The Guide to Practicing Law in the United States

8/10/2019 The Guide to Practicing Law in the United States

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Thus, the work of be-

coming a lawyer was

done. I now provide US

legal advice in connec-

tion with international se-

curities offerings as a

Norton Rose Fulbright

associate based in Lon-

don....

-Marina Petrova

In This Issue

Overview of US Legal

Industry

US Conversion Sys-tem

Norton Rose Ful-

bright Employee Pro-

file: Marina Petrova

United States of America

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this informational booklet is to provide spe-

cialized information for pursuing a legal career abroad in the

US. This information is tailored for the Warwick student, for

both law and non-law backgrounds.

It is in our hopes that this booklet will not only help spread

awareness of the bountiful legal career choices available for

Warwick students, but also provide real practical starting

steps for those pursuing legal careers abroad.

May 2 16


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OVERVIEW OF US LEGAL INDUSTRY

Its been a tough past few years for American law firms, who

have felt the full effects of the recent economic downturn. Pre

-recession, life was good for the corporate lawyers of the

United States, with the main players of the legal industry se-

lectively picking the best headline making transactions. From

box seats at US Open to million dollar bonuses, the Big Law

players were living the American Dream until the financial cri-

sis and the resultant credit crunch served a rude wakeup call.

In 2009 many firms laid off young lawyers, withdrew job offers

and halved billing rates a similar story to that of the English

legal sector. TheNational Law Journalsays that the 250 big-

gest firms cut their numbers of attorneys by 4% in 2009 and

were projected to cut by another 1.1% in 2010, making for the

worst two-year period in the 33 years of the journal's surveys.

Along with many other firms across the States, New York

based firm Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for bankruptcy in 2012 af-ter what had appeared to be a successful and profitable mer-

ger in 2007.

Whilst United States employment statistics generally show a

positive recovery, unfortunately, the legal sector suffered its

largest one-month drop in jobs in two years in June 2013. Ini-

In most cases, individu-

als seeking to qualify as

lawyers in the US must

earn a Juris Doctor de-

gree from a law school

approved by the jurisdic-

tion, and then pass a bar

exam administered by it.

Moreover, typically most

states conduct a charac-

ter and fitness evalua-

tion, which includes a

background check. The

applicant is required to

demonstrate and thus

gain certification as hav-

ing good moral character

and fitness to practice

As of 2012, there were a

total number of

1,268,011 licensed law-

yers in the US. Baker &

McKenzie, Skadden,

Arps, Meagher & Flom,

Latham & Watkins, andJones Day are a couple

of the big name law firms

in the US, amongst the

worlds top 10 largest

firms by revenue.


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Having been an English

colony, the United States

legal system originally

derived from the common

law system of English

law.

After gaining independ-

ence, the United States

formed its own common

law based upon the con-

stitution. The law of the

United States consists of

numerous levels of codi-

fied and uncodified forms

of law.

The United States Consti-

tution is the foundation of

the federal government of

the United States, and

along with the federal

statutes and US Treaties

form the supreme law of

the land.

Therefore, being the high-

est form of law in the US

legal system, it takes

precedence over state

law and binds all judges

to adhere to that principle

in their courts.

Although states are con-

sidered as plenary sover-

eigns, in that they can

grant their citizens broad-

er rights than the federal

Constitution, they may

only be able to do so as

long as they do not in-

fringe on any federal con-

stitutional rights. Thus,

much of US law compris-

es principally of state law,

which can and does differ

Furthermore, the financial crash has brought about a new wave of

Mergers and Acquisitions work for lawyers. Many businesses are

looking at merging not simply for strategic expansion, but instead

to merely survive. This has given rise to an entirely new set of ex-

pertise amongst the deal makers, with lawyers and bankers run-

ning against the clock to close the deal before the respective com-

panies go bust.

Pre-recession key financial corporations seemed to rely on single

and exclusive law firms to provide all the legal services they re-quired, regardless of the leading specialists in the particular prac-

tice area. However, the financial downturn has seemingly changed

this approach. Not only are the leading companies negotiating

more reasonable billing rates, they are also approaching smaller

boutique law firms for their specialised legal services. The nation

al employment statistics also support this proposition and it is sug-

gested that small firm employment is where many recent gradu-

ates are likely to find jobs in Americas legal sector.

