Hello!
I completed my UK LLB in 2009 and my UK LLM in 2010. However, I am not sure whether I am eligible to sit the NY Bar Exam. I am not yet qualified as I moved to a civil law country and am working over there (where it takes ages until I can qualify....).
According to Barbri I may not have enough ECTS credits and it is not sure if my LLM will be taken into account.
Any advice or experience? Also, does anybody know how long it takes until eligibillity is established after sending in the required documentation?
Thank you very much in advance!

Hello NDLegal,

To get permitted to sit the ny bar your degree needs to be "both, durationally and substantively equivalent to a program of study at an approved law school in the United States, and if required, successful completion of an additional program of study at an approved law school in the United States. (Section 520.6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals)" - NY Bar Exam - Foreign Law School Study

You finished your LLB prior to 2012. For that reason it may not be valued equivalent in duration to a US law degree.
You degree needs to fullfill a minimum of 20 semester hours of credit. Credits had to be taken at law school (no distance learning or coursework is accepted) and credits must be in "professional law subjects."
If your LLB does not fullfill these requirements you can cure this either by completing an LL.M. but you would need to study an an American ABA approved law school to make it count or you get admission to practice in your home country.

To apply for the NY Bar exam it is recommended to apply a year ahead of your exam. It can take up to six months from receiving the documents until you get a decision. It depends on the additional documents they may require at a later stage. Half a year is the absolute minimum. So, if you want to sit the exam in July next year you should have applied no later than October 01.

Hi NDLegal, What I forgot to mention: To obtain a bachelors degree, usually schools may require anywhere from 110 to 140 credits depending on school. For Masters it may be anywhere from 30 to 39 or more. One ECTS credit point equals on average between 25 and 30 working hours.
The substantial difference between the two grading systems is that European Universities count both, in class time and study outside of class i.e. coursework, projects etcetera. Whilst the American system only values in class time.
If you wish to compare the two systems a rule of thumb to remember is: 2 ECTS credits is equal to 1 US semester credit, so you should be able to find out if your studies are sufficient to sit the bar.
At least 83 credits hours must be required for graduation in order to sit the bar.

Hope this clarified the issue. Fingers crossed!

I agree with LLMadvise, it's spot on!

Thank you all!
My main problem is that it is impossible to get an answer from KCL regarding my ECTS points....

One adviser said that I have 82.5 ECTS in common law subjects and 15 ECTS in German Law (as I studied that too as part of my LLB). My year abroad in Germany (56 ECTS) does not count...Also I took a LLM.
Do you know whether they take a LLM into account? Maybe in special circumstances (since only 0.5 ECTS credits are missing)?
Thank you!

Hi NDlegal,
You should be able to look up your ECTS scores by comparing them to the modules you took. I believe at KCL each law module counts generally 30 credits so an overall of 180 ECTS may be achieved. Your LLM is taken into account to make up the missing credits to be able to sit the bar, although ideally it should be from an ABA approved law school - US. Have you completed an LLM module that is related to the American legal system?

Hi!
Sorry for the late reply.
No, unfortunately I did not complete a LLM module that is related to the American legal system. The modules I took either had an European dimension or were general (e.g. Economics for Competition Law).
My main problem is that I am not sure whether to invest in a Bar exam preparation course or not since I do not know whether I am eligible.