Foreign Trained Lawyers & Students Most states require a J.D. degree from a US law school in order to sit for the bar exam. There are some states which do allow foreign law graduates to sit for the bar exam, including New York, California, New Hampshire, Alabama, and Virginia.
Wisconsin now has the most permissive standards for admitting out-of-state attorneys to the bar in the United States. Under amendments to SCR 40.05, effective Jan.
Can foreign lawyers practice in us? To become a lawyer in the US as a foreigner, Foreign lawyers have to sit for the bar exam and pass it to be eligible to practice in the state's jurisdiction. But be minded that merely possessing a law degree from a foreign country doesn't make you eligible to take the bar exam.
Some states offer accelerated J.D. degrees for foreign-trained lawyers to get them to the point of bar exam eligibility in that jurisdiction. Earning a J.D. at an ABA-approved law school is the only way you'll be able to practice law in all other states where foreign legal education isn't recognized.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has allowed law graduates to practise in courts without clearing the All India Bar Examination for a period of six months.
WEST VIRGINIA: This state has reciprocity agreements with the following states: CO, CT, DC, IL, IN, IA, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, NE, NY, NC, ND, OK, PA, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI. WISCONSIN: Wisconsin will offer provisional admission to practicing lawyers from states that reciprocate for Wisconsin lawyers.
South Dakota ranks as the state with the easiest exam, followed by Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa. There are fewer law schools in these states (South Dakota only has one, and Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa each have two), meaning that there are generally fewer law graduates who take the bar.
If you hold an undergraduate LLB law degree from a UK university, you may be eligible to sit for the New York Bar exam. If you are a qualified lawyer in any jurisdiction, you may be eligible to sit for the California Bar exam.
Graduates educated in the civil-law tradition or a non-traditional or mixed legal system may qualify for the New York Bar Exam after receiving a U.S. LL. M. (Master of Laws) degree with certain requirements. See Rule 520.6 [b] [1] [ii] and 520.6 [b] [2].
If you are curious about going to law school overseas, you should try and study in the country where you intend to work. The specificity of the law system in each country makes it difficult for lawyers to attend law school abroad and come home and practice in their home country.
No. You need to immigrate (which is a long and difficult process in itself). And then, once you're legally allowed to work in your new country, you need to pass the bar and be qualified as a lawyer there.
The Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and the Juris Doctor (JD) are both professionally recognised degrees. Entry to the JD is restricted to graduate students while the LLB is only available to students who have not yet completed a Bachelors degree.