hi, i am a law graduate from India and currently residing in Ca  .I want to give the CA bar exam but ve no clue that whether i am eligible or not......what r the requirements?how do i apply ,the fees  etc..I am in a fix here that whether to go ahead with the exam in case i am eligible or study further (LLM)anyone ve the info plze help!!

The CA board of bar examiners website may be a good place to start.....

Here is the link listing the requirements for foreign attorneys to take the California bar examination.

http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/77sf.pdf

And here is the link listing the requirements for foreign law school graduates to take the California bar exam. It is much easier to meet the requirements if you are a foreign attorney.

http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/sf_legal-edu-outside-us.pdf

Hi Picaso,

I am also a LLB graduate from India. I graduated from ILS law college, Pune. One requirement to be eligible to sit or CA bar is you should have been admitted to the bar of your home country. However, in India, there is no bar exam as such. The thing we do is just apply for Sanad after we graduate. However, as I did not intend to practice law, I did not take the sanad. Do you have any idea as to how my application will be treated for eligibility?

Help from others is also solicited.

thanks

It seems the easiest way would be to apply to Sanad and become an India attorney. Otherwise, you will need to meet the educational requirements for foreign law school non-attorney applicants. See link above.

Ketki,

The certificate of practice granted by the Bar Councils in India under Advocates Act, though without Bar Examination, is acceptable in USA.

To make yourself eligible under the category of "foreign attorney", you should seek enrolment with the Bar Council of your State.

However, in most of the law schools in USA, for LL.M admissions, enrolment is not required. Rather some schools like YALE require you to possess academic interests. For admission into these schools, it would be better to join a law school in India as part-time/whole time faculty.

Thank u all for prompt reply. However, my problem is that even though I am eligible for Sanad, I did not apply for a sanad which is a procedural formality. I did not intend to practice law in India as I am a qualified company secretary and was working in a company. What are my chances of eligibility if I do not have a sanad? I mean only an application is needed once you become a law graduate. But for that you have to be personally present to sign at the Bombay Bar council. I do not want to spend money to go India just to complete this procedural formality.

I seek your guidance. Also, thank you nriattorney for sending the personal statement. However, berkeley is asking for two statements, SOP and personal summary...Do you have a separate statement of purpose? I would be grateful if you could send me the same.

If you want to take the California bar as a non-attorney law school graduate, you will need the equivalent of 2 years of undergraduate university education and 4 years of legal education. The problem is that even with a US LL.M many non-attorney foreign law school graduates do not meet the California education requirements. That is why it is always easier to apply to the California bar as a foreign attorney. You don't even need a LL.M to take the California bar if you are a foreign attorney. I suspect it would be cheaper to spend the money to get admitted in India than it would be to obtain an LL.M. It is my understanding that if you obtain a US LL.M you would meet the education requirements to take the New York bar exam.

Hi, I am an Indian Attorney (admitted to the Bar) practiced in India for a brief stint and later did my Masters from UK, during my stay in UK I have applied for QLTT and procured my Eligibility of Certificate (yet to take my exam and qualify as a solicitor in UK). While I intend to practice law in CA now, could anyone enlighten me on the laws and procedure there or should I take CA Bar, would I get any wavier of few papers.
Also, I see in Ketkai post on reference to Sanad. Could you kindly explain me as to what is Sanad, is it equivalent to your admission to any State Bar.
Thank you in anticipation to your answers.

Hi Justice,
The Bar Council of India is the apex registering and licensing authority in India. It controls and governs the working of all immediately subsidiary state-level bar councils. It is a statutory body constituted under the Advocates Act, 1961.
The Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG) is the licensing and registering authority for advocates in the State of Maharashtra and the State of Goa. No person can practice the profession of law in Maharashtra and Goa unless he is enrolled by the BCMG. The enrolment license is called a sanad.

Hi Ketki,
This is a pretty delayed reply, but I assume this would assist someone else in future.
I sail in the same boat as yours. I have also passed my LL.B. from Mumbai(India) and have not taken the Sanad(License to Practice in India) and have moved to the US.
THE NEW PROCEDURES REGARDING THE ELIGIBILITY OF FOREIGN EDUCATED APPLICANTS TO QUALIFY FOR THE CALIFORNIA BAR EXAMINATION AND ADMISSION
TO PRACTICE LAW IN CALIFORNIA became effective with applications filed in connection with the February 2008 administration of the California Bar Examination.

