I'm in Japan--Starting a non-ABA JD from Taft

Hello,

I am an American who has lived in Okinawa Japan for the past 14 years. My wife is Japanese, and we have one child. My wife has a nice government job working with the US military, and I work as an adjunct professor at a local college.

Honestly, we live a decent life and have deep ties in the community and culture; thus, Okinawa is our home. I recently deceided to enroll at Taft and will be starting in the coming weeks. I have done at least a 100 hours of research on the limitations of a non-ABA degree from Taft, yet my gut still tells me that this degree is perfect for me.

Even when I pass the CA bar, I truly doubt that I would relocate to CA to practice law. My plan is to register with the Japanese Bar Assoc. and receive a 'foreign lawyer' license. The JBA admits foreign lawyers who have passed the bar on the condition that they can only give US legal advise. The US military has 30,000+ troops, 1000s of civil service employees, plus dependents. I know of of one American female lawyer here in Okinawa who has been admitted by the JBA and provides legal services to Americans here on Okinawa.

If this first plan does not work out because of some contingency, then I am quite confident that I could get hired as a full professor at a local Japanese university, making a heck of a lot more than I currently make teaching part-time. The Japanese universities are not concerned about whether or not the JD is ABA or non. Their only concern is whether you have passed the bar. In fact, a colleague of mine, an American who is a full professor, has an LL.M from a Japanese university, and he even speculated that the Japanese universities wouldn't be too concerned about Taft's DETC accreditation. In his opinion, a degree from Oak Brook would even suffice to be hired as a full professor as long as you passed the bar.

So this is my plan. It is obvious that I cannot go to an ABA school. Often on this board it is mentioned that one should steer clear of non-ABA schools, but I do not think this rule applies to me.

My challenge to all of those who constantly degrade the non-ABA schools is to tell me why I shouldn't go to Taft. I doubt that many will be able to do so because a Taft graduate who has passed CA bar is simply a JD here in Japan.

Secondly, if you see holes in my plan, or if there are other venues from which I could utilize my JD degree here in Japan, then please let me know.

I thank you all in advance.

Thank you in advance for helping.

Regards,

Jason Arbogast

 

Hi Jason,

Are you saying that you could get hired as a full professor in Japan by just passing the CA bar?

 

Hired as a full-time instructor, sure. Hired as a full professor, I think less likely. Making more what you do now? Perhaps.

I lived in Tokyo for about 5 years as an HR consultant. At the time I remember US lawyers were in big demand in Japan. Almost went the law school route myself. I even took the LSAT in Japan.

I don't know about Okinawa, but there are already quite a few large US law firms in Tokyo. You're right, DETC vs RA doesn't mean much, but it might put you at the bottom of a very long list of other lawyers perceived to be more qualified particularly if you want to deal with large Japanese MNCs.

You might want to get more information from other foreign lawyers in Japan. Two groups that meet fairly regularly are the Foreign Women Lawyers Association - http://www.fwla.net/ and the Roppongi Bar Association (hilarious name) - http://www.rbalaw.org/ Both groups I believe have message boards.

 

Re: Re: I'm in Japan--Starting a non-ABA JD from Taft

Forgive the wording of 'full professor', what I do mean is that I would easily be hired full-time on faculty at a local university just for passing the bar. Most full-time faculty that gain employment full-time start-off as Assistant Professor, so I am pretty sure that this is where I would start. I am not stating that I would be teaching Law, though that is a possibility--depending on the school where I was hired. More than likely, I would be teaching communication courses to Japanese undergrads. Most of the full-time American professors that I know have MBAs, Math degrees, etc, but they teach communication courses. It may not sound so glamorous, but it is a tenure position & pays pretty well.

 

Edowave,

Yes, I have been told by a friend of mine that there would be plenty of work for someone such as myself in Tokyo, but I do not think that we would want to relocate.

However, your comments help to reinforce my point that a Taft law degree may be frowned upon in the states, but it can open some doors to some big oppurtunities here in Japan.

 

For the tuition that Taft charges (around $5000 a year ), you don't have much to lose, and a lot to gain. If I were in your shoes, I would do it.

Keep us posted how the courses go.

You mentioned you were an adjunct at a local college. How has that been? I've been toying with the idea of going back to Japan to teach after I finish my PhD here. After 4 years back stateside, my Japanese has gotten too rusty to teach in Japanese though.

 

Re: Re: I'm in Japan--Starting a non-ABA JD from Taft

Steve,

Thanks for your encouraging words. I've done a lot of research into the LLB from U of L, and I can only imagine that a foreign lawyer in Japan would look quite impressive with both a JD & an LLB. Nonetheless, I have a full hand of cards with this JD degree, so I plan to maneuver one degree at a time.