3 Years Plus Online JD

A recognized bachelor degree plus can qualify to practice in Caymans or as a barrister or solicitor in England. And with a few tweaks take the bar in California or New York. Even better can go 6 years PT and hang out on Grand Cayman and still be finished with the law degree in less timethan the US (4 undergrad plus 3 law school) and for far less money. Imagine how one could improve their tan, surfing, and margarita drinking skills!

Our Bachelor of Laws (Honours), or LLB programme, is delivered in partnership with the University of Liverpool and is offered on a full-time and part-time basis, over 3 or 6 years respectively.

This undergraduate degree covers English law and is recognised by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority and the Bar Standards Board as a qualifying law degree in England and Wales. It is also a Cayman qualifying law degree.


This status means that graduates of our LLB programme who wish to enter the legal profession are able to pursue vocational training with us here in Cayman (see Professional Practice Course), or in England and Wales (Legal Practice Course or Bar Professional Training Course). This degree is awarded by the University of Liverpool.

 

Yes, all of that is true (though watch that margarita intake) but if the goal is a U.S. law license it's the long way around. Besides, are you sure the Cayman Islands will allow a foreigner to live and eork there for years? The UK probably won't.

 

You can work on your tan, surfing, and cirrhosis in California just as easily.

 

That is the problem with most lawyers. They box themselves in instead of looking for new challenges. Watch for me on TV.

Cayman Islands Law school tuition is lot less than the obscene 50K plus a year US law schools charge. And it does qualify for a student visa. A better degree than a Cali non ABA too, can take NY Bar. Lawyers always seem to want to box themselves in, try something new, the possibilities are endless.

 

So if you get a Cayman Islands LL.B. you can immediately take the New York Bar? You don't have to qualify in Cayman or the UK first? Okay, that would be a very attractive option.

 

But I believe SF knows what he's talking about from personal experience.

 

California says if you are admitted to practice in a foreign jurisdiction you can take the California Bar. Otherwise you need to complete a year of study at an ABA or CalBar accredited law school on top of your LL.B.

 

Incidentally, jonlevy, you say that the Caymans LLB is a "better" degree than a California non ABA J.D. What do you mean by "better"? For an American lawyer a CalBar accredited degree permits one to take the California State Bar Exam immediately. Many such schools also have regional accreditation. Finally, they are degrees in American law and not the law of any foreign jurisdiction.

 

It is all common law so the differences are only in the statutes. But my practice is all virtual cross border - crypto, human rights, securities, corporate, AML etc. If someone wants to sit in an actual office in Podunk and go to the local court then you are 100% right. But the legal field is changing fast. Lawyers are no longer chained to a desk or a jurisdiction unless they want to be.

 

Oh, okay, you are a lawyer then. What jurisdictions?

 

Incidentally...not so sure I agree that the differences are just statutory. Canadian Constitutional Law is a study in its own unique ways. But I do agree that the systems are more alike than different.

 

I am a 1991 graduate of Taft Law School. No one knew about the work arounds back then except Dr. Bear. I went virtual in 1997 soon as it became practicable. Compared to California, The English system offers a much larger universe of options for law because it can be taken at as a first or second degree with no stigma attached to online. So you finish your inexpensive LLB in 3 years online do a training contract which is not as bad as it sounds, get admitted to the Law Society or English Bar and take a US bar exam and you are still a couple years ahead of your cohort with international experience and a degree from a more prestigious law school like University of London or Buckingham compared to a California non ABA. Compare that to graduating from Taft after 4 years, taking the First Year Exam which has a pass rate of around 20% and then studying a year more for the bar and facing odds of like 20-1 against on the California Bar for non-accredited graduates. After that no one will employ you, so you have to go solo and hope for the best.

SRA | Becoming a solicitor | Solicitors Regulation Authority

 

Canada is not bad, just Quebec is different though not fatally so. Even civil law jurisdictions are easy if you stick to constitutional petitions and administrative tribunals. You just need to pay someone on Fiverr to translate them. And surprisingly your US law license is accepted as long as you avoid courts and reserved activities.

 

Well, my understanding of the English system isn't the same as yours but I haven’t done it myself. Do you mean to say, though, that your Taft J.D. was an inferior choice?

 

I think the current English online LLBs beat the current California online schools. I didn't have that choice. So Taft was a good choice several decades ago.

 

Makes sense.