I'm an American citizen and I'm interested in going to Law School in England, and then living there. Is it possible to do this, and could I practice in England after I graduate?
Other - United Kingdom - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Yes, whether you are an American citizen or some other country, you can attend Law School in England. However if you request for work permit/authorization upon graduation, you would want to have the law firm hiring you to file your document. You might want to go your own this way you will be working for yourself and don't need the permission but expense of setting up your own law firm. Good luck :-)
2 :
If you get accepted to study here that's one thing, getting a visa afterwards to enable you to live and work in the UK is altogether more difficult.
3 :
Doubtful, unless you happen to marry a UK/EU citizen. Law is not a high-need field, and any firm is going to have a difficult time trying to justify their attempts at hiring a US citizen when there are thousands of new UK graduates looking for work. You can, however, practice law in some US states with a UK law degree. You will just need to pass the bar in that state when you return.
4 :
We do not have specific 'law schools' in the UK, as you do, I believe, in the US. Remember we also have a split profession, barristers who tend to do higher Court work and from whom judges tend to be selected and Solicitors who tend to advise the public direct, However, these distinctions are becoming more and more blurred as Solicitors get rights to appear in higher Courts and direct access by the public is allowed to barristers. These days, usually entry to both branches of the profession (bar and solicitors) is via a University degree. If you degree is not in Law, the you will need to take the Common Professional Examination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Professional_Examination) following which (or straight away if you have a Law Degree) you take Legal Practice Course for solicitors or the Bar Professional Training Course for barristers. Further details on these courses can be found at http://www.college-of-law.co.uk/home/. You must also remember the position in different in Scotland and Northern Ireland which have their own legal systems and methods of training. However, that having been said, the chances of your getting a visa to come here and work are pretty slim for reasons others have explained. Your best chance, to be honest, is to train as a US lawyer, and then seeks positions with US firms with a UK presence and then, possibly, take UK examinations to qualify here.
5 :
Yes if you have the requisite 2 English law degrees you can practice in the U.K. (Scottish law is different to English law). You would probably need a work visa as well, although by the time you get your 2 law degrees, you will have probably been here for 3 years and demonstrated good character etc, so it might not be so difficult. Make sure you have the correct student visa before starting your studies. You can make a great deal of money in the legal profession if you are good at it. I get the impression from a friend who is a solicitor, that it is rather an over subscribed profession at present.
Read more discussion :
