Nottingham Law School

Does anyone have experience with the DL law program from Nottingham Law School? I've been thinking about possibly getting a law degree from this school, and I think that I've narrowed it down to Nottingham, and London University. I'm interested in hearing any positive or negative experiences that people may have had with the DL programs at these schools. Thank you.

 

I have no experience with the program at either universities. But i have received thier information. You need to decide if you want to get an LLB or a diploma. The diploma is only interestiung if you already have a bachelors degree. If you finish the diploma you can get a job that will train you to become a sollicitor or a barrister, just like if you have an LLB.

The program costs about 2850 pounds per year.

It is only intersting if you are livng in the Uk or plan to move there and work in this field. Otherwise get an LLM in the field of your choice if it is just for gaining knowledge. Check out lawrie millers webpages to see where you can do a distance learning LLM

Hope this helps you

 

Can the diploma route, allow you to sit for the California Bar?

 

Probably not. California is rare among American states in allowing those who receive their legal education outside the U.S. can sometimes qualify to take their Bar but the applicant must show that he either 1) is admitted to the Bar of a common law jurisdiction or 2) that his legal education is substantially equivalent to the American degree AND that he has, in addition, appropriate pre-legal college credits.

If you want to become an American lawyer, get an American law degree. For California, this can even be done by correspondence.

See www.calbar.org under "bar examination" for further particulars.

Nosborne, JD

 

Ok so if I have an option I would love to get a JD from Harvard which is ABA approved. But the reality of life is that I have a full time job/family and I do not live in California and the chances of been accepted in ABA law school where I live, is way way low.

Also, Economicaly is almost impossible to guite my job, So my options are limmeted to DL.

You may be right that California DL be a good option but I been seen here that the pass rate is very law in DL schools, add to that the fact that having a no name university will not help much.

My thinking was UofL has a name world wide, and I was hopping that I can sit the California or NY bar IMMEDIATLY after JD graduation, I'm I wrong?

And I was excited to see the Diploma JD program at UofL, since I allready have a US BS, I thought it would be great to have the JD in 2 years and sit for the Californial and NY bar, are you telling me that is not possible?

Any help is appreciated.

 

Getting a legal degree from a foreign law school generally does not qualify you to sit for the bar anywhere in the USA. So, getting a degree from the UofL will not qualify you to take the bar exam in California or New York. It will qualify you to sit for the bar in the UK.

If you want to practice law in the USA, you generally have to graduate from an ABA accredited law school in the USA. There are only a very few exceptions, and they are unique to only a few states.

Lest anyone think this smacks of United States imperialism, most other countries have the same policy. You cannot, for example, take your Harvard law degree and practice law in Japan, for example. You usually have to go to law school in the same country in which you wish to practice.

Regards,

Michael Lloyd
Mill Creek, Washington USA

 

I am a 1st yr LLB student @ U of L.

To my knowledge, a U of L LLB graduate can qualify to take the CA & NY bar exams. I've come across people who have done it. One can also practice almost anywhere in the Commonwealth. See: www.malet.com There are some state bars such as Texas, for example, that won't accept correspondence/distance law degrees - it doesn't matter if there foreign degrees or not.

 

Actually, I don't think the Bar or Law Society of England and Wales even administers a Bar exam any more. Instead, after one attains the necessary academic qualification either by earning an LL.B. or Post Graduate Diploma or passing certain exams after years of practical experience, one enrolls in a year long "vocational" course, either for barristers or solicitors. Then, one clerks for two years for a solicitor or one year for a barrister and THEN is admitted to practice.

An American JD is NOT the equivalent of an English LL.B.

Nosborne, JD

 

Originally posted by Testing
And I was excited to see the Diploma JD program at UofL, since I allready have a US BS, I thought it would be great to have the JD in 2 years and sit for the Californial and NY bar, are you telling me that is not possible?

