Advice on flexible JD programs for personal goals and disability

[Jonathan Whatley]

It is common for UK lawyers to become licensed in NY and vice versa. […]

The other way to practice in NY is to gain a foreign lawyer exemption

There’s another important piece of the puzzle. In the US, the route to a law license after law school (the qualifying law degree) is simple: bar exam, character and fitness, and admission to the bar. Delaware additionally requires a 12-week full-time clerkship with an existing Delaware legal practice.

But in the UK, the route to a law license after law school (the qualifying law degree) has additional steps. For a new law graduate to become a solicitor, my understanding is that it generally involves in addition to those steps shared with the US, a Legal Practice Course and either a training contract of at least two years full-time in an qualified UK solicitor practice, or a similar combination of qualifying professional experience in law. For a new law graduate to become a barrister, it’s much the same, except it’s a Bar Practice Course and a pupillage of one year full-time in a qualified UK barrister practice.

I’ve read news stories about surpluses of UK LLB graduates unable to obtain training contracts or pupillages, even in-person in the UK. I don’t know how much of this it’s possible to do while physically outside the UK, or how competitive those positions are if they exist. I don’t know how achievable it is to immigrate to the UK for the purpose of taking a training contract or pupillage there.

If you’re going for a US state or another jurisdiction that will take your UK LLB as a qualifying law degree in the absence of a UK law license, this might not be an issue. But the routes you describe in New York seem to require not only the law degree but also the law license.