One of my friend recently moved to USA and was asking me what are his options of continuing his law practice that he did in Pakistan.
Is Pakistani LLB equal to any US law degree? If it is then he can probably do some certification or it will be a start from the scratch like enrollment in a degree program.
Also I think he will need to get some language certification with higher score since law schools may require this as prerequisite.
I know he should himself find this out, but he just moved to North Carolina, couple of weeks ago. I told him that it won’t be easy though to continue his practice in his new country.
If someone has any information in this regard then please share.
Re: What are the options for a Pakistani LLB in USA
you can’t just join the court as a lawyer
I imagine you’d have to first pass the US Bar Exam to get licensed, and then clear the state board exams to be able to practice. Prior to that, I don’t know if there are education prerequisites that have to be met, but from what I’ve heard in other professions, is very rare that credentials from Pakistan fully transfer.
He should prepared to go back to school I think. The best thing to do would be to make a appointment with an academic advisor at a nearby college/university and have them evaluate his situation.
Re: What are the options for a Pakistani LLB in USA
@ekumunng Sorry to get back to you this late, i kept forgetting each time i visit GS.
So one has to go back to school to get Juris Doctorate (JD) degree. However, there are universities which offer Maters of foreign laws so its upto them which way they decide to go. But once they contact school and let them know their interest, rest can easily be worked upon.
Re: What are the options for a Pakistani LLB in USA
Soooo, you can technically practice law without a JD in some jurisdications, but the cousin will still have to write and pass the bar exam.
Ideally, most people earn their JD since it prepares and entitles them to sit for the bar exam, but some states do not have this requirement. This is from the Fordham Law School website:
Many foreign-educated LL.M. students choose to sit for a bar examination in the United States upon completion of their Master of Laws studies. **Each state has its own bar examination and its own bar admission rules. Most states require a U.S. J.D. degree to sit for the bar examination, however a few states, including New York and California, allow applicants to sit for the bar examination if they hold a foreign law degree and meet certain other requirements.* If you are interested in sitting for the bar examination of any state, you should consult the bar examiners of that state to determine your eligibility.
**Many of our foreign-trained LL.M. graduates choose to sit for the New York Bar Examination. If you are considering taking this exam, you should carefully read the information on the official website of the New York Board of Law Examiners of the State of New York (BOLE). In particular, note the link to "Foreign Legal Education" on the menu on the homepage of the BOLE website.
^ *What is to be noted, is that the candidates had a foreign LLM and they had to meet other criteria. The cousin's best option is to research the bar exam requirements for each state and what will enable him to write the bar exam. The bar exam is written twice a year (July and February) and he'll also need to pass the MPRE (ethics exam).
Even the states that may not require a JD, still generally require some combination of study, so don't be misled into believing that self-study is an automatic second option - it's very rare and has its own conditions associated with it.