So whilst the going is tough for the American legal sector, it ap-

pears that those who are driven and those that steer themselves in

the right direction can find successful employment opportunities.

And with a slow but steady global recovery, predictions suggest

that the industry will soon begin to pick up, just in time for when

youve passed the Bar Exam!

tial reports from the Bureau of Labour Statistics show the legal

sector lost 3,600 jobs in June. These sizable drops came after

March and April brought combined gains of nearly 4,000 lega

jobs.

It is clear to see, therefore, that the legal industry in the UnitedStates is somewhat volatile. But its not all doom and gloom!

Law firms and budding lawyers are making choices that enable

them to weather the storm of the economic downturn. Many Law

firms have adapted their practise areas to suit the market de-

mand. Take for example the Bankruptcy department of firms like

Weil, Gotshal & Manges, that have benefited from the nightmare

of corporate America. The firm has billed more than $100 million
http://www.dailyreportonline.com/PubArticleDRO.jsp?id=1373369931210&Legal_Sector_Shed_3600_Jobs_Last_Month_&slreturn=20130619160132http://www.dailyreportonline.com/PubArticleDRO.jsp?id=1373369931210&Legal_Sector_Shed_3600_Jobs_Last_Month_&slreturn=20130619160132


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Law in the United States

For people studying the LLM at a law school in the United

States, it is a relatively straightforward path towards taking

the American Bar Examination and then going on to become

a lawyer. However, like other countries, the requirements for

foreign law graduates to sit the aforementioned Bar Exam

vary slightly.

The United States has no nationwide qualification for lawyers

each state sets its own criteria for permission to sit the

states own Bar Exam.

For example, consider the state of New York.

1) Bar Exam Eligibility

In New York, an individual with a foreign legal degree can

qualify for the bar exam if such education was

1) a Qualifying Degree (...the foreign-educated applicant

must have fulfilled the educational requirements for admis-

sion to the practice of law in a foreign country other than the

United States. The applicant must have a qualifying degree,

which must be a degree in law),

2) Accredited (the qualifying degree must be from a

law school or schools recognized by a competent accrediting

agency of the government of the foreign country and must be

deemed qualified and approved.),

3) of appropriate Durational Equivalence ( the applicants

period of law study must be successfully completed. The pro-

gram of study must also be substantially equivalent in dura-

tion to a full-time or part-time program required at a law

school in the United States), and

4) of appropriate Substantial Equivalence (the foreign

countrys jurisprudence must be based upon the principles of

the English Common Law.)

If, however, the education pursued did NOT last for at least 3

years, OR it was pursued in a country where the legal system

is based on the English common law system, it is also possi-

ble to sit the Bar Exam by pursuing a further course of study

Financial Considera-

tions

On the assumption that

Warwick Law students

would not require to com-

plete an LLM degree at a

law school at the United

States, and therefore

would not have to pay

further tuition, there is

only an application fee to

sit the New York State

Bar Exam. The applica-

tion fee for candidates

qualifying for the bar ex-

Pass Rate of the NYBE

In terms of foreign-

educated law students

attempting to sit the

NYBE, in 2012, 2,328 first

time applicants sat the

exam, of which 1,023

passed (a total pass rate

of 44%). In 2011, 2,200

first time applicants sat

the exam, of which 960


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2) The Bar Exam

The New York State Bar Exam is administered in February

and July of every year. The Exam has two sections the New

York section (administered on the last Tuesday of February

and July), and the Multistate Bar Examination (known as

MBE, administered on the last Wednesday of February and

July).

The New York section consists of 5 essay questions, 50 mul-

tiple choice questions, and 1 multistate performance test.

Split up into morning and afternoon sessions, in the former

session, individuals must complete 3 essays and the 50 multi-

ple choice questions in 3 hours and 15 minutes. According to

popular opinion, most candidates allocate around 40 minutes

per essay, and 1.5 minutes per multiple choice question. In

the afternoon session, candidates complete the remaining 2

essay questions and the multistate performance test.

