Bar Exam Information
U.S. Bar Exam Information for Foreign-Trained Lawyers
Many lawyers educated outside the United States are interested in qualifying for a U.S. Bar examination – typically the New York Bar Exam – through their LL.M. studies. Georgetown Law’s LL.M. programs are not designed to make students eligible to take a Bar examination in the United States. However, some students may become eligible after completing some specific requirements mentioned below. Our academic advisors can help you decide whether the bar exam is right for you and assist you in developing a program of study that meets New York Bar requirements.
The bar exam can be helpful for your practice outside the United States because it provides a strong indication (in addition to your Georgetown LL.M. studies) of familiarity with U.S. law and English proficiency. However, passing a state’s bar exam is not a guarantee of employment in the United States. Finding employment as a lawyer in the United States is highly competitive. Employers will focus on previous full-time work experience, grades in your law studies (both in your home country and at Georgetown), language skills, membership in the Bar of your home country, and the needs of their firm or business. While some foreign-trained LL.M. graduates find employment in the United States, LL.M. students should be aware that such opportunities are limited, and should be prepared to return to their home countries following completion of their studies.
New York Bar Examination: Rules for Foreign-Trained Lawyers
The New York State Board of Law Examiners (BOLE) is responsible for administering the New York State Bar Exam. Their website is the official source for information for the New York Bar. The following summary is simply provided as a guide.
Eligibility to Sit for the New York Bar Exam Based on Foreign Legal Education
Section 520.6 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals for the Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law governs the eligibility of foreign-trained lawyers for the New York Bar Exam.
Usually, graduates of traditional three-year (or more) common law LL.B. programs (from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Singapore) are eligible to sit for the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) without completing an LL.M. degree in the United States. However, all foreign-trained lawyers are required to complete the admissibility requirements and to obtain an evaluation of their foreign credentials prior to registering for the Bar exam.
Foreign-trained lawyers who do not fall into the above category, including those with a civil law education, may become eligible for the bar exam by pursuing an LL.M. degree in the United States that meets New York Bar requirements. Students should not take any online courses.
Steps to Take to Sit for the New York Bar Exam
All foreign-trained lawyers – whether eligible based on your common law education or through your LL.M. degree – must submit the Request for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Credentials at least six months before the first day of the application period of the exam you plan to take. Visit the New York BOLE Foreign Legal Education page for more information regarding deadlines for requesting evaluation of your foreign credentials.
Georgetown Law recommends you submit the request as early as possible, preferably prior to your arrival in the United States, as it is much easier to obtain the necessary materials while you are still in in the country where you earned your first law degree.
Georgetown Law offers the classes necessary for LL.M. students to meet New York Bar requirements.
See the section below for full details.
In order to be able to sit for the UBE, students must apply to take the exam by the registration deadline.
Typically, to take the July bar exam, you must apply during the preceding April; to take the February bar exam, you must apply during the preceding November.
Courses Required of Foreign-Trained Lawyers for the New York Bar Exam
New York requires students to take an LL.M. program of at least 24 credits. As part of those 24 credits, students must include 2 credits in a class on professional responsibility; 2 credits in legal research, writing and analysis; 2 credits in American legal studies; and 6 credits in subjects tested on the New York Bar Exam (a total of 12 credits).
The following courses offered at Georgetown have been approved by the New York Court of Appeals to satisfy the requirements of Rule 520.6.
