Go American law school and be a barrister in Hong Kong Forum

xiaofashix86 · Post by **xiaofashix86** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 3:58 am

I am a chinese student and want to practice the law in Hong Kong as a barrister. I prefer doing the litigation.
LSAT 168 GPA above average (3.7) Major Chemistry.
Question:
1. Should I go American law school? Will it help me achieve my goal?
I don't wanna go to UK for a LLB program and HKU JD for its weak prestige. I know most barristers in Hong Kong graduate from Oxbridge....But they just have a LLB......
2. Should I ED Duke /UVA/Umichigan or go RD ?
3. Is that possible for a Chinese to do the litigation in America? Friends told me Corporate has no fun at all! If it is impossible, I would go back to Hong Kong immediately...
4. Canadian law school.....?

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 6:20 am

Post removed.

McAvoy · Post by **McAvoy** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 8:09 pm

MistakenGenius wrote:You also need to be aware that law school requires mastery of the English language, or it's bound to be very difficult for you. your post seems like you are not completely fluent in the language. I worry that you're in for a very difficult time in an American law School.

6lehderjets · Post by **6lehderjets** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 8:27 pm

McAvoy wrote:
MistakenGenius wrote:You also need to be aware that law school requires mastery of the English language, or it's bound to be very difficult for you. your post seems like you are not completely fluent in the language. I worry that you're in for a very difficult time in an American law School.

Base this off of some verifiable info, not just your misinformed opinions.

McAvoy · Post by **McAvoy** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 8:43 pm

Misinformed as it performing well in law school and as a lawyer requires a mastery, or -- at the very least -- a native-level fluency of English, or misinformed as to OP's fluency?

If the former, the onus is on you to elaborate as that's a silly argument I'm not going to entertain. If the latter, see bolded for strange/incorrect/concerning phrases.

xiaofashix86 wrote:I am a chinese student and want to practice the law in Hong Kong as a barrister. I prefer doing the litigation.
LSAT 168 GPA above average (3.7) Major Chemistry.
Question:
1. Should I go American law school? Will it help me achieve my goal?
I don't wanna go to UK for a LLB program and HKU JD for its weak prestige. I know most barristers in Hong Kong graduate from Oxbridge....But they just have a LLB......
2. Should I ED Duke /UVA/Umichigan or go RD ?
3. Is that possible for a Chinese to do the litigation in America? Friends told me Corporate has no fun at all! If it is impossible, I would go back to Hong Kong immediately...
4. Canadian law school.....?

ETA: I don't mean to pick at you OP -- I can't imagine learning English as a second language. You still write more fluently than a lot of native English speakers I know. Just responding to this bro.

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 8:50 pm

Post removed.

elterrible78 · Post by **elterrible78** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 8:51 pm

McAvoy wrote:Misinformed as it performing well in law school and as a lawyer requires a mastery, or -- at the very least -- a native-level fluency of English, or misinformed as to OP's fluency?

If the former, the onus is on you to elaborate as that's a silly argument I'm not going to entertain. If the latter, see bolded for strange/incorrect/concerning phrases.
xiaofashix86 wrote:I am a chinese student and want to practice the law in Hong Kong as a barrister. I prefer doing the litigation.
LSAT 168 GPA above average (3.7) Major Chemistry.
Question:
1. Should I go American law school? Will it help me achieve my goal?
I don't wanna go to UK for a LLB program and HKU JD for its weak prestige. I know most barristers in Hong Kong graduate from Oxbridge....But they just have a LLB......
2. Should I ED Duke /UVA/Umichigan or go RD ?
3. Is that possible for a Chinese to do the litigation in America? Friends told me Corporate has no fun at all! If it is impossible, I would go back to Hong Kong immediately...
4. Canadian law school.....?

1. The guy got a 168 on the LSAT, which is not particularly easy to do if you can't speak some decent English.
2. Your bolded statements consist of three instances of him using the definite article (so really, just one mistake that's easily corrected), an instance of him using a non-word that is very commonly used by native speakers, a couple instances of him (arguably) using the wrong indefinite article, and then some shit that seems a-ok to me.