The MBE section consists of 200 multiple choice questions.

The examination is a 6 hour, 200-question multiple-choice

examination. The exam covers contract law, tort law, constitu-

tional, criminal law and evidence, and property law, and is di-

vided into two 3-hour periods, with 100 questions in each pe-


7/8

London

T:+44 20 7283 6000

F:+44 20 7283 6500

Norton Rose Fulbright

LLP

3 More London Riverside

London SE1 2AQ

United Kingdom

http://

www.nortonrosefulbright.

com/uk/

My path to a career in law has been a winding one. In

the United States legal education is only a post-graduate de-

gree, and during my undergraduate studies, I had no idea I

would become a lawyer. I attended Princeton University for

four years and selected comparative literature as my major. I

wrote a thesis on the French novelist Marguerite Duras and

upon completion of my Bachelors degree, I went on to pur-

sue a career in academic book publishing in New York City.

A couple years later, having decided that being an editor was

not as fulfilling a job as I would have hoped, I evaluated my

options for post-graduate studies. Because clear expository

writing was something I cared deeply about, I considered law

school. I sat on a few lectures at Columbia Law School in

New York and observed that when students participated inclass discussion, they were expected to rigorously analyse

the matter at hand and structure their arguments well. I found

that intriguing and I applied to law school.

Three years after completing my undergraduate degree, I en-

rolled at the UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, California.

While the majority of first-year law students had taken only

one or two years off school, I also had a number of class-

mates who had had previous careers, including, in the mili-tary. I was surrounded by a very diverse group of intelligent

and ambitious people, and I certainly felt challenged from the

start.

Law school in the United States takes three years. During the

first year, students take a set curriculum of foundation cours-

es, such as property, contracts, criminal law, and civil proce-

dure. It is only in the second and third years that US law stu-

dents are able to select their classes. I was interested in both

business law and media law and I took classes ranging from

accounting for lawyers and tax law to freedom of speech and

copyright. To my surprise, I liked the business law classes

(and tax in particular!) better. Thus, in my third year I focused

Marina Petrova


8/8

Law Beyond

Borders

By liaising with global law

firms headquartered in

countries all over the

world, Law Beyond Bor-

ders presents Warwick

students with promising

global career prospects,while also serving as a net-

working platform for aspiring

lawyers with diverse back-

grounds.

FB:https://

www.facebook.com/

LawBeyondBorders

Warwick Law Society:

http://

warwicklawsociety.co.uk/

The job search is a prominent part of the law school experi-

ence in the US. Typically, students who seek to obtain a posi-

tion with a large law firm, apply for summer internships with

such firms at the beginning of their second year. If they do

well during their internship, at the end of the summer they re-

ceive offers for post-graduation positions as associates. In

contrast to large law firms, boutique practices hire on an as

needed basis both for summer positions and for permanent

jobs. During my second summer and the fall semester of my

third year, I worked at the litigation boutique Howarth & Smith

in downtown Los Angeles. That fall Norton Rose Fulbright

(then Norton Rose) came to the UCLA campus to interview

third-year students for a post-graduation position in London.

As I mentioned, this is not the typical way in which big law

firms hire law students. Norton Rose offered an exciting op-portunity to practice corporate law in a big, cosmopolitan city,

and I applied. The interviews went well and by Christmas I

had signed a contract with Norton Rose.

To become a qualified lawyer in the US, law students have to

obtain a law degree, pass the bar exam of the state in which

they seek to practice, and take an oath before the state bar

association. My contract with Norton Rose was conditional on

being admitted to practice in New York. After I finished mylegal studies at UCLA, I spent two months preparing and sat

for the New York bar exam in the middle of July. The follow-

ing November I found out that I had passed, and a few

months later I was sworn in as an attorney and formally ad-

mitted to practice in New York. Thus, the work of becoming a

lawyer was done. I now provide US legal advice in connec-

The Guide to Practicing Law in the United States

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