Hello,

Currently I am studying in the Netherlands and are in my last year of my Bachelor's degree. I am focusing on International and European Law and this is the field I seek employment in. MY first option would be to work at a NGO. My second would be to work at a multinational. However, I have always preferred to live in the US. Because of this, I have some questions:
1) Do I need to pass the bar in order to practice international law in the US? Or does this depend on the organization/company? I have, for example, looked at the UN, and their NY office did not seem to have this requirement.

2) If the bar is necessary, would it be smart to do a LLM and then take the bar? I'm asking this because I have heard LLM degrees aren't that useful in securing a job, but maybe it is different for somebody practicing international law.

Thanks for any help.

Anybody? Any help regarding this problem would be much appreciated.

Hi Darth,

While not strictly necessary for many international law jobs, including at the UN or an NGO, I think passing the bar exam may be helpful. This is because certain jobs (many in the US) are so competitive that employers can afford to pose ridiculous requirements. These may not be official requirements outlined in job descriptions, but if employers can choose between hundreds of overqualified candidates, they'd rather choose a (US) qualified lawyer. That being said, the unfortunate reality seems to be that even with an LLM, foreign lawyers stand no chance against US JDs. In that sense, LLM degrees are indeed not that useful. I think the better strategy is to first gain some experience in your home country or another country where the job market is less competitive, where it will be easier to land a good job, and then try to find something in the US.