Hi all:
I am a foreign lawyer who is living and working in New York city. My field is TAx and I am a tax consultant with more than 10 year of experience. I have an international tax LLM in Europe. In order to advance in my career, I am thinking of being licensed in the US. To do that I have to pursue a LLM and then sit for the bar exam in New York State. The point is, I do not have all the money to do it now, so my idea is to save for 2 years and apply for a full year program (probably Fordham or Columbia, but also to other programs in the US).
Another thing is that, I cannot do it part time because it would take at least 3 years to finalize.
Finally, I am 36, by the time I will start the LLM I will be 39.
Any suggestions? I really like New York but at this point, I cannot save any money so I decided to leave and focus in saving to my LLM.
Am I too old to pursue an LLM? Even if I am, it is the only way to be licensed and practice in the US.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Agua.

I wouldn't say the age is a decisive factor.

I would say, though, you should make a cost/benefit assessment in order to conclude whether you LL.M. will be a good move on the basis of what is the added value you'll get from it.

Being 40 years old do you think the license in he US will make such a difference? Is the LL.m. the only way to get it?

Hola Pedro:

Thanks so much for your response!. I am currently working in a big 4 and I would say being licensed makes the whole difference: CPA or bar exam. In addition, in case I want to pursue other opportunities, even as a consultant, being licensed will have a big impact on my CV, and also I can apply for a job in Law Firms as well.
About the cost-benefit, at my age I cannot spend 3 years on a part time LLM so, if I have to stop working for a year better sooner than later.
My idea is to come back to NYC and sit for the bar exam there. Initially I thought about going for a LLM in Tax but now I think that perhaps it would be more beneficial to expand the scope of my studies and do something like trade or international law. What do you think? Finally is it worth to go to other states to pursue a LLM if I want to be licensed in NY?. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Saluditos
Agua

I think the LL.M. can be used in your case both as a means to get licensed and a way of expanding your field/area of study. This way you could enlarge your job possibilities and study sometinh new and more specific.
So yes, maybe it would be good to study commercial or international law.
As to your last question, since I am European (who has studied and is working in europe) I am not the best person to help. But I'd say being in NYC has some advantages in terms of preparation (informal meetings and contacts with people that may help you on the bar exam, law firms, etc.) and job perspectives...

Hola Agua,

My opinion is that a person is never too old to improve professional credentials! Unfortunately, this is a terrible time to seek a job in NYC, regardless of the practice area. I'm not sure that pursuing an LLM in tax law will be worth the money, over time. In addition, you will likely have to work a lot harder as a tax attorney than as a Big-4 CPA (trust me, my wife was a CPA for a Big-4 firm, and she did not work nearly as many hours as I had to as an assocate at a big law firm). If you want to enter corporate America, perhaps it is worth the sacrifice. Otherwise, I suspect it is not worth the money.

LawyerinUSA,

I would be very grateful if you could answer my question - Can a foreign attorney be employed by a company as an in-house lawyer/counsel/attorney without having taken the Bar exam or without license to practice as an attorney in the state of NY, NJ, etc.?

Best

G