitting the NY bar exam - but in February 2011 at the earliest.

Like some of the people who have already posted in here, what I want to do is to get the Barbri or Micromash 'old' books from Ebay (etc). I reckon that directly after the February 2010 exam (i.e. two weeks time) will be the best time to do that. I would consider doing the Micromash course then at the end of 2010 or mid 2011 (depending on when I choose to sit the exam).

However, shipping those books from the US to Ireland/Germany (where I am located) would cost $150 at least...

Seeing as there are people in Ireland/UK who seem to have the books from e.g. Friarylaw or Griffith,
is there anyone reading this who wants to sell me such books?
This would presumably make postage (to Ireland/Germany) substantially less expensive...

The very best of luck to anyone who is preparing to sit the February 2010 exams!

Ciaran

manhattanla

Hi all,

I took the NY bar exam in 2008 and have been working in New York since summer 2009, after doing an LL.M. here.

I would like to sit the QLTT exam but I heard that you now have to have 1 year PQE in New York before you can sit the exam.

Does anyone know when this requirement was implemented? And also what people think my chances are of being approved to take the summer exams if I have 10/11 months PQE at that stage?

Thanks

markIreland24

I passed the Bar in 2008 and used materials for that year. I also used previously years books as extra support, I dont think there is any real difference, I am currently selling my complete set of books, if you are interested please contact me

mark

Annesa wrote: »

I appreciate the reply. Just trying to source the materials now. I cannot afford the outrageous prices for these prepatory courses so I am hoping that I can do the work alone!!

I just have a query though does anyone know if there are many changes between years. Many of the books that are for sale on ebay are published in 2007 and I am just wondering if they would be considered to be out of date? Dont want to fork out the money for useless material!!

Thanks!!

cfarrell1980

This page from the Law Society website looks like it could be interesting for you. If you are qualified to practice in the United States, it still looks as though you would have to do the 'entire training':
http://is.gd/9nuaX

cfarrell1980

Sorry about that. That last reply was supposed to go to a different thread.
What Bar exam materials do you have? What price were you thinking of?

Ciaran

markIreland24

cfarrell1980 wrote: »

Sorry about that. That last reply was supposed to go to a different thread.
What Bar exam materials do you have? What price were you thinking of?

Ciaran

Ciaran

I have all the New York BarBri materials that are required, including the following:
1. BarBri Multistate Long Outline
2. BarBri New York Long Outline
3. BarBri Multistate Testing Practice Questions
4. BarBri Conviser Mini Review
5. BarBri New York Testing
6. BarBri MPT Workbook
7. BarBri Simulated MBE
8. Barbri MPRE Book - This prepares you for the Ethics exam which takes place 10 days after the New York Bar Exam.

I originally took the BarBri course which cost me arround €5,000 to do, but I would be happy to take €1,000 for all my materials or a reasonable cash offer.

If you have any questions about taking the bar, how best to approach it etc, please do feel to contact me

Mark

cfarrell1980

That sounds good. I am still in 'negotiations' with an ex-college-colleague to buy his bar exam materials - if that falls through (which it currently looks like doing), I will get back to you about the materials.

With respect to advice on preparing etc, I'd be glad to hear any tips you have. Currently, I'm looking at doing February 2011. I'm working full-time, so I intend putting in maybe 1 - 2 hours a day until Christmas. After Christmas, I'm going to try to take January and February off work to put in as much time as I possible can.

If you have preparation tips, I'd love to hear them

markIreland24

cfarrell1980 wrote: »

That sounds good. I am still in 'negotiations' with an ex-college-colleague to buy his bar exam materials - if that falls through (which it currently looks like doing), I will get back to you about the materials.

With respect to advice on preparing etc, I'd be glad to hear any tips you have. Currently, I'm looking at doing February 2011. I'm working full-time, so I intend putting in maybe 1 - 2 hours a day until Christmas. After Christmas, I'm going to try to take January and February off work to put in as much time as I possible can.

If you have preparation tips, I'd love to hear them

Ciaran

That is no problem at all, what is your college looking for them?
I also held down a full time job while sitting the bar, so i do know where u are coming from.

