I live in Canada and want to study abroad in the UK? Please, help me asap! need your advice. THANKS?

Question

I'm just about to graduate high school and am looking to become a lawyer in the future. However, I am really interested in studying abroad in the UK. So, if I become a lawyer there, will I be able to practice law in the US and Canada? Will I have to go back to law school here after becoming a lawyer there? Also, if you have an idea of how long it takes to become a lawyer there, please let me know..? And do you have to have an undergraduate degree in something before entering law school there? thanks for the information.

Answer 1

In the U.K. you will be studying for a Bachelor's of Law (LL.B), this is a three year program. Upon completion of your LL.B. you will have to gain further qualifications at post-graduate level. This may include an internship or taking a professional exam such as the Legal Practice Exam or the Bar Vocational Course.

This must be done before you are elgible for membership to practice law in the United Kingdom.

If you then wish to transfer this degree to either the U.S. or Canada then this will require further education. Generally in Canada, upon completion of an LL.B. you will have to take further classrom law courses taught by the law society and complete some form of internship.

In the United States, with a degree the LL.B. from the U.K. you would not be eligble to take the bar in any state except for New York. The eligiblity to take the bar varies from state to state, most require that you attend at least 12 months in an accredited law school to obtain a J.D. before taking the bar. Just remember that whichever state you take the bar in, is the only state that you are allowed to practice in.

The key really is what value both the bar society in both the U.S. and Canada and the law school which you will have to complete your education in place on your LL.B. in the U.K.

The LL.B. is an undergraduate degree in the U.K. - there is no pre-law or post-graduate degree for law in the U.K. except for the LL.M. (Master's of Law) which is generally taken by those who wish to teach law rather than practice. However if you wish to study in the U.K. and then practice is the U.S. it would be beneficial to complete both the LL.B. and the LL.M. before transfering.

The general rule is to study law in the country which you wish to practice. To study and live the U.K. is very expensive and quite honestly it would be a waste of money to study there if you really intend to live and work in Canada or the U.S.