Hey,

I am a 1 year qualified English solicitor working in international arbitration for a new york firm in london.

my girlfriend has the prospect of going to work in los angeles next year and i am keen to live there too. if i want to get a job at a firm in southern california on a similar level to my current firm (latham for example), or any firm for that matter, would passing the california bar be enough or would i have to do a US LLM to get a decent job? i read law at oxford (2:1) and did the LPC.

i know a lot comes down to individual circumstances but i just want to know how big a difference having a US LLM makes, particularly since i do arbitration/litigation and i guess the latter is pretty different in the states than it is in london.

it's hard to ask questions about this at my firm without suggesting i want to leave so any thoughts would be most appreciated, thanks!

Hey Jack85,

With your credentials and current experiences at an international law firm, getting a job in CA is probably not difficult for you. The question you should ask, however, is whether you wish to sacrifice what you have in London (moving up the latter on track to becoming a partner) to move to CA, a state which requires foreign lawyers from other common law jurisdictions to do additional schooling before becoming eligible to take the CA BAR. Assuming you do take the course and study to take the bar, that might take you anywhere from one year to two; this means that these are one or two years you are not working towards your partnership. Given this reality, your already stellar academic record (I am assuming that you did not get into a top international law firm by being an average student), and international law firm experiences already under your belt, there is definitely no upside in doing an LL.M, unless it's necessary before you can sit for the New York State Bar, for example. I am not sure if an LL.M. would qualify you to sit for the CA Bar. If it does, then you would have no choice but to do an LL.M. in the US.

thanks for the advice north450, although i wouldn't consider myself stellar! as evidence of that, I have checked on the california bar site and still can't work out exactly what their requirements are. I am actually going to take the NY bar next year (I know for sure i am eligible to do that) so can i assume from what you've said that once i have that i can take the california bar without doing any extra courses/LLM?

thanks again for the pointers. promotion/partnership is not as big a draw for me as a totally new experience and change in my life that i could get in s. california. i'm 27 so have many long years of work left anyway!

if you or anyone else knows of an english qualified solicitor/barrister who moved to cali and got a job with a firm there, please do let me have any of their insights. cheers!

I'm a year ahead of you in int arb at an English firm - similar creds to you (Ox etc). Have applied to LLM's this year.

From talking to colleagues etc the only reason to do an LLM would be to add to your credentials in int arb (eg by doing a specialist Int law LLM at a top School (in Cal that would be Berkeley for Int Law). It certainly will help your prospects of gaining a job in the US - but not to the same extent as completing the normal US law degree (JD). And Int Arb is definitely one of those esoteric areas where an Masters would help - and be a great thing to do generally.

On a separate note - my understanding is that any qualified lawyer can sit the Californian Bar (see other posts on this website) - without having to complete the LLM etc. Having said that, I have friends who have sat the exam and it is not easy (three months intensive study at a min) - so you might want to consider if it is really going to be worth sitting the NY bar and then Cali (but maybe you were one of those exam guys who loved getting into sub fusc etc!).

Hope this helps!

Hi Jack85,

I did some research for you about eligibility in taking the California Bar Exam for foreign law school graduates. You can read the specifics at http://calbar.xap.com/Applications/CalBar/California_Bar_Exam/default.asp. Once there just scroll down and clik on ELIGIBILITY on blue font. Then just go down to the section about Foreign Educated Applicants.

Essentially, the requirements for a graduate from a common law jurisdiction (like Great Britain) are as follows:
i) get a credential evaluative agency (approved by CA) to evaluate whether you have the requisite 2 years of pre legal and 4 years of legal educations; and
2) passage or exemption from the First-Year Law Student's Examination.

One problem relates to how you are going to get approval for 4 years of legal education when most law schools are three years. That's is something you need to do further research. The second requirement is where LL.M. comes in. The rule specifically states that an LL.M. from a U.S. school can viciate the need for the First-Year Law Student's Examination.

Alternatively, if you pass the New York State Bar Exam and allow 4 years to go by, you will also be eligible to take the exam that way.

All in all, it's quite a pain in the ass. If I were you, I would pass the NYS Bar, go to CA and find a job with a big firm and work in non-litigation and then you will be fine. This is the cost you will pay for wanting the California sun.

http://www.llm-guide.com/board/35770
Hi North450 - you have quoted the regs for non-attorney foreign educated applicants for the Cali bar. If you are a foreign educated attorney you don't need to complete any extra education top sit the cali bar exam. See conversation and links in above thread (or search richardvf on the board - who seems to be something of an expert on this).