UBE for Foreign Trained Lawyer, US LLM Forum

[neem518]

I had my JD from overseas, and finished my LLM from Georgetown University in DC. I am now employed full-time as a corporate paralegal, and would like to get better chances at Legal/General Counsel positions. I’m not looking to practice in a particular state (I live in Florida and I’m aware I can’t sit for the Florida bar without additional JD credits). All I want is to be “licensed in any jurisdiction in the US.” I belong to the legal team in the company I work for, but in all likelihood will not be promoted from my paralegal position unless I am barred somewhere.

That said, I started the process to sit for the NY Bar. So, I submitted a Request for Evaluation with the NY Board of Law Examiners on 12/27/2017. The Board admonishes that it can take up to 6 months AFTER receipt of all required documents for them to make a determination of eligibility. My foreign law school is accredited according to the Board, so they expect less documents, but I still have no clue when the determination of my eligibility will be released.

Following are my questions -

1 - is NY my best bet to get licensed in the US?

2 - I’m shooting for February, 2019 exam only because I’m unsure when my eligibility will be released by the Board. Should I start my review now? Or there will be too many changes it doesn’t make much sense to start my review?

3 - Is it advisable to take the UBE first, and then deal with the NYLC/NYLE after passing the UBE? I was thinking of getting the NYLC/NYLE out of the way in the meantime, just because I’m not seeing the possibility of sitting for the UBE until February 2019.

4 - I work full-time, have kids, but I have family to help if I need to crunch. For those that are in the same boat, how many months have you allotted for the UBE? For the NYLC/NYLE?

Thank you all for your time!

[newtonc]

bump

[iplaw4me2]

I'm pretty sure California will accept your foreign education:

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Admissions/Req ... /Education

Not saying the California Bar Exam would be fun, because it isn't, but California is known to be pretty lax on the education requirement. Technically you don't need to go to law school at all as long as you've studied under a judge or attorney for a set amount of time. Not sure any other states allow that.

[b290]

I had my JD...

I thought only US schools give out JDs?

Just kidding, I’ll answer:

1 - It depends on what you’re practicing. But in your case, it’s irrelevant where you get licensed.

2 - it’s early to study for an exam you don’t have a date for. That being said, you won’t have to worry about topic content changes (changes in law, etc. Bar exams are planned several years
in advance.

I know this may seem like the answer here contradicts my #4 answer, but it doesn’t :lol;

3 - That’s a great idea. I forget if foreign applicants are required to do the MPRE (professional responsibility) exam as well. Might as well get them out of the way and passed.

4 - I did the NYLC over the course of a week (I just wanted to get it over with), and used the state-provided outline on the day of the NYLE. As for the UBE, if you’re working full-time, the earlier, the better mainly because you study less per day (and is less overwhelming). But even the most lax schedule usually doesn’t exceed 4-5 months before the exam. UBE is finite as opposed to the myriad of state exceptions in non-UBE exams.

Good luck!

My $.02

[Neilt001]

I had my JD...

I thought only US schools give out JDs?

LOL. Actually Canadian schools have recently switched from LLB to JD to reflect the fact that the Canadian degree has always been the same as the US degree (ie it's a graduate doctoral degree and not a bachelors degree like in the UK). Also, the University of Melbourne in Australia (where I went!) has switched to JDs, though most law schools in Aus still offer an LLB bachelors right out of highschool.

[Neilt001]

Following are my questions -

1 - is NY my best bet to get licensed in the US?

2 - I’m shooting for February, 2019 exam only because I’m unsure when my eligibility will be released by the Board. Should I start my review now? Or there will be too many changes it doesn’t make much sense to start my review?

3 - Is it advisable to take the UBE first, and then deal with the NYLC/NYLE after passing the UBE? I was thinking of getting the NYLC/NYLE out of the way in the meantime, just because I’m not seeing the possibility of sitting for the UBE until February 2019.

4 - I work full-time, have kids, but I have family to help if I need to crunch. For those that are in the same boat, how many months have you allotted for the UBE? For the NYLC/NYLE?

Thank you all for your time!

Hey mate, where's your JD from?

As a foreigner (like me!) NY and CA are you best options. I also work full time and studied for 4 months (every evening and weekend, and sometimes during work, but don't tell my employer!). With kids you may want to extend that to 5 months, but any longer and I feel it's too long. You'll forget everything you studied at the beginning.

As for the NYLC, I didn't want to waste my time with it if I'm only going to fail the exam. I figure once I pass, then I can study the NYLC knowing it's not a waste. But then again, if you've got nothing better to do than it certainly can't hurt!

Agree with b290 - a week is all you need for the NYLC. And yes foreigner have to do the MPRE too (which I've also left until after the bar, lest I waste my time!)

Finally, I also went through the foreign evaluation process. Actually, I was late and only left like 3 months for them to review it. They couldn't give me a guarantee but I enrolled in the NY bar exam anyway (knowing I would lose my $750 if they rejected my foreign eval). The good thing is the board of examiners will expedite your foreign eval if you've enrolled in the bar, so that's nice of them. Otherwise I'd have been late!

Good luck!