Mark

guerito

Beeinmybonnet wrote: »

I've most of my FE1s passed and am working in-house in legal department of an airline. I love the aviation industry and have been thinking about doing the New York Bar exams - I know it means that all my work for FE1s is gone down drain, but not sure how easy it is to get a traineeship at the moment and not sure if I want to work in a firm anymore. Just wondering has anyone done them (whilst working full-time) and if so, just how difficult they actually are. Also, just how useful a qualification is it - would employers favour a candidate that has gone down traditional Blackhall route??

OP I'm in an almost identical position to you (working in leasing, not for an airline). I've also been looking into qualifying in NY, but with a view to doing the QLTT (not sure if that was your intention too). Obviously that wouldn't leave me in as good a position as qualifying through the normal route, but like you I'm happy in the business I'm in. As was mentioned, the requirements for a Certificate of Eligibility (first step to doing the QLTT) have recently changed. New York-qualified lawyers now need a minimum of one years PQE before they can apply for the QLTT. The Law Society confirmed to me that the PQE must be in a (New York) law firm. I checked the relevant SI (available on the LS website), and while it doesn't state that outright, it does seem to give the LS enough discretion that they can demand it. Just a heads-up.

Arsenal1986

On this, I heard recently that the Law Society gave verbal assurances to the Friary Chambers/Independent Colleges NY Bar prep courses that students enrolled and currently sitting the Feb exam will be exempt from this requirement. I was just wondering does anyone know whether this is accurate?

Going to be alot of angry people if its not. There were 50ish on the Friary course for February and you would imagine the majority of them would have intended t sit the QLTT at some stage.

A14

Anybody have any experience taking a bar review course in Ireland, either online or otherwise? Looking to take the feb 2011 bar exam but all the review courses seem to have mixed reviews

stainluss

A14 wrote: »

Anybody have any experience taking a bar review course in Ireland, either online or otherwise? Looking to take the feb 2011 bar exam but all the review courses seem to have mixed reviews

friarylaw.ie is the only one i've heard of..

i was just wondering A14, do you think you will find it hard to get a visa in the US with that bar? (Do you know anyone who has done that?)
Or are ya passing the bar just to help job prospects in Ire & UK?

Arsenal1986

I have friends that have done friary, overall they liked it but it cost 5,000 + and seeing as you can get all the materials they give you for 700 2nd hand on the net and you just watch lectures on video in friary - your paying basically 4 k for videos of lectures and some mock exams!Which i think is quiet alot!

Also you do know the QLTT loophole is now closed and youd have to pratice in ny now before you can sit these exams(the QLTTS)

MOSSAD

A14 wrote: »

Anybody have any experience taking a bar review course in Ireland, either online or otherwise? Looking to take the feb 2011 bar exam but all the review courses seem to have mixed reviews

Did Friary course- helpful to a point but nothing you cannot do alone if you have half a brain and discipline.You should be able to get videos and materials online cheaply, and immerse yourself in one of the courses. I found NY Bar review great. Bar-Bri bit out of date. Best of luck.

Arsenal1986

Totally agree, 5 grand is a huge amount, fair enough if you can afford it then go for it, but if its a lil much finacially your not missing much!

A14

Thanx for the info guys! Yeah i was looking at friarylaw, does seem pretty pricey considering the lectures are not even live! Looking at micromash now, it a newish programme seems to have some good reviews and gives all the materials and software for 1500 approx.

Any of you that have done the exam did you end up working over there? Just wondering how hard it would be for an Irish lawyer to secure employment ?

A14

stainluss wrote: »

friarylaw.ie is the only one i've heard of..

i was just wondering A14, do you think you will find it hard to get a visa in the US with that bar? (Do you know anyone who has done that?)
Or are ya passing the bar just to help job prospects in Ire & UK?

My mum and dad are both US citizens so looking into getting a visa or citizenship that way. Dont no of anyone who has gone over without a visa yet but I know friarylaw has an immigration attorney who helps there students with getting visas, shouldnt be too hard to get one if you got a secure job within three months of arriving there. The US embassy in dublin has a website with some handy info on it too.

bcdccm

Hi, I was thinking of doing the FriaryLaw for the NYB exam for next yr, (if I can get the money together by then!) BUT i see Arsenal1986 mentioned that they just provide video lectures (pre-recorded I presume?) Is this really true?

I was at some information talks about the programme and they never mentioned it was taught through videos. He (Oliver Connolly) gave the impression that it was like normal lectures on Friday nights and saturdays???

Thanks for any help!