I am a Georgia and Florida, United States licensed lawyer, and I am moving to the UK to be closer to family.

I am sure that this question has come up in past blog postings, but I thought I would ask the question once more. I would like to know what the best path is to being able to practice with a London/ UK law firm.

I graduated from a top US law school in 2004, and I have been an insurance coverage/ litigation associate with a well known international law firm for about five years. The firm I was working for closed its office in the city where I worked, and now I am looking to the future - hoping to continue to practice insurance coverage law with a firm in the UK.

What examinations or programs should I explore? Should I apply to an LLM program in the UK? Any recommendations on programs or advantageous paths to take would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

To be honest, I wouldn't have thought that an LLM would make much difference to your employability in this area if you have decent practical experience in the US. The key thing for you is going to be UK qualification: you can find out more about the requirements here:

http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/qltt/apply.page (outline of application process)

http://www.sra.org.uk/documents/solicitors/qltt/qltt-application-guidance.pdf (gives details of the requirements for US qualified lawyers in the table at the end. You need to complete the modules on litigation and property, as well as the one on professonal conduct and accounts). The professional conduct / accounts one is not hard (you can sit after doing a two day training course with a reputable provider). The others are, I gather, more difficult (I don't have personal experience).

A number of providers offer distance study courses for these tests - see http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/qltt/test-providers.page.

I don't have a good feel for the job market in the insurance/insurance litigation field at present. I suggest you look at the jobs section on www.legalweek.com and perhaps contact some of the recruitment agencies.

I have a question regarding studying in the UK. I'm American interested in studying law in the UK, would I be eligible to practice law in the US after, or would I have to go to law school in the US too?

hey jennie .. well if u do ur law from UK and then u want to return to USA.. ur degree will be recognised in new york and california only and so u can take the bar exam of either NY or California and practice in these two states only ..