Foreign lawyer, pass bar test, limited experience?

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by AustralianLawyer

Hi Nugget

Your post has given me a bit of faith of being able to move over to the US as an Australian qualified litigator! Could I ask if your friends who succeeded on this front have any tips - i.e. how long did they practice in Australia before making the move to the US, did they have to find a recruiter, did they get their foot in the door by undertaking an LLM at a US university, and did they sit the NY Bar Exam before applying for jobs at US law firms? Any tips would be so greatly appreciated - I am pretty stuck trying to figure out the best path to take.

Currently, am at a top-tier commercial law firm (no NY office unfortunately - not a lot of the Australian top-tiers do), been here for 3 years, and not sure that will be enough to get over for litigation.

Thanks for your time.

If you want to be in litigation I think an LLM helps although I know of a couple of litigators here who have come straight over with a couple of years experience and no LLM. You really need to look at your networks in this environment, talk to a couple of recruiters who deal with US placements like Mahlab or Taylor Root. If you're not at one of the top tier (and by top tier I mean the top 3 of Allens, Mallesons and Freehills) you should definitely look at the LLM and sitting the Bar Exam (it will take about a year and cost a motza) and base yourself in New York. Everything you do that makes it easier for them to hire you the better. I know of people who have done this in the last two down years and managed to get a job in NYC in the big firms. One thing that you will have over your American competition is experience as a lawyer and these days NYC law firms count it as a plus as they have worked with plenty of Australians and know what Australian lawyers are about.

[BrownstoneNY]

Originally Posted by urbanintllctl

Why not do an LLM in NYC first? That way, you can build up your network.

LLMs are pretty worthless unless you need one to qualify for the bar (i.e., you're from a civil law jurisdiction) or the LLM is in tax law.

[lottic]

Any update on the legal job market since the original post?

I'm in a similar position to the OP - law graduate but will be admitted as Australian lawyer soon, could probably get 1 year of legal experience in Australia (not top tier law firm but court based), and will be a US permanent resident by the time i move to NYC.

Also, will sit the NY bar exam before i move there hopefully.

What are my chances of getting a job? Any job.

Thanks!