McAvoy · Post by **McAvoy** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 9:04 pm

I agree that there were not any egregious errors that could not be easily corrected, and that the LSAT is indicative of a solid level of understanding. OP probably writes better than some of my classmates. There still were some errors that would not fly and, based on the quantity of weird stuff vs. very small sample size, it seemed reasonable to cosign on this warning for a non-native speaker:

McAvoy wrote:
MistakenGenius wrote:You also need to be aware that law school requires mastery of the English language, or it's bound to be very difficult for you. your post seems like you are not completely fluent in the language. I worry that you're in for a very difficult time in an American law School.

banjo · Post by **banjo** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 1:16 am

OP, if you go to law school, get some help with your English, including accent reduction. People in real life are too PC to tell you this stuff.

rickgrimes69 · Post by **rickgrimes69** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 2:33 am

elterrible78 wrote:
McAvoy wrote:Misinformed as it performing well in law school and as a lawyer requires a mastery, or -- at the very least -- a native-level fluency of English, or misinformed as to OP's fluency?

If the former, the onus is on you to elaborate as that's a silly argument I'm not going to entertain. If the latter, see bolded for strange/incorrect/concerning phrases.
xiaofashix86 wrote:I am a chinese student and want to practice the law in Hong Kong as a barrister. I prefer doing the litigation.
LSAT 168 GPA above average (3.7) Major Chemistry.
Question:
1. Should I go American law school? Will it help me achieve my goal?
I don't wanna go to UK for a LLB program and HKU JD for its weak prestige. I know most barristers in Hong Kong graduate from Oxbridge....But they just have a LLB......
2. Should I ED Duke /UVA/Umichigan or go RD ?
3. Is that possible for a Chinese to do the litigation in America? Friends told me Corporate has no fun at all! If it is impossible, I would go back to Hong Kong immediately...
4. Canadian law school.....?
1. The guy got a 168 on the LSAT, which is not particularly easy to do if you can't speak some decent English.
2. Your bolded statements consist of three instances of him using the definite article (so really, just one mistake that's easily corrected), an instance of him using a non-word that is very commonly used by native speakers, a couple instances of him (arguably) using the wrong indefinite article, and then some shit that seems a-ok to me.

Law firms ding people for minor punctuation typos on cover letters. Do you really think OP's English will fly?

No offense OP, your English is great, but American law firms will require it to be perfect. And yes, it's going to put you at an immediate disadvantage in law school as compared to your fluent peers.

elterrible78 · Post by **elterrible78** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 9:52 am

rickgrimes69 wrote:
elterrible78 wrote:
McAvoy wrote:Misinformed as it performing well in law school and as a lawyer requires a mastery, or -- at the very least -- a native-level fluency of English, or misinformed as to OP's fluency?

If the former, the onus is on you to elaborate as that's a silly argument I'm not going to entertain. If the latter, see bolded for strange/incorrect/concerning phrases.
xiaofashix86 wrote:I am a chinese student and want to practice the law in Hong Kong as a barrister. I prefer doing the litigation.
LSAT 168 GPA above average (3.7) Major Chemistry.
Question:
1. Should I go American law school? Will it help me achieve my goal?
I don't wanna go to UK for a LLB program and HKU JD for its weak prestige. I know most barristers in Hong Kong graduate from Oxbridge....But they just have a LLB......
2. Should I ED Duke /UVA/Umichigan or go RD ?
3. Is that possible for a Chinese to do the litigation in America? Friends told me Corporate has no fun at all! If it is impossible, I would go back to Hong Kong immediately...
4. Canadian law school.....?
1. The guy got a 168 on the LSAT, which is not particularly easy to do if you can't speak some decent English.
2. Your bolded statements consist of three instances of him using the definite article (so really, just one mistake that's easily corrected), an instance of him using a non-word that is very commonly used by native speakers, a couple instances of him (arguably) using the wrong indefinite article, and then some shit that seems a-ok to me.
Law firms ding people for minor punctuation typos on cover letters. Do you really think OP's English will fly?