As others have pointed out, whatever anyone tells you is largely irrelevant; the policy of the particular state bar controls. Based upon the educational requirements (set forth below), it certainly appears as if a UoL degree (via DL), alone, will not qualify you to sit for the bar exam in NY. With respect to CA, note the 4 year requirement as well as the §2(b)(4) requirement that the law school be registered with the Committee.

From the Calbar web site:
"Section 2. Legal Education. Every general applicant has the burden of establishing that he or she has met the following legal education requirement:

(a) Graduated from a law school approved by the American Bar Association or accredited by the Committee; or

(b) Studied law diligently and in good faith for at least four years in any of the following manners:
(1) In a law school that is authorized by the State of California to confer professional degrees; is registered with the Committee; and which requires classroom attendance of its students for a minimum of 270 hours a year; or
(2) In a law office in this State and under the personal supervision of a member of The State Bar of California who is, and who has been continuously, an active member of The State Bar of California for at least the last past five years; or
(3) In the chambers and under the personal supervision of a judge of a court of record of this State; or
(4) By instruction in law from a correspondence law school requiring 864 hours of preparation and study per year and which is registered with the Committee; or
(5) By any combination of the methods referred to in this subsection (b)."


From the NY State Board of Law Examiners web site:
"External study, correspondence study, and distance learning are not recognized by the Board, notwithstanding the fact that such study may be recognized by the admitting authority of the country where you were educated."

 

Get real!

With VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS if anyone wants to practice and/or be licenced to do anything in the USA then get a US credential! The USA (official agencies, etc) are dreadful at being able to judge non-US systems! Sonmeone with a dental credential in the Uk would have to train all over again! Same inlaw, teaching, etc. Then you have all the various different state regulations! The whole thing is a mess! I have a colleague in the Uk with 4 earned doctorate in clinical psychology (over the top I know), he has written 20 books, is a chartered psychology, has been a major university professor and a professional psychologist for 20 years. He has the chance to go to California and that state wants him to take that State's licensing examinations to get a state licence. Other quote this guy in their own research.

I guess it is to do with the size of the USA, the number of people and the hige difference in educational standards and quality across the whole US system of education. Get outside the USA way of doing things and, by and large, you donlt stand a chance - see Bush and Iraq as a typical example!

'telfax'

 

Although people here are correct in stating that it is nearly impossible to be admitted to any U.S. state bar with only a British LLB, it should be noted that a very large number of states will allow someone with this degree to take the bar after an additional year at an ABA school (or others with an LLM from an ABA school). See the following link for details

http://www.abanet.org/legaled/publications/compguide/chart9.pdf

 

But not just ANY LLM from an ABA school. Often there are specific course requirements.

These programs are usually at private schools and will cost about $25,000 for tuition and fees alone.

An ABA JD from the same school, or a cheaper state school, takes three years (four years part time) instead on one year (two years part time) AFTER finishing the English degree and gives you a JD good in any state. Why mess with the "long way around?"

If you insist on studying American law by D/L, get a California Bar correspondence JD and THEN you can

1. Take the California Bar immediately and practice in California or
2. Earn an ABA LLM immediately and take the Bar in certain other states, or
3. Practice in California a few years and thereby become eligible to take the Bar in around 20 other states without getting an LLM.

American state Bar officials understand the JD. They DON'T understand an foreign LL.B.

Nosborne, JD

 

And after 2 years part-time study of foreign law at a foreign university you would be able to pass an American bar exam??

You must be a lot smarter than most of the people in California, studying American law 4 years part-time, who fail.

 

It just depends on the individual's current situation. You're right that an ABA JD, is clearly the best option for someone who has access to an ABA school (as well as the funds), and wishes to practice only in the U.S. There is no disputing this fact.

However, if I remember correctly, there are only around 170 or 180 ABA schools in the country and not everyone can just pick up and relocate to one of them for 3 years. In this case, one might as well go the UOL route and get an internationally respected legal education for a total price for three years of around $3000. As I mentioned in a previous thread, one simply can't go wrong for that price. At least there would be much more options available down the road.

