Dear all,

I am originally from Europe and will very soon graduate from a top US law school. My goal was to practice US law in London. Unfortunately, I was unable to receive an offer from the London office of any US law firm.

In August 2016, I will pursue a vacation scheme at a UK law firm (silver circle) in London. In my understanding, the vacation scheme may lead to a 2 years training contract.

Should I receive a training contract offer, would you take it? Unfortunately, trainees' salaries are very low. I may be willing to struggle for a bit if my efforts will pay off in the long run though.

Do you think some experience in this UK firm may help me make a later move to a US firm?

The plan B is just going back to my home country where I would very like be able to find a job in a more prestigious international firm. At this point, I would be still looking for a job in London though. This is my ultimate goal.

I am not sure whether the latter option will provide me with more chances to practice US law in London compared to the former though.

Any insights on the topic would be great.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Nexus

Hi!

I'm a Brit, and currently in year 2 of my training contract (at a US firm in London), so I have a number of thoughts on your post.

First, congratulations on your offer of a vacation scheme! You are right in that these are often a 'foot in the door' when it comes to training contract offers, and many firms recruit for their TCs right out of their VSs. In any event, having a VS on your CV looks very good to London law firms.

If you were to be offered a TC, there are a number of things you need to think about:

1. A TC is your ticket to becoming a English-qualified solicitor. This may or may not be something that you would like to pursue. You mention in your post that your ultimate aim is to practice US law in London - as an English solicitor (or trainee) you would be practicing English law. Now, I am at a US firm, and it is true that a large number of the transactions that we work on are in conjunction with our US offices (and often the main transaction documents are governed by NY-law), but to the extent that we contribute to these transactions, it is exclusively from an English-law perspective. I did have the chance to go on a six-month secondment to the NY office of my firm, and there I did work on NY-law matters, so this may be something to consider (i.e. does your firm offer international secondments, and if so, what is your chance of being awarded one - they can be quite competitive).

2. If you do accept a TC offer, it is possible (and I don't know what legal education you have in addition to your US LLM) that you will need to undertake the GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law - a year-long, condensed law degree) and you will definitely have to take the LPC (Legal Practice Course, which must be taken by all prospective English solicitors). With a TC offer in hand, these are usually funded (together with a very moderate living allowance that must be supplemented by either savings or part time work) by your future firm. However, it is two further years of education, which may not appeal.

3. I do know of US-qualified lawyers who have got positions in the US-focused teams of US law firms in London. That is, even though they are based in the UK, they practice US law out of their London offices. There a number of firms, for example, that have US cap markets teams in London, made up exclusively of US-qualified lawyers. It may be worth looking into this, and effectively side-stepping the English-qualification route. This would require you to be admitted in the US, however.

4. I also know of people, at my firm and others, who are admitted to practice in their home jurisdictions and practice English law in London law firms. Again, this may be something to look into.

5. On the salary front - yes, it is very low compared to entry jobs in the US, however its totally normal in a London context. I (and many of my friends) are living quite happily on the salary, although it does mean (usually) sharing an apartment. If you have US law school debts (which we of course tend not to) then it may be distinctly less attractive!

I hope that this is of some help. I would be very happy to discuss any of this further!