I graduated from UGA in 2005. Ever since I have been working as a paralegal in a big US law firm. My job hunt showed this was the bes a foreign LL.M. could hope for careerwise in the US. I have been recently thinking of taking maybe the NY bar and trying to practice immigration law. Anyone out there done that? Any comments you might want to share with me regarding career opportunities for LL.M.s in the States are welcome! Does anyone know exactly which states' bars will allow a foreign lawyer with an LL.M. from the USA to sit for the bar exam? Thank you.
career opportunities for LL.M.
Posted Nov 06, 2006 23:32
Posted Nov 07, 2006 12:08
I am not 100% sure but I remember hearing that NY and California allows foreign lawyers to see their bar exams. (I also remember that if you are qualified in Common law jurisdiction, you might be able to sit the bar even without doing LLM in US, though not sure)
Posted Nov 08, 2006 01:21
I graduated from UGA in 2005. Ever since I have been working as a paralegal in a big US law firm. My job hunt showed this was the bes a foreign LL.M. could hope for careerwise in the US. I have been recently thinking of taking maybe the NY bar and trying to practice immigration law. Anyone out there done that? Any comments you might want to share with me regarding career opportunities for LL.M.s in the States are welcome! Does anyone know exactly which states' bars will allow a foreign lawyer with an LL.M. from the USA to sit for the bar exam? Thank you.
Hi, I am a retired US lawyer with LLM from NYU.
If you want to practice only Immigration law, you need to be admitted in any one state bar, why would you want to choose New York which is the hardest bar to pass. Just go with any state that only test on multi-states subjects. Miami and LA are also good for immigration practice because of volume of business and low overhead cost. Good luck and I wish I am young again to do it one more time, LOL.
Hi, I am a retired US lawyer with LLM from NYU.
If you want to practice only Immigration law, you need to be admitted in any one state bar, why would you want to choose New York which is the hardest bar to pass. Just go with any state that only test on multi-states subjects. Miami and LA are also good for immigration practice because of volume of business and low overhead cost. Good luck and I wish I am young again to do it one more time, LOL.
Posted Nov 12, 2006 05:22
Do you speak good Spanish per chance? There are many small immigration firms in the south west (esp. Cal.) who are desperate for Spanish speakers. I don' think they think twice about sponsoring a owrk permit for such a person provided they passed the bar.
Other than that, you could always incorporate your own legal practice and then apply for a work permit as incorporator to then hire yourself and work solo. You are allowed to do that under US immigration law.
In the alternative, if you are from a country from which there is a lot of emigration to the US (esp. UK/London) you could work as a US immigration lawyer, set up your own shop and process work permit and visa applications for everyone.
BTW, well done on getting even a paralegal position in biglaw. I got a JD from a top tier and couldn't get within spitting distance of biglaw.
Other than that, you could always incorporate your own legal practice and then apply for a work permit as incorporator to then hire yourself and work solo. You are allowed to do that under US immigration law.
In the alternative, if you are from a country from which there is a lot of emigration to the US (esp. UK/London) you could work as a US immigration lawyer, set up your own shop and process work permit and visa applications for everyone.
BTW, well done on getting even a paralegal position in biglaw. I got a JD from a top tier and couldn't get within spitting distance of biglaw.
Posted Nov 15, 2006 07:04
My job hunt showed this was the bes a foreign LL.M. could hope for careerwise in the US. I have been recently thinking of taking maybe the NY bar and trying to practice immigration law.
Tell that to the two Cravath partners with LLM degrees. Or the guy from the Philippines who was accepted by Wachtell and started a few weeks ago.
Tell that to the two Cravath partners with LLM degrees. Or the guy from the Philippines who was accepted by Wachtell and started a few weeks ago.
Posted Nov 18, 2006 06:44
Go to www.nybarexam.org and click on the foreign legal education link and follow the instructions. The bar committee will determine if your law school transcripts qualify you to sit for the NY Bar. Also, if you've been admitted to practice in your country of origin, you can apply to the California Bar for eligibility to take their exam as well. If you take the NY Bar and you pass, you can actually practice in a few other states by just sitting for the bar exams in those states, e.g. Washington D.C. Finally, there are some States whose bar exams a foreign educated lawyer will never be able to sit for unless such a person possesses a U.S ABA certified JD.
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