Approved under Rule 520.6(B)(3)(vi)(a)
- Professional Responsibility Law in the United States
- Professional Responsibility: Ethics in Public Interest Practice
- Professional Responsibility: Problems from Practice
- Professional Responsibility: The Ethical Lawyer and the Good Life
Approved under Rule 520.6(B)(3)(vi)(b)
- U.S. Legal Research, Analysis and Writing
Approved under Rule 520.6(B)(3)(vi)(c)
- Foundations of American Law
- Introduction to U.S. Civil Procedure
- Introduction to U.S. Constitutional Law
- Introduction to U.S. Legal Systems
Approved under Rule 520.6(B)(3)(vi)(d)
- Administrative Law
- Advanced Criminal Procedure and Litigation
- Advanced Evidence
- Commercial Law: Domestic and International Sales Transactions
- Commercial Law: Sales and Leases
- Commercial Law: Secured Transactions and Payment Systems
- Constitutional Law: The First and Second Amendments
- Constitutional Law II: Individual Rights and Liberties
- Corporations
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure and Roberts Court Seminar
- Decedents’ Estates
- Drafting Contracts
- Evidence
- Family Law I: Marriage and Divorce
- Family Law II: Child, Parent and the State
- Federal Courts and the Federal System
- Introduction to Contracts
- Introduction to Torts
- Introduction to U.S. Civil Procedure
- Introduction to U.S. Constitutional Law
- Introduction to U.S. Contract Drafting
- Introduction to U.S. Legal Systems
- Law of Religion
- Property
- Remedies in Business Litigation
- U.S. Criminal Procedure
Additional Steps Required for Admission to the New York Bar
In addition to passing the Bar exam, to be admitted to the New York Bar, you must complete the following additional steps. We recommend consulting with your academic advisor prior to pursuing these requirements during your LL.M. studies.
Foreign-trained lawyers qualifying for the Bar under Rule 520.6 can complete this requirement up to one year before LL.M. study or after passage of the bar exam (within three years of passing the UBE). The pro bono work can be performed anywhere, including outside the United States.
The New York Court of Appeal’s Frequently Asked Questions page provides details about qualifying pro bono work.
Note that the exam may be taken within three years before or after passing the bar exam.
Georgetown Law students may be able to satisfy the New York Bar’s Skills Competency Requirement through different pathways. Usually, LL.M. students meet the requirement with one of the following:
- Pathway 5 – Rule 520.18(a)(5)
Students perform legal work in another jurisdiction full-time for at least one year or half-time for two years. - Pathway 4 – Rule 520.18(a)(4)
Students complete a paid or unpaid 6-month apprenticeship under the supervision of an attorney. - Pathway 1 – Rule 520.18(a)(4)
Students who do not have any work experience prior to completing the LL.M. degree can complete the U.S. Law and Legal Methods track during their LL.M. studies. The U.S. Law & Legal Methods curriculum is certified by Georgetown Law as incorporating the skills and professional values required for basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession, satisfying “Pathway 1” to fulfill the Skills Competency Requirement. Note that to satisfy this requirement, students have to meet specific course requirements that are additional from the requirements to cure the deficiency of the first law degree. It is feasible to satisfy this requirement during your LL.M. studies, but you must participate in the LL.M. Summer Experience and meet with your academic advisor to plan accordingly.
Students can find more information about the different pathways on the New York BOLE website.
The New York Law Course and New York Law Exam (NYLC/NYLE) requirement may be fulfilled up to one year before or three years after the Bar exam.
Information on Other Bar Exams
Foreign-trained lawyers who are qualified to practice law outside the United States may sit for the California Bar Exam as attorney applicants. Foreign-trained law graduates who have not yet completed the qualification requirements for law practice in their home jurisdiction can qualify to take the California Bar Exam upon completion of an LL.M. degree that meets certain requirements. Our academic advisors can discuss these requirements with you.
Eligibility for the District of Columbia Bar Exam is much stricter than New York Bar Exam for all foreign-educated law graduates. We do not recommend using the LL.M. degree as a path to DC Bar eligibility for lawyers trained outside the United States, and encourage you to talk to an academic advisor if this is your plan. The DC Bar requirements can not be completed as part of a specialized LL.M. program, and if done as part of a general LL.M. degree, severely limit an LL.M. student’s ability to focus on their areas of interest.
- Foreign-trained law graduates must take 26 credits of subjects tested on the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) at an ABA accredited law school. See DC Court of Appeals Rule 46 on Admission to the Bar for more information.
- See our list of Georgetown DC Bar Pre-Approved Courses.
- The DC Bar offers a “special legal consultant” status for a foreign-trained lawyer who has been admitted to practice in another country and is at least 26 years of age.
- DC Court of Appeals Rule 46(c)(4), Law Study in a Law School Not Approved by the ABA – The Committee on Admissions of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals published its most recent interpretation of DC Court of Appeals Rule 46(c) and (d), which now requires foreign-trained attorneys to go through a credential evaluation process.
Some other U.S. jurisdictions permit foreign-educated lawyers to sit for their Bar exams. Review the National Council of Bar Examiners’ Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements in advance and contact the state Bar authority directly for further information.