If you're practicing US law, no. If you want to practice UK law then you will need to become either a solicitor or a barrister(not super hard if you're admitted in NY from what I gather).FunkyJD wrote:Also, studying the biographies of some US attorneys who practice at firms in London, I notice that many of them are admitted to the bar back in the States, but don't seem to be admitted to the bar from a British jurisdiction. Is that typical -- do you not need a bar admission from a British jurisdiction to practice in London, if you are admitted to practice in an American state?
Also worth considering, I was universally advised that if you're going to practice US law you should try and work for a US firm, even in London. If people want UK legal advice they go to magic circle etc firms, but for US law the really high end work is always going to go to the US firms because they just have so much more expertise in that area. I'm not 100% sure how true that is, but I had people tell me in interviews 'even if you don't end up working at this firm, do NOT go to a magic circle firm if you want to do US law'.
Also, anecdotally, if you have experience working at a US firm in London its not super hard to get a job in the US practice of a magic circle firm's London office laterally.