Hi, I've got a question --

I hold an LLB from the University of Hong Kong - it's based on English common law and the degree should be equivalent to that of a UK Uni LLB. Does anyone know whether my university is recognized or "pre-approved" by the NY Bar Exam Board that I don't need to submit any proof of "successful completion of all of the educational requirements"?

I asked because I don't think my law school has ever given/is prepared to give any such confirmation and the school office didn't reply to my enquiry. So I do worry that I cannot get the proof as required under Section 5 of the Request for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Credentials Form.

Any help or advice or experience will be much appreciated!!

send a mail to the bar association and ask them to read ur case. a friend of mine had similar question as u, many discussion about this equivalent academic backround things arose, and she decided to send a mail to the official. after discussing her educational backround, she just need to retake some courses in order to take the bar exam. so my advice is go ask. americans are flexibility in things.

Hi Adrienmo - Thanks for your reply! Let me ask them directly then.

you're welcome. good luck!

I don't think it matters where you completed law school. You should definitely contact the Board of Law Examiners, but it seems reasonable to assume that if you are applying to sit the bar on the basis of foreign law education, you will need to prove that you actually completed law school. I think it would be the same for an American applicant to New York. You need to prove you have a law degree.

A quick answer: yes you CAN.

I'm from HK and I did my LLB at Nottingham University.

This is the long answer, but I basically agree with the poster above. Just apply without seeking pre-qualification. I have a friend who screwed up her pre-qualification by making representations which violated the very technical durational rules and the board of law examiners did no qualify her to sit the bar.

My understanding is that the NY board of law examiners will basically let any 3-year common law LLB degree holder take the NY bar examinations, so long as the degree in question is an accredited degree according to the local law society, provided always that your representations in your pre-qualification letter (if you decide to send one) do not violate the technical rules (especially with regard to durational requirements).

The HKU LLB is one such degree. There is no need to get pre-qualification from the NY board of law examiners; just register for the exam.

However, if you feel unsafe this way you can opt for pre-qualification (and this is not recommended), you need to read the relevant rules in question carefully.

You will see that they have very technical durational requirements (among other requirements, but durational is the one which even most 3 year LLBs may not fulfill) which your 3-year common law degree must satisfy. If you ask your HKU to write to them (you should draft it yourself in the first instance and ask them to mark-up and have you approve of it before authorizing them to send it off) for pre-qualification stating facts of your class hours, etc., you MUST make sure those facts conform strictly to the requirements. As such, it is better to be broad than specific where you are in doubt. For example, there is a range of time you must fall within (e.g. no more than and not less than) you must be in residence per semester, number of hours per week, etc. Your representations must NOT be violate these rules, or you risk them not qualifying you to sit, in which your only chance is to appeal in writing to the NY Court of Appeals and they will reject your appeal based purely on your facts not conforming with the rules.

Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to help. BTW, I have passed the NY bar examinations and it is not as difficult as people say- just be persistent, motivated and put in your hours (8 hours every day for 2 months).

Many thanks for everyone's detailed replies! Really appreciated.

Hi daflake: I really appreciate your advice! The only (maybe the biggest) problem that I'm facing is that my LLB was awarded "in conjunction with" another degree and so it may appear not to be exactly the same as those 3-yr LLBs.. In fact, I was enrolled in a dual degree programme and it took me 4 yrs to finish 2 degrees, so I am a bit worried that they may discount some of my credit hours causing problem for meeting the durational requirement. It's against this background that I'm urging my law school to write a letter and wanting to seek the Board's evaluation before applying for the exam.

Would you know what would happen to LLB holders who graduated from dual/double degree programmes? Or would you still think I should go ahead without seeking prior evaluation?

Have you had a good read at 520.3 of the Rules for Admission of Attorneys?

http://www.nybarexam.org/court.htm#520.3%A0Study%20of%20law%20in%20law%20schoo

In particular, it reads:

(c) Instructional requirement. (1) An approved law school shall require for its first degree in law the successful completion of either a full-time or a part-time program which consists of:

(i) a minimum of 80 semester hours of credit, including at least 60 semester hours in professional law subjects. A maximum of 20 of the required 80 semester hours may be courses related to legal training or clinical courses as provided in sections (2) and (5) of this subdivision;

(ii) at least 1,120 hours of classroom study, exclusive of examination time

Read the whole thing though, so you get the context.

Does anyone know what it is like to the current application procedures? cos i have similar background, a hk LLB degree, do i have to Foreign Evaluation as stated in the board exam websites? they say that everyone from foreign school has to go through the it, is it true? because it would be too late for me to submit all my documents now, ideally i would like to take the exams in July 2013. would that be too risky if i ignore this evaluation and directly apply for the exam in april 2013?