A better route to practicing law in the U.S.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by SouthernGent, Sep 19, 2011.

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  1. SouthernGent

    SouthernGent New Member

    As many of you may, or may not know, I am currently in my last year of law school. I wish I would have done more research about my opportunities to go to law school through distance learning.

    If I knew what I know now, this is what I would have done...

    I would have attended UoL for an LL.B. (3,921 British Pounds; $6,167.34 USD)

    I would then take the one year LLM at Florida Coastal at a cost of $575 per credit hour (x 26 hours) = $14,950. Florida Coastal is ABA accredited.

    While some states would give a little friction, once a person decides on the state they want to practice in, they can talk to each state bar to find out what extra coursework would be needed (if any).

    I find this to be much less hassle than dealing with non-ABA accredited programs. It also seems pretty darn cheap compared to going to an ABA accredited program sans scholarship.

    I know there are other distance learning LLBs but UoL seems to get high reviews here and from looking over the university myself, it seems that they are worthy.

    Just my two cents.
     
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    My wife is doing more or less the path you described, although she's at Nottingham Trent University rather than the University of London. The issue is how much tutorial support one gets from one's school. London is a bit notorious for saying, "Here are the materials, tudy them thoroughly, your exam is in eight months, good luck!" At the institution she chose there was a bit more to it than that.
     
  3. major56

    major56 Active Member

    For UOL LLB students or any accredited British University Laws Programme student, The International Center for Legal Studies (ICLS) in Springfield, MO offers online law tutorial support for the LLB and is an approved Registered Centre for the University of London International Programmes. Of course there are additional fees involved for this optional tutorial service.
    LAW DEGREE ONLINE LAW TUTORING FOR UNIVERSITY OF LONDON LL.B.
     
  4. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Please forgive the noobish question, but can one really study British law to become an American lawyer? How does that work, really? :dunce:

    If the answer to the above question is "yes," then couldn't we also expect UNISA UniSA School of Law - Study Law at UniSA, legal studies in Adelaide, study a Law degree with UniSA or Ignou (whose website, strangely, is currently down) to be an acceptable substitute for UoL?

    I would find it absolutely fascinating if one followed that route to become an American lawyer. I'd even call it groundbreaking. Hey, it would also give a thread to point to when the occasional person asks about the ABA and distance learning.
     
  5. sshuang

    sshuang New Member



    Hi SteveFoerster,

    Could you share info regarding Nottingham Trent LLB distance learning program?

    1. How much does it cost per year? EUR 2,950?
    2. Can I get by without going to UK at all?
    3. Do they have exam sites, e.g., in the US?
    4. How are the exams like?
    5. Are the exam conducted quarterly/semester or once a year?

    Thanks a lot for your help.
     
  6. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    You would have to check the Bar Exam requirements state by state, but there are some states who allow you to sit for their Bar Exam with a foreign LLB and an LLM in American Law.
     
  7. FJD

    FJD Member

    A great reference for this topic is The Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements 2011, which breaks down reqs. by state and U.S. territory. According to the guide, the OP's proposed plan (foreign LLB + ABA LLM = Bar Exam Eligibility) would work in four states: NY, CA, NH, and AL and one territory (here's looking at you, Palau!). Since there are lots of creative-thinking prospective lawyers on this forum, this guide should be pretty helpful in figuring out what might or might not work:

    http://http://www.ncbex.org/uploads/user_docrepos/2011_CompGuide_03.pdf
     
  8. novemberdude

    novemberdude New Member

    A bit dicey for NY, they are not big fans of distance law degrees. I think the malet.com message boards have been discontinued but a few years ago there were many threads there about a UoL distance learning LLB + in residence ABA law school accredited LLM (note: yes ABA does not accredit LLMs) being insufficient to qualify for the NY bar.

    And, I think (think) for Palau that any foreign law degree works. But you have to go to Palau to write the bar, which is kind of good and bad, I suppose. I am pretty sure Palau has no reciprocity agreements either.

    Having said all that I think there are a few states where a person can get his or her academic qualifications evaluated and potentially certified.
     
  9. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Yet strangely, a number of law schools in D.C. have LLM programs in U.S. Law specifically to accommodate foreign lawyers who wish to practice here.
     
  10. jts

    jts New Member

    Or, you could just argue admission to take the bar all the way to the supreme court of your state. Sounds fun.
     
  11. novemberdude

    novemberdude New Member

    When I loioked into it DC was a jurisdiction that would allow a foreign law degree + LLM for purposes of bar admission. However, Florida Coastal has never listed DC as a place you can qualify to take the bar with their LLM. When I asked Florida Coastal about that all I got back was that they didn't have confirmation from DC that it would work. So I'm not sure if the hang up was modality or what. I read the statute relating to bar admission in DC and it looked like it should work, but I'm no expert.

    Also, from my understanding, there are states where the distinction between foreign lawyer and foreign law graduate is important with (I think) foreign law degree + foreign law license + US LLM working where foreign law degree + US LLM does not.

    Also, if we look at NY as a specific example, LLMs in US law are useful for lawyers from non common law jurisdictions. They allow a foreign law graduate from a non common law background to cure the substantive deficiency in their education. Florida Coastal is no good for that mind you as NY specifies no distance education.
     
  12. dl_mba

    dl_mba Member

    Here is IGNOU link.. IGNOU - The People's University
     
  13. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    The ABA assents to LLMs.
     
  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    My wife's friend did hers on campus at American University. George Washington and Georgetown Universities have similar programs here. Catholic University might also, I'm not sure.
     
  15. Hokiephile

    Hokiephile New Member

    When I was in law school we had an LL.M. student who had been a judge in Korea. He passed the bar (don't remember what state) while he was still attending our school. Don't know how that worked exactly since he didn't actually have his LL.M. yet.
     
  16. sshuang

    sshuang New Member


    Probably he took and passed the NY bar.
     
  17. Car975

    Car975 New Member

    I know the thread is old but I was hoping to chat with someone about this, it sounds like a great idea.
     
  18. Car975

    Car975 New Member

    I'm looking to try and do the same thing, would love to chat with you and get some more information.
     
  19. mazm88

    mazm88 New Member

    I really hope this thread isn't closed ! I am doing EXACTLY what's been mentioned here. Currently in my final year of UoL LLB and also I just got my USA immigrant visa approved :D The plan is to get some experience through internships and then decide which field to choose to do my LLM in. States that I've short listed are basically New Jersey or New York or Virginia (which seems most likely).

    Is it a good idea to give my final year exams in US while doing internships at different law firms to gain experience and then do LLM and finally the bar exam ? PLEASE guide me because I'm leaving for the USA next month. Any information will be highly appreciated. Thank you.
     
  20. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    mazm88, New York State is not a problem, but you will not be eligible to sit the bar in Virginia with a foreign LLB and an American LLM even if you earn that LLM in Virginia. It's lame, but that's the current situation. If it's the D.C. area that interests you, take a look at the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland. An LLM from either will qualify you to sit the bar in Maryland without intermediate steps.
     

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