Foreign Law Students Without a First Degree of Law

Hi All,

Cal Bar came up with new procedures regarding the eligibility of foreign educated applicants to qualify for the CA Bar exam. It seems like the requirements for the foreign law students without a first degree of law are the same as those who do not have any legal education background. Please refer to page 2 of the following link. Any thought?


http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/Outside-Ed-Qualif.pdf

 

What do you mean by "without a first degree of law?"

 

I think it means "without first qualifying law degree," e.g., J.D. in US or LL.B. in UK.

 

Wouldn't the foreign applicant need a first degree of law from his/her home country?

 

Ok, an undergraduate degree in law by another name. I understand the JD is considered a graduate degree in so much as it requires the holder to have already earned another undergraduate degree. Whereas the LLB is a first undergraduate degree in the sense that a student in the UK can directly enter the programme of study without a prior undergraduate degree. The situation in Canada is a blend of these approaches because most students entering law school either have an undergraduate degree or at least two years of undergraduate study at time of application.

 

One can pursue an UK LL.M. without the a first qualifying law degree.

 

Unless I am mistaken, an LLM does not qualify one to practise law. On the other hand, an LLM does allow one to teach at a law school. So, the announcement from the California Bar simply means a LLB or JD law degree is not a condition for admission to the bar, apparently. Aren't there too many lawyers in California already?