I am currently studying for the London LLB and am loving every second of it. It is, without a doubt, the most satisfying education that I have received at any level. I just hope that I'll be prepared for the final exams by the end of May. If your personal situation allows it, I would recommend anyone to enroll in this program.

Just be aware of the facts, and be sure that you don't expect any U.S. state bar to admit you without first contacting them and getting their requirements in writing. If not, you might be severely disappointed 3 years in the future.

As far as the California correspondence law schools go, I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole, unless I lived in California and was prepared to defend my education for the rest of my life. I looked extensively into this route prior to enrolling with the U of London, but through hours of research and contact with people, I found that it just wasn't a viable alternative for myself. I would much prefer to have the well known international creditials then something from a unaccretited california school.

To me, it would just have a shady appearance that I wouldn't want to have hanging over me forever. Plus, it should be noted the time requirements needed to complete this route is 4 years. You can compare that to the 3 year University of London degree, and note that the year saved could be used to complete an American LLM, or a year in a JD program (which would probably be very easy since you would have already studied many of the concepts of these subjects in your LLB program). With these credentials, you will be eligible to be admitted to a very large number of states, as opposed to the California correspondence degrees which will only make you eligible in the state of California (Be aware that the majority of the schools, with the exeption of Oak Brook and Northwest California, have EXTREMELY low bar pass rates).

Also note the price difference. The cheapest California correspondence degree would cost you at least $8,000 prior to materials. This is substantially more expensive than the University of London, which is in the neighborhood of $3000 with most of the materials included.

The final benefit that I would add to the University of London LLB, would be that if you ever would have aspirations of practicing abroad in other common law jurisdictions (or even the European Union), this degree would probably be much better known than even an ABA JD. This due to the fact that the University of London had been offering degrees through its External Programme since 1858, and thousands of people worldwide have taken advantage of it to meet requirements for legal admission for their jurisdictions.

To me, there is no question that the University of London route is much better. Everyone is different though, just be sure you do your homework before you committ to anything. Best of luck!

 

Still not a simple process to practice in Canada.


http://www.flsc.ca/en/foreignLawyers/guidelines.asp

 

From website in my last post:

" Applicants from England (including the London External LL.B. degree), Wales, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, Hong Kong and Singapore can expect to be required to take 30-60 credit hours in a Canadian law school if they have obtained a Second Division degree (or better) in a 3 year honours law program following upon an undergraduate degree. Applicants who take a 2 year law honours program with a Second Division standing (or better) are usually asked to complete more credit hours than applicants with three year degrees."


So with a 3 year University of London degree you can look at spending 1 or 2 years at a Canadian law school. With a 2 year degree you need more.

Am I missing something? Is this a good idea?

 

Originally posted by Dude
.........compare that to the 3 year University of London degree, and note that the year saved could be used to complete an American LLM, or a year in a JD program (which would probably be very easy since you would have already studied many of the concepts of these subjects in your LLB program)......

That "one year American LL.M." is one =loooong= year, though (many require 12 courses). The lawyers I know who earned their LL.M. in a year didn't work full time during the program.

 

Wow. And I thought that the various US states made it difficult for a foreign-trained lawyer to be admitted to practice. After reading this site, it appears to be even more difficult in Canada, what with having to take many credit hours at a Canadian institution and/or write challenge exams.

Regards,

Michael Lloyd
Mill Creek, Washington USA

 

It is certainly NOT my intention to disparage the London LL.B. degree whether earned by correspondence or in residence. All I suggest is that it is NOT a substitute for an American JD as far as practicing law in the U.S. goes.

-Completion of the D/L LL.B. does not by itself qualify the holder to take the Bar in any U.S. state that I know of.

-Completion of a California Bar D/L JD does permit the holder to take the Bar in California.

-Completion of any LL.B. does not by itself qualify the holder to enter practice even in England and Wales.

In this respect at least, the reputation of the LL.B. or JD simply doesn't matter.

Nosborne, JD