Evaluation form at the below link:
http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/Outside-Ed-Evaluate-Form.pdf

This evaluation form needs to be filled and submitted by the Evaluation agency(see link below) to THE COMMITTEE OF BAR EXAMINERS.
In both our(Ketki & myself) cases, there is an option on the form which says ---
"completed a first degree in law in ___(Name of Country)_______, and this degree in law meets the educational requirements for admission to practice law in the
foreign state or country in which it was obtained"

Once the evaluation agency has marked this option, all the Indian qualified LL.B. graduates though not admitted would be good to appear for the CA Bar. The evaluation agency would not have any problem marking this option since all the evaluation experts are aware that the LL.B. degree is the only educational requirement for admission to practice in India. This is my understanding. I would be able to validate my understanding once I send my evaluation form and receive the results. I would be sending my evaluation form within next 2 months since I am awaiting copies of my attested certificates from India. I will update my status(or result) of evaluation as soon as I receive it.

List of Evaluation Services at the link below:
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/sf_legal-edu-outside-cred.pdf

Regards,
Sachin

Hi Sachindynamo,

Thanks for the clarification, I also could learn a bit from what you have posted for Ketki.

So, we need to submit attested copies of all the certificates to Evaluation Agency. Can you kindly tell me what are the documents that needs to be submitted to appear before the CA Bar.

Also, it will be helpful, if you can also let me know where I can get the study material for CA Bar.

Thank you.Regards, Justice

Hi Justice,
As I understand, you need to submit all the copies of your documents to the Evaluation agency and also ask the agency to submit the evaluation form to THE COMMITTEE OF BAR EXAMINERS - OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS
Evaluation form at the below link:
http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/Outside-Ed-Evaluate-Form.pdf

As to which documents to submit, its better to contact the agency, (I guess you need to submit copies of all your Indian Marksheets of your LL.B. and the LL.B. degree) For list of agencies, check the link below:
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/sf_legal-edu-outside-cred.pdf
After the evaluation form is received by the CA bar-office of admissions, they will intimate you of your eligibility to appear for the CA bar.

You can buy the Barbri (or some other Bar Prep course) study material either from Craigslist/Amazon, etc.
Regards,
Sachin

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your reply. Info provided by Sachin is correct. Even though I was eligible for Sanad in India, I had not applied for it. Hence, I applied to CA Bar as general applicant. I got my academic credentials evaluated from one of the recognised agencies, ERES. I had to submit my original documents (degree certificates and marksheets) to them. But you can see if others accept attested copies. If you apply as a general applicant, in addition to your foreign law degree you need one year law education here. That can be satisfied by doing LL.M. You have to register online with CA Bar, send a physical application alongwith this report and transcript of your LL.M. I did the same and was approved to sit for CA Bar as general applicant.

On the other hand, if you already have SAnad from India, you need not do LL.M or one year law school study here. Just register online as a "foreign attorney" and give a copy of your Sanad. That should suffice.

I hope this helps.

Thanks.

Ketki

Hi Ketki,
Thanks for your information. So, do you mean that you had to do your LL.M, even after you got your LL.B. credentials evaluated. If this is the case, then I would better visit India and take my Sanad and then apply, since I do not intend to do my LL.M.
Your reply would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Sachin

Hi,

There are two ways to apply...as a general applicant or as a foreign attorney. If you want to apply as a general applicant you need to have LL.B (1st professional law degree) + One year of further law education here. For this route, you need to submit your academic credentials. However, if you can apply as a foreign attorney....you need to have only your sanad. In short, if you don't want to do LL.M, the safest bet is to apply as a foreign attorney after you get your sanad. Also, for the moral character application, you need to submit certificate of good standing from the Bar of your country. So while you get your sanad, be sure that u get your certificate of good standing from Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.


Best Regards,

Ketki

Hi Ketki,
Thank you for all your replies. Its been very helpful. if you don't mind would you be kind enough to share your email id with me. Alternately, you could write a test email to me at sachin.sawant365@gmail.com
I won't bombard you with unnecessary emails, just as and when I have any questions with respect to the application process or studies, I may bother you.
Many thank,
Sachin

Hey Ketki and Sachin,

Thank you for all the informative replies. Since we are from the same faternity (legal). We should stay in touch either through this forum or otherwise in order to practice law in CA. Thank you again. Will stay in touch.

Regards,
Justice

Just in case that someone reading this thread for the Ca. Bar must undertake the LLM route, please be aware of the new "Guidelines" when choosing that LLM. The new Ca. Guidelines require that the law school apply the JD grading standard (normally called a "curve") to the LLM candidates (who are seeking Ca. Bar eligibility): 1.3 "All course work for the degree required by Guideline 1.2(A) and all course work for the legal education required by Guideline 1.2(B) must be graded using the standards the law school uses in grading course work of students in its J.D. degree program." http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/Outside-Ed-Guidelines.pdf

We are graduating our first class under the new Guidelines and will need to certify for the Ca. Bar eligible candidates that we have graded the LLM students with our JD ones. I alert you because I have heard from two of my foreign students that some law schools grade the LLMs separate from the JD ones, or on a LLM scale. Thus, you should check with whatever law schools that you are considering whether they will certify that you have been graded pursuant to the new Guideline 1.3, upon graduation.