No offense OP, your English is great, but American law firms will require it to be perfect. And yes, it's going to put you at an immediate disadvantage in law school as compared to your fluent peers.

Why assume that after three years of school he'd still be making the same mistakes? And at least from this (admittedly tiny) sample, I don't think it would be a death blow for school, either. Is his English perfect? No. Is it horrible? Far from it. Is his level of proficiency static? Obviously not.

bjsesq · Post by **bjsesq** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 10:17 am

I think you guys should ignore the op and fight each other to see who's right. GO TEAM!

McAvoy · Post by **McAvoy** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 10:58 am

elterrible78 wrote:Why assume that after three years of school he'd still be making the same mistakes? And at least from this (admittedly tiny) sample, I don't think it would be a death blow for school, either. Is his English perfect? No. Is it horrible? Far from it. Is his level of proficiency static? Obviously not.

Stop attacking this straw man. All we warned was that he might have a harder time relative to his native peers in American ls.

worldtraveler · Post by **worldtraveler** » Thu Oct 02, 2014 8:48 pm

OP why are you under the impression that HKU does not have a good reputation?

iamgeorgebush · Post by **iamgeorgebush** » Fri Oct 03, 2014 4:08 pm

rickgrimes69 wrote: Law firms ding people for minor punctuation typos on cover letters. Do you really think OP's English will fly?

No offense OP, your English is great, but American law firms will require it to be perfect. And yes, it's going to put you at an immediate disadvantage in law school as compared to your fluent peers.

Most of which is more or less irrelevant if OP wants to get a JD in the US and then practice in Hong Kong.

OP, if I were you, I would ask practicing attorneys in Hong Kong about your plan. They would be able to give you better advice than TLS. One thing you may want to ask is how HK firms do their recruiting. How important are good grades in a US law school for Hong Kong firms? It may be difficult to get good grades in an American law school without "mastery of the English language," as others have put it. Or maybe just a fairly strong command would be enough. That's something you'd want to ask of non-native English speakers with JDs. I know there are quite a few non-native English speakers in my 1L class, but I couldn't tell you how well they'll end up doing on their exams.

rickgrimes69 · Post by **rickgrimes69** » Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:17 pm

iamgeorgebush wrote:
rickgrimes69 wrote: Law firms ding people for minor punctuation typos on cover letters. Do you really think OP's English will fly?

No offense OP, your English is great, but American law firms will require it to be perfect. And yes, it's going to put you at an immediate disadvantage in [American] law school as compared to your fluent peers.
Most of which is more or less irrelevant if OP wants to get a JD in the US and then practice in Hong Kong.

xiaofashix86 wrote:I am a chinese student and want to practice the law in Hong Kong as a barrister. I prefer doing the litigation.
LSAT 168 GPA above average (3.7) Major Chemistry.
Question:
1. Should I go American law school? Will it help me achieve my goal?
I don't wanna go to UK for a LLB program and HKU JD for its weak prestige. I know most barristers in Hong Kong graduate from Oxbridge....But they just have a LLB......
2. Should I ED Duke /UVA/Umichigan or go RD ?
3. Is that possible for a Chinese to do the litigation in America? Friends told me Corporate has no fun at all! If it is impossible, I would go back to Hong Kong immediately...
4. Canadian law school.....?

AReasonableMan · Post by **AReasonableMan** » Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:21 pm

Your writing isn't bad. If you can get a 168 LSAT and double time you can probably do really well.

In addition, your punctuation isn't bad. Most educated people won't discriminate against your accent if you have the grades (it's a Title VII issue if they do... Also, it's assholic).

patogordo · Post by **patogordo** » Fri Oct 03, 2014 5:25 pm

man tlsers love beating off to their red pens