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US law graduate coming to ireland

  • 31-03-2011 10:25pm
    #1
    suppafly
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,055 ✭✭✭


    So my friend is from the US(florida) and is just qualifying as a lawyer this may and taking the florida BAR exam in july. She is considering coming over here to live in ireland but is unsure on if she will be able to use her law degree and practice here. What i would like to know is how can she transfer over to Ireland? Does she have to do a certain amount of time as a lawyer in the US first before transferring? What test would she have to take in Ireland to convert her Law degree to Ireland? What would be the associated costs be?


Comments

  • #2
    blueythebear
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,074 ✭✭✭blueythebear


    suppafly wrote: »
    So my friend is from the US(florida) and is just qualifying as a lawyer this may and taking the florida BAR exam in july. She is considering coming over here to live in ireland but is unsure on if she will be able to use her law degree and practice here. What i would like to know is how can she transfer over to Ireland? Does she have to do a certain amount of time as a lawyer in the US first before transferring? What test would she have to take in Ireland to convert her Law degree to Ireland? What would be the associated costs be?

    She will not be able to practise here unfortunately. If she qualifies and practises in certain states (New York and California are two I can think of offhand but there are more) for a certain time post qualification (I believe it's a year PQE), she can apply to be allowed to take the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test to practise in this country as a solicitor. Otherwise she will have to start from the beginnning and pass the FE-1s and secure an apprenticeship, etc.

    Practising law is very different over here compared to the US. The most obvious difference is in the barrister/solicitor separation over here, whereas in the States there is no such delineation.

    In terms of barristering, I'm not sure what the rules are but I imagine that the law library will not recognise her law degree or practise experience and she will probably have to start at the beginning.

    THe details on qualifying in Ireland are available from www.lawsociety.ie (for solicitors) and www.kingsinns.ie (for Barrister).


  • #3
    hession.law
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 108 ✭✭hession.law


    suppafly wrote: »
    So my friend is from the US(florida) and is just qualifying as a lawyer this may and taking the florida BAR exam in july. She is considering coming over here to live in ireland but is unsure on if she will be able to use her law degree and practice here. What i would like to know is how can she transfer over to Ireland? Does she have to do a certain amount of time as a lawyer in the US first before transferring? What test would she have to take in Ireland to convert her Law degree to Ireland? What would be the associated costs be?

    I would recommend your friend to email the details of her degree to the law society of Ireland. In order to become a solicitor in Ireland a degree in any course is all that is required to sit the FE1 exams which is what you sit in order to getting into "solicitor college". Another route is, there is another exam that she can sit in order to by pass the degree requirement so long as she has attained her 21th birthday.


  • #4
    suppafly
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,055 ✭✭✭suppafly


    hession.law wrote: »
    I would recommend your friend to email the details of her degree to the law society of Ireland. In order to become a solicitor in Ireland a degree in any course is all that is required to sit the FE1 exams which is what you sit in order to getting into "solicitor college". Another route is, there is another exam that she can sit in order to by pass the degree requirement so long as she has attained her 21th birthday.

    She does have(well will have in may) her law degree from Barry Law University http://www.barry.edu/law/. What other exam is it that she can sit to bypass the degree part? She is over 21. Is this route easier as she will have her degree or is it better for her to do the FE1 exam. Is it quite a lenghty amount of time you would need to spend in study to prepare for this exam(I know nothing about this exam :) ) or the other one you are mentioning. Also do you know how much it may cost?


  • #5
    hession.law
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 108 ✭✭hession.law


    suppafly wrote: »
    She does have(well will have in may) her law degree from Barry Law University http://www.barry.edu/law/. What other exam is it that she can sit to bypass the degree part? She is over 21. Is this route easier as she will have her degree or is it better for her to do the FE1 exam. Is it quite a lenghty amount of time you would need to spend in study to prepare for this exam(I know nothing about this exam :) ) or the other one you are mentioning. Also do you know how much it may cost?

    The other exam is for people who may have worked as a legal executive or secretary and then wanted to move, but it applies to everyone who hasn't a degree, its called the preliminary exam held once a year usually in March but if your friend has LD I would email LSI as chances are it will be recognised as a degree. I know that if I was to apply to the NY bar they would recognise my Irish degree.

    The answer to the other question isn't that simple. There are 8 exams covering criminal contract Constitutional equity property compant tort EU. These exams are held twice a year Sept/March. So if your friend is **** hot she could sit all eight this Sept and providing she passes all eight can start Blackhall the following Sept. Of course she could also sit 4 4 it all depends on their capability and still be able to start BH the following Sept.

    Cost is hard to quantitify the exams are €110 each but then you must add on books/materials and maybe prep classes. Personally I think I spent in and around €2500 but I also invested in texts which I can use when I practise. ALso they moved the exam so I had to bunk in Dublin this time at a cost of €300 for two nights but its just like the mastercard ad, ticket to Blackhall PRICELESS :)


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