Becoming a lawyer in NY..

xp90

with an irish LLB? how would one go about it?

dermot_sheehan

http://www.nybarexam.org/


apply for bar exam, pass it. You also need to pass the mpre administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners
http://www.ncbex.org/multistate-tests/mpre/

xp90

gabhain7 wrote: »

http://www.nybarexam.org/


apply for bar exam, pass it. You also need to pass the mpre administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners
http://www.ncbex.org/multistate-tests/mpre/

So is there any apprenticeship etc. required? how is it recognised over here?

Dante09

Nope, all you need to do is pass the bar exam and you're a qualified lawyer. Then you can come back over here and sit the QLTT and become a qualified solicitor (bypassing the apprenticeship system) - just dont expect to be employed-at least not here anyway.
One more thing, you're doing corp law arent you? You'll NEED to do the LLB in order to be eligible to sit the NYBar.

dats_right

xp90 wrote: »

So is there any apprenticeship etc. required?

No, as Dante has quite rightly pointed out you are eligible to sit the Qualified Lawyer Transfer Test once you have been admitted to the New York Bar.

xp90 wrote: »

how is it recognised over here?

That is a bit of a loaded question, in the sense that it is fully recognised for the purposes of sitting the QLTT exam and becoming a solicitor, it is not however without significant drawbacks. By this I am getting at this 'back door' method of becoming a lawyer is not highly regarded by employers. Yes, you will have the qualification but without any experience whatsoever, or ever even having spoken to a client, or even the PPC Courses behind you, you will find that you are essentially worthless to employers. You will be a fully qualified solicitor with zero experience and most firms would rather an apprentice in those circumstances because their wages are cheaper and more significantly there is no PI insurance or Practising Certificates to pay for.

Furthermore, in circumstances where there are many fully trained and experienced solicitors presently unemployed out there, if and when any form of recovery occurs in the legal sector, it is far more likely that said fully trained and experienced solicitors will be infinitely more employable than NY 'qualified' lawyer with no experience.

Regarding the value of the qualification itself, I would say that it is valuable if you are going to practice in the US, but if not, its value to most firms in Ireland is very limited at best and many big firms have no regard for it whatsover. In conclusion, I would say that many people have thought that the NY Bar is a foolproof way of circumventing the traditional apprenticeship based training required here, but in reality it is far from it, and in fairness most people do it as an additional qualification in addition to either being a solicitor or barrister but not as a means of 'beating the system'. I would say do it if you feel the qualification will of use to you, but don't do it as an easy way of qualifying over here, at least not, if you ever want to actually practice as a solicitor.

Sangre

I thought they were closing that loop hole?

dats_right

Sangre wrote: »

I thought they were closing that loop hole?

I know in the UK they have already closed this loophole by requiring those who have passed the bar exam but with no practical experience to obtain a sort of one year mini traineeship. It is certainly not uncommon for our Law Society to take its lead from the UK, so I would not be surprised at all if a similar requirement was introuduced here.

dats_right

dats_right wrote: »

I know in the UK they have already closed this loophole by requiring those who have passed the bar exam but with no practical experience to obtain a sort of one year mini traineeship. It is certainly not uncommon for our Law Society to take its lead from the UK, so I would not be surprised at all if a similar requirement was introuduced here.

Somebody in the Law Society must have been listening to me!!

Thankfully the Law Society have recently taken action, at the Council meeting on the 25th September 2009 an additional requirement in respect of New York and California "qualified" attorneys was introduced; they are now required to practice in either New York or California for a period of six months prior to their admission as a solicitor in Ireland. About time!

osullivem

I am taking the New York Bar in Feb 2010, I have an LLB already. I personally think it is a valuable qualification. I am still applying for training contracts and my aim with doing the exam is not to "get in the back door", it is to make my CV stand out in a increasingly competitive market. I also think that there are advantages to the employer taking on a NY qualified attorney as a trainee because whilst they can pay you the same as a trainee, you can attend court for them when the trainee cannot. I do think that people who take this route should have a substantial amount of commercial experience so that your not going into a firm without ever being in a professional environment. I certainly feel that the qualification is more useful than a masters if you are looking to expand your CV in order to obtain a training contract, because it is a professional qualification in opposed to another academic qualification and so is more practical. Of course the other aspect is the global nature of the qualification, NY having connections with big firms in all the major cities of the world. Anyways thats just my opinion and I am slightly biased because I've already decided to do it! But I did do my research!! Oh and because I would hate an easy life..lol:D

2040

There are also US law firms operating in Europe, particularly London, where the Attorney-at-law could be useful.