Hello,

I am a US citizen who did her undergraduate degree in law at Oxford University. I am about to attend an LLM program at a ABA-approved law school in the US.

At Oxford, they told me that this would qualify me to take the NY Bar exam. However, now that I'm looking into it, I have questions. Since I didn't take the LPC or do a training contract, I'm not a qualified lawyer in the UK. Does anyone have any idea whether I'm eligible to take the bar?

Thank you.

You raise a good question. The conventional wisdom is that if you do the LL.M. at an ABA-accredited school, you will be eligible to write New York. I don't know whether there is a pre-requisite that you have already been admitted in your home jurisdiction. Needless to say, you need to contact the Board of Law Examiners directly and ask about your particular situation.

I wonder, however, whether you might qualify just based on your study at Oxford. That may be something to ask about.

An LLB alone qualifies you to take the New York Bar - an LLM is not necessary. On the other hand, it IS necessary for those who are fresh out of law school and who wish to take the California Bar.

For New York, see http://www.nybarexam.org/Rules/Rules.htm#520.6

For California, see section 3(a), rule 2 of the Rules regulating Admission to Practice Law in California

you can write the ny bar exam right away if you've completed a 3 year llb.
however, if you did the 2 year senior status llb in england, then you must do a 1 year llm at a u.s university in order to qualify for the ny bar