LLB University of London Online

And again, a U.S. J.D. is still the best credential to be a U.S. lawyer. You might be eligible for advanced standing?

 

I think British LLB and US ABA LLMB are the best routes for Americans whose primary goal is not to be a lawyer but, at a certain point, want to be a lawyer (limited options).
1). Really affordable (University of London's LLB $6,500.00, University of Arizona's LLM $16,000.00)
2). Might be shorter (LLB: 9 courses, LLM: 8 courses)

The cheapest online ABA JD is the University of Hawaii's (90 credits at $971, ~$90,000).

 

Not the best choices - best deal is the non ABA online Northwestern California University School of Law - you just need a LSAT score to access the 4 years online program all for under $15,000 total. Pass the California Bar Exam (no First Year Exam required) and you are not limited to California once you learn the ropes of multijurisdictional practice.

 

I will be called here in June of 2025; I am looking into other possibilities that exclude having to do another LL.M., but I'm ok with it if need be.

 

University of Law in London is synchronous and saved me one year as Canada's NCA required 1 year of in-person learning as the LL.B. was done through synchronous; asynchronous would have required two-years of in-person learning. I completed the senior status LL.B. (2 years) and 1 year Global Professional LL.M. at the University of Toronto. Received the "Certificate of Qualification" from the NCA (meaning I have equivalent legal education to a Canadian Law degree) and am good to go. I also was able to work the entirety of the LL.B. and the LL.M.

US Law degrees are -expensive-, and if you factor in the exchange rate now (since the Can Dol is pathetically low due to the inept government), it would be insane to do it.

 

US law degrees can be tuition free IF you pick the right school, study full time in residence, have awesome LSAT scores, and don't mind profiting from another's poor judgment.

 

Seems like a high bar to meet!

 

Public Service Announcement***Northwestern California University School of Law will raise its tuition by $1080 per semester after March 1st. So if you're seriously considering applying to this school, you must submit an application before March 1 to lock in the current tuition rate of $3900 per year. (I have no financial affiliation with this school, just a former grad)

https://nwculaw.edu/school-information/tuition-finances?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAhbi8BhDIARIsAJLOlufgXzHeX0tRKwtVMYBGExGcdTYORqY5US1TBlLCSVLLr2dqmw19v2caAkS6EALw_wcB

 

How was your experience, and what work was required for your LLB? I am considering doing the degree after I finish this doctorate and my nutrition degree. I work for a personal injury law firm and have taken some undergraduate prelaw classes but never took any graduate-level or law school law courses.

 

They key is you need to apply with LSAT scores otherwise you will have to take the dreaded California First Year Exam.

 

Not necessarily. From the NWCUlaw website:

• 8) Question:
  
  Do I have to take and pass the California First-Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX or "Baby Bar")?
  
  Answer:
  
  All special students at Northwestern California University are required to take the FYLSX after successfully completing their first year of study. It is administered by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California in June and October of each year.
  
  Special students are those who qualified for enrollment by taking and passing CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exams. Special students must pass the FYLSX to qualify for continued study at the law school.
  
  Regular students are those who qualified for admission by having an associate or bachelor’s degree, or by having at least 60 semester credits (90 quarter credits) that qualify toward a bachelor’s degree. Regular students who successfully complete the first year of law studies in our program are then exempt from the FYLSX requirement.
  
  With regard to special students who must take and pass the FYLSX, Section 6060 of the California Business and Professions Code, requires that students who must take and pass the FYLSX must do so within three administrations of first becoming eligible to take it, which is upon successful completion of their first year of law study. If passed during the first three administrations after becoming eligible to take the examination, credit may then be allowed for all courses taken prior to passing. Those who do not pass the examination within its first three administrations upon becoming eligible to take the examination, but who subsequently pass the examination, shall receive credit for one year of legal study only.

 

I stand corrected. I was thinking of some of the other Cal Bar accredited schools.

 

NCBEX is the resource. A few states, such as Washington D.C., will allow me to sit for the bar with a foreign (common law) law degree. Some US states require an LL.M. - most require that to be in person, but TX is one of the states which allows an LL.M. to be completed via distance learning.

 

Those states that will accept a foreign law degree with a US LLM kind of make my point, though. A full academic year usually spent studying US law and generally at an ABA institution! Well, unless the idea of coming here occurs too late, that same year, but in California much cheaper and by D/L, could be the first third of a US JD.

 

It doesn't really matter which bar you become a member of unless you want to go to state court and have some sort of physical office, it is irrelevant. Large swathes of practice are now virtual and multijurisdictional.

 

But that's where most American lawyers make a living.

 

Big trend in law away from the office, clients want access via Zoom and WhatsApp, court hearings are virtual and those law office are ghost towns with only 30% of lawyers there exclusively.

Most lawyers never go to court in the first place, they are mainly transactional or even doing stuff like document review.

Is your Law Firm Ready for Continued Virtual Legal Proceedings? | U.S. Legal Support - JDSupra

 

While that is true, it's not on point for foreign trained lawyer licensing requirements; the State matters a great deal.

 

What I am suggesting is the foreign trained lawyer should not focus on a jurisdiction supposedly being better but confine their search to what jurisdiction requires the least amount of hurdles to take the bar - it is all here - https://reports.ncbex.org/comp-guide/