Hi,
I am a civil law graduate.
this is not common law (L.L.B) but civil law (L.L.L.).
from University of Ottawa in Canada.

Now I want to practice law in Europe or Africa or somewhere else interesting.
Do you know in which country I could practice and
what are the further studies necessary?

Concurrently, if I do have to get a common law degree (L.L.B),
do you know any institution (across world) who would let me graduate in less then the usual 3-4 years considering I have my civil law degree?

Thank you so much for your help
Marko

I think there are quite a few universities in the UK that would let you complete the LLB in 2 years with a prior degree, if your results in the first year are good enough. Also in the UK there is the option of completing a GDL in just one year - this is not a university degree but a so-called conversion course designed for non-law graduates who wish to practise law (very common in the UK).

To complete the picture, after the LLB or the GDL, you would then need to do the LPC (one year) and then a training contract and you should be in business.

From experience, I would also advise you to consider your return to Canada in a distant future - a common law LLB or a UK qualification should make that process easier than many other qualifications.

Thank you kindly joannah,

Do you know which university they are?

With the conversion course/uk qualification, would I be able to later practise elsewhere in the world ? where? or would you recommend the LLB as a more universal qualification ?

I'm also considering a little bit of business and finace studies around my law degree so that I could one day havve my own office. Which business program would you recommand?

thank you
Marko

A lot of universities offer that opportunity to people with a first degree, it's not that unusual so have a look round.

From the point of view of qualifying as a solicitor, the GDL and an LLB are equivalent - both need to be followed by the LPC (one year) and a training contract (two years but you are already working and earning as a trainee). Once you are qualified in the UK, you should be able to transfer that qualification to any other EU country according to EU law - each country has its own rules though so it's not always just a matter of showing up with a certificate - some require a basic course on national law, some require a test of some sort, some require a period of practice in country.

I think a UK qualification is probably quite well transferable to other common law countries.

A word of warning though - the problem you will ALWAYS come up against as a qualified lawyer seeking to transfer to a new jurisdiction is that lawyers in every jurisdiction in the world have a sort of guild (well, a Bar Association) and an inherent reluctance to let people in. Personally, my solution as a lawyer who likes to travel has been to seek to develop specific expertise in a subject matter with global relevance.

With the guild-like strucure of the legal profession, I find that a PhD is generally more transferable than a practitioner's qualification since it would (in theory at least, of course in some countries there are other obstacles) allow you to work as a lecturer in any university in the world. A PhD also gives you highly specialised transferable expertise. Just a thought.