Hh Forum

[112]

Edited

[rickgrimes69]

Step 1: Go to a T14
Step 2: Work in a biglaw firm with international offices
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit!

[SLS_AMG]

Hello,

I need some help. I want to practice law abroad, preferably for a US firm with offices in Europe or Latin America. Which is the best law school to attend with that in mind? Also, what is the process like? I have been accepted to a bunch of t20 schools. I am only interested in lawyers who have gone through the process or who are going through it right now. Thank you!!

The best law schools for that are the same as the best law school in general: YHS > T14 > everything else. Obviously, schools that have poor big law placement generally are not going to have good big law placement abroad.

To the extent that you do have YHS/T14 options, you also need something more: connections to the place you want to practice. You will not be profitable to a big form until at least a couple of years in, so that firm is certainly not going to pay for a 2-year vacation for you - they want to know you will stay.

Also, you need to have a good idea of where you want to be specifically and why. It sounds like you just want to live outside the US. Most people that work in American big law abroad knew exactly where they wanted to practice: e.g. London or Hong Kong.

Some other things to consider:

Language skills. Portuguese (Latin America) and Mandarin (China) are obviously very helpful. London firms also like people that speak at least one European foreign language.

Practice areas. Depends on where you are, but even then, there are very few practice areas that you can work in abroad. Capital markets is perhaps the biggest. Litigation is usually (and obviously) a non-starter.

If I remember correctly, some of the London offices of big firms hire at the big east coast T14s: Harvard, Columbia, NYU and Georgetown. I have no idea where - or if - Latin American offices hire freshly-minted JDs.

Good luck.

[112]

.

[112]

Hh