Hey guys. Question: I am American but went abroad for my legal education due to my dual citizenship. I came out with no loans so that's good. I'm a qualified lawyer and I've been working at one of the Netherlands' top firms for 3 years, and I believe I was very highly ranked in my school (top 5% or similar the last time I checked).

I want to return to the U.S. and practice law. To do so, I have to take a 1 year conversion LL.M. I wanted to know if it's worth the high price to try to go to a school like NYU or Columbia or if I should just do the cheapest LL.M. possible and try to find work laterally rather than based on my education (I know NYU and Columbia have meets and greets with companies) and if I'd be at least able to find some semblance of work afterwards. Basically it all hinges upon one question: do I want to put myself into debt for an LL.M., given my work experience and education, as a "bet" on finding work in NYC (my hometown)?

Any opinions--even negative ones--would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Very interesting question. Here are my thoughts as a foreigner with three different licenses (Italy, CA and NY) a law degree from a foreign country and an LLM from the US.

As you may know, the legal market is tough right now. JD students are highly competitive and you have to graduate from a good school with good grades to get a job.

For foreigners getting a legal job in the US is even more difficult. They compete with all of these JDs and, in addition, they need a visa to work in the US.

You present a unique scenario. You would be considered a foreigner in terms of legal education, but you don't need a visa. Here are your options:

Option 1: you don't enroll in an LLM program. If you do so, you can still sit for the California Bar because you are licensed in the Netherlands. You take a good Bar prep course, you study super hard and you pass the bar. Will you find a job in California? Only if your current practice is in international law and if you are truly great. For example, if you work in international arbitration, you may still find a job in a good firm having a big international arbitration practice and they may leverage your diverse legal background to attract clients from Europe or to assist US clients on cases in Europe.

Option 2: You want to practice in NY. If so, you need to enroll in an LLM program. You complete the program, you sit for the bar and you pass the exam. The outcome for your job search would still be similar to Option 1.

Option 3: If your long term plan is to stay in the US, the best choice would be to enroll in a JD program and invest three years of your life. At that point, you will be an American JD student with additional practice experience and license. You will pop at the top of the ranks and you will find a job more easily than other competing JD students.

My 2 cents.

Thanks so much for your reply! In truth, I hadn't expected anyone to respond since I gather there are very few people in the same situation as I am.

Although in reading your post, you really have me thinking: maybe we're more similar than we think we are! I also have a law degree (laurea magistrale) obtained from an Italian university (universita' di Modena e Reggio Emilia). I am not qualified in Italy, but that would also be another plan of mine: if I can't find work in NY, I'd at the very least be able to stay in the Netherlands or head off to Italy and work in a firm that needs someone who speaks English and after three years become qualified there thanks to EU reciprocity. The EU sure makes things easier. Because I am a dual US-Italian citizen, I would be more than happy to move back to Italy as I spent four years living there.

Anyway, before I get too off track... I just find the ridiculous prices of law school to be such an off-putting thing. I hate that if I wanted to come back to my home state I'd have to put myself into debt just to find a job in my field. I also hate that the ABA doesn't accredit distance learning programs, but that's a whole 'nother discussion. And truth be told, I'm not too keen on the idea of going back to school for three years to get a JD. I love the law for the law's sake (and I am truly not in this profession to make exorbitant amounts of money or to be a "rainmaker") but I don't want to put my professional life on hold for so long.

You seem to have an interesting background given that you are qualified in two states and in Italy. Would you be able to tell me how you did it? I'd love to hear!

You seem to have an interesting background given that you are qualified in two states and in Italy. Would you be able to tell me how you did it? I'd love to hear!