Sorry I'm posting on a LL.M. site despite my question concerns more about J.D.!

Hi everyone :) I'd love to benefit from everyone's wisdom here... but unlike everyone else I'm probably much younger and currently living in the U.S. Over here a J.D. degree is a 3-year program and you'll be eligible to practice if you pass a Bar Exam specific to the state you live in. My goal has been to finish my undergraduate studies here and go to law school, after which practice in Hong Kong. So recently some friends recommended taking the J.D. programs at CUHK and CityU. I was wondering if this would be a good idea at all for a U.S. student? My second concern is that although I most likely will not return to U.S. to practice, it'd be nice to be certified here as well in case practicing here turns out to be better. Would anyone recommend obtaining a J.D. in Hong Kong and then a LL.M. in U.S.? Or would anyone recommend getting the J.D. in U.S. first and then find a way to be certified in Hong Kong (does this affect my chances at getting into PCLL because I've heard that recently they deterred non-local students from enrolling by making the qualifying exams much harder)? I admire everyone here who're moving onto becoming very successful lawyers. Thanks so much beforehand!

i'd definitely recommend doing a US JD then doing a PCLL in hong kong. with a US JD, especially in a top 25 school, it's easier to get in an international firm. also, if you don't end up going to HK, you can be flexible and just practice in the US.

not sure if they make he qualifying exams harder. i had a classmate who's a US citizen but is an HK resident. he did his LLB in a UK law school, then studied for his PCLL in HKU. i know another australian citizen, HK resident too; took his LLB in cambridge, PCLL in HKU and is about to do his LLM in Peking Uni. so i know for sure that there are non-HK natives who are able to study in a foreign law school for their LLBs then go to HKU for their PCLL.

good luck!

thank you michael! that was very helpful and your comments about your colleagues are convincing that getting a US JD before going abroad is the better choice... ive spoken to my school's LLM director and shes said similar things. if anyone wants more information on this issue, id be happy to forward the information to you

thanks again!

amazing that your school had an LLM director; you're a college undergrad right now and you've spoken with your LLM director! i must say that you're thinking ahead quite a bit, that's good for you! and such fantastic resources you have available to you! i wish we had a JD/LLB director back here in my own school!

Go to the US. The quality of the JD programmes in Hong Kong is quite pathetic. The JD programme in Hong Kong was introduced in Hong Kong only because the universities are making much profit out of these self-funded programmes. As JD programmes in Hong Kong are rather new, many JD graduates from Hong Kong universities have trouble finding jobs when they